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16th Region girls quarters: Lions turn back Cougars: Jordan, Biggs post double figures
Mar. 5—MOREHEAD — It took a couple of quarters and some growing pains, but Boyd County found a way to survive and advance on Tuesday.
The Lions secured a 52-37 win against Morgan County in a game that was dead even for much of the first half.
"Our senior leaders stepped up," Boyd County coach Pete Fraley said. "Audrey (Biggs) and Jasmine (Jordan) both did a tremendous job in there. They had no answer for Jas in there. We just had to find ways to get it in there to her. We just willed ourselves in there."
The loss ends Morgan County's season with a record of 11-19 after another 62nd District title.
"We ran into a veteran Boyd County team tonight that made the plays when they needed to in the second half to get the win," Morgan County coach Jordan Brangers said. "Pete Fraley is a great coach and had them ready tonight."
The Lions roared into the second half on a 7-0 run, capped off by a McKenzie Moore 3-pointer and had Morgan County calling timeout with 6:14 to go in the third frame.
Morgan County got on the board in the quarter at the halfway point, but the Lions were firmly in a rhythm and kept adding to the lead.
Following a 3 from Baylee Stephens, Boyd County went up 34-24 to close out the third quarter.
"They stepped up and hit big shots," Fraley said. "McKenzie Moore hit a big 3, Bailey Stephens, Sophie Stevens hit 3s. Audrey even had one right there too. So, you know, when you open it up a little bit and you hit a couple of shots, it opens Jas up inside where she can go to work."
The Lions never looked back from there.
Biggs and Stevens helped open the final frame with 3s.
Emma Clinger answered on the other end for the Cougars, but Boyd County was firmly in the driver's seat, controlling the game to the winning finish.
"I told them, just play," Fraley said of his message to his team at the half. "Let me coach, you play. and I thought we did a much better job of that in the second half. We ran to our spots, we did what we were supposed to do, and we moved the ball a little better. First half, the ball was a little stagnant, second half we moved it a little better around and got some open looks."
The Lions looked like they were going to control the game from the start.
The team had started with two quick baskets sandwiched between a steal, which led to Cougars coach Jordan Brangers calling timeout to regroup the Cougars just 39 seconds into the contest.
Morgan County looked to settle down out of the break with Autumn Ross laying one in under the basket and Maci Adkins draining a 3 to take a 5-4 lead.
"Those first two buckets they had were nerves," Brangers said. "Just calling time out was us kind of getting adjusted to what Boyd was doing. Boyd came out ready to play and we just had to kind of match their intensity and credit to our girls, in that first half, they came out and they matched it."
Boyd County regained the momentum after Jada Ray converted on a pair of fast breaks to get the Lions back out front.
Ray had eight points in the opening frame.
Boyd County led 13-7 with 1:52 to go, but neither team scored for the rest of the quarter.
The Cougars opened the second frame with a 6-0 run that tied the game up 13-13 and had Fraley calling his first timeout of the game.
Boyd County struggled to put the ball in the basket during the second quarter, shooting just 15.4% from the field.
Morgan County took a two-point lead out of the break before Jasmine Jordan scored down low to knot things back up 15-15 heading into the media timeout.
The closing moments of the first half were significant for Boyd County.
The Cougars led 18-15 when Ray went down from a hard foul under the basket.
Ray left the game with an apparent wrist injury and never returned. Audrey Biggs shot the free throws, making the first and missing the second.
Jordan got the rebound on the missed free throw, put it back in, and drew the and-1 foul.
Jordan's made free throw put the Lions up 19-18 heading into halftime, a lead they never relinquished.
"I'm proud of my girls," Brangers said. "We prepped for three days, and we fought. I thought we were prepared, but sometimes when you play the game of basketball, it just doesn't fall your way."
Jordan and Clinger each scored 15 points to lead their respective teams. Jordon also recorded seven rebounds and five steals. Biggs tallied 14 points for the Lions.
Boyd County advanced to play Fleming County in Friday's semifinals at 8.
"The first game is always the toughest," Fraley said. "You have some jitters and everything plus, you're playing an elimination game. So, hopefully, we got the jitters out. We get a couple of good days of practice, get word on Jada and, if she's in that's great, if she's not, hey next man up."
BOYD CO. FG FT REB TP
Jordan 6-10 3-4 7 15
Biggs 5-13 3-5 6 14
Ray 4-9 0-0 2 8
Stephens 2-5 1-2 3 6
Stevens 2-10 0-0 8 5
Moore 1-4 1-2 0 4
Culp 0-0 0-0 0 0
Hamilton 0-1 0-0 1 0
Gilbert 0-0 0-0 0 0
Ray 0-0 0-0 0 0
Team 4
TOTALS 20-52 8-13 31 52
FG Pct.: 38.5. FT Pct.: 61.5. 3-pointers: 4-19 (Stevens 1-2, Moore 1-4, Stephens 1-4, Biggs 1-5, Jordan 0-1, Ray 0-3). PF: 13. Fouled out: None. Turnovers: 6.
MORGAN CO. FG FT REB TP
Clinger 4-11 6-7 5 15
Adkins 3-11 0-0 4 8
Smith 4-12 0-0 3 8
Ross 2-10 0-0 4 4
Litteral 0-0 2-4 3 2
Hampton 0-0 0-0 8 0
Team 10
TOTALS 13-44 8-11 37 37
FG Pct.: 29.5. FT Pct.: 72.7. 3-pointers: 3-16 (Adkins 2-6, Clinger 1-2, Ross 0-4, Smith 0-4). PF: 12. Fouled out: None. Turnovers: 14.
BOYD CO. 13 6 15 18 — 52
MORGAN CO. 7 11 6 13 — 37
Officials: Bob Cole, Sean Knollman, Kyler Padgett.
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