Lady Maroons falter against top ranked Ryle

Dec. 11—RICHMOND — After racing out to a 5-0 start after an 81-26 dismantling of Casey County on Friday, the Lady Maroons were back on the road Saturday afternoon to take on their third top 25 ranked opponent in the first few weeks of the season. Luckily enough it was on a neutral court at Madison Central, however, it was against a top ranked Ryle team that looked like a state contender.

Take nothing away from Pulaski though, as they battled the Lady Raiders for three quarters until Ryle pulled away in the fourth, with the Raiders winning the contest by a score of 55-47.

The game opened up with traded baskets by senior Sarah Baker of Ryle and Brooklyn Thomas of Pulaski. A quick 7-0 spree by the Raiders, with senior Gracie Carrigan hitting a three and senior Quinn Eubank scoring the other four points, opened up a 9-2 lead for Ryle. Madeline Butcher was able to keep it close, scoring four of the next six points of the ball game, with a steal and two from Sydney Martin making the score 15-8 heading down the final stretch of the quarter.

The Raiders ended the first quarter the same way they began it, with a scoring run, as Ryle outscored Pulaski 7-2 over the final two minutes to take a 22-10 lead after one period of action. Four different Lady Raiders scored on the run, as the Maroons were being forced to key in on several different players on the defensive side of the court.

Butcher opened the second quarter with a made basket, before Taylen Ralston drained the first three-pointer of the game for the Maroons to make the score 22-15. Ryle answered back with a three of their own from senior Kassidy Peters to increased their lead right back to 12 at 27-15.

From there though, it was all Pulaski for the remainder of the first half, as the Maroons went on a 10-0 run that featured insane defensive pressure by the Maroons. Ralston hit another three to start off the run, with Martin scoring the final seven points of the quarter to decrease the Ryle lead to just two at 27-25 heading into the break.

Brown continued her domination of the paint with a two to begin the third quarter, before the Maroons went on their own 7-0 spree to take the lead for the first time in the contest at 32-29. Thomas hit a three-pointer during the run, with Hannah Murray adding her first four points of the ball game as well. The teams began to trade the lead for the rest of the period, but it was Pulaski that held a slim one point lead at 40-39 heading into the final quarter thanks to Thomas' eight points scored in the period.

It looked like all momentum was with the Maroons as Butcher hit a three to start the fourth quarter to increase their lead to 43-39. Ryle did as any great team does and refocused after falling behind though, with the Lady Raiders going on a huge scoring run to end the game. Ryle ended up outscoring Pulaski 16-4 the rest of the way through to take the victory 55-47, with Baker scoring nine points during the quarter.

The Lady Maroons were led by 13 points, six rebounds and eight steals from Martin, as well as 12 points from Butcher and 10 from Thomas. Ralston added six for the Maroons, with Murray and Maggie Holt adding four and two points respectively. Ryle was led by 19 points from Baker.

Pulaski drops their first contest of the season, falling to 5-1, and will be back in action at home on Friday as they welcome in crosstown and district rival Somerset for a 6 p.m. tip.

Jacob Pratt is the Sports Editor of the Commonwealth Journal and can be reached at jpratt@somerset-kentucky.com.