The Taylor Co Lady Cardinals fought their way through a back and forth first half and came out dominant in the second en route to a 50-37 win against host school Russell Co in the 2A Section 4 Championship game Saturday night.
As always, the Lady Cardinals defense deserves credit for setting the tone of the action. The first half saw the Lady Cards and Russell Co Lady Lakers trade the lead 7 times with two ties also in the mix. The Lady Cards had a one point lead after the first quarter and maintained that after an even second quarter saw both teams score 13 points. But in the third, the Lady Cards came out firing on all cylinders and used a 20-10 run that quarter to take firm control of the game and ultimately, after winning the second half 29-17, a convincing win and the third consecutive 2A Section Title for Jamie Vernon’s squad.
As a team, the Lady Cards had 28 rebounds, with 11 coming on the offensive end, 7 assists, 7 deflections, and 5 steals. Taylor scored 18 points off Russell Co turnovers and had 10 second chance points thanks to their offensive rebounding which was balanced amongst all the Lady Cardinal players. Kennedy Jackson led the team in overall rebounding with 10 boards and contributed 8 points. Kennedy Deener led the offensive attack with 16 points. Rounding out the scoring column was Kayley Benningfield with 8, Alexis Knifley with 6, and Grace Bale, Gracie Hunt, and Riley Sprowles all with 4 apiece.
The Lady Cards will make their third trip to Owensboro in as many seasons for the 2A State Tournament this weekend. Their opening round game will be Friday, January 12th at 5:00 Eastern and will pit them against the Mason Co Lady Royals who won their sectional title against Fleming Co 53-50
-Taylor County Athletic Department (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095773712523)