District games tonight match 2 and 3 seeds
By Jim Turner


Posted on February 21, 2023 2:01 PM



 

The 13th District Tournament games tonight feature evenly matched teams in both gender divisions. The Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s RPI standings make Logan County a two-point favorite over Todd Central in the girls division while the Russellville Panthers and Todd Central played two close games two weeks ago.

Todd teams have a significant factor favoring them tonight, since the games are being played at Todd County Central.

Following last night’s action, the winner of today’s girls game will play Russellville Thursday at 7 p.m. while the boys winner will face Franklin-Simpson Friday at 7.

Tonight’s games will be carried live on all of WRUS radio’s platforms.

Here’s a preview of the games on this Tuesday evening:

Lady Cougars vs. Lady Rebels

When they first played each other on Jan. 13, Coach Nick Sutter’s Lady Rebels won 60-47. But at Logan County’s homecoming Feb. 3, the Lady Cougars edged Todd 44-43.

Coach Dedra Adler’s team goes into the game with a 17-12 record, including 7-10 in the region. The Lady Rebels are 13-12, 6-10.

The biggest question for this game is if Lady Cougar senior star Gracie Borders will be able to play, and if she is, how effective can she be? After getting the weight of passing the 1,000-point barrier off her shoulders in the second half, the All-Region performer took over that win against Todd. She suffered an ankle injury on Senior Night and missed the last two games of the regular season. Her mobility has been limited/

She is averaging 16.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, both team highs. She’s also the top shooter in 2-point goals (119 of 247 for 48.1 percent), 3-point goals (30 of 81 for 37 percent) and free throws (110 of 144 for 76.4 percent). Those averages are considerably higher that 54.4 percent the rest of the team is hitting free throws and 31.2 percent on 3-pointers.

Other Lady Cougars averaging over five points per game are Nora Epley (9.4), Emily Borders (6.8), TaKylah Mason and Emerson McKinnis (5.6 each) and Brenley Adler (5.2). The team is averaging 50 points per game. They’ve outscored their opponents by 47 total points.

McKinnis is second in rebounding at 5.3 boards an outing. Adler, a seventh grader, is averaging 4.1 and Emily Borders 3.7. The Lady Cougars are credited with 29.5 rebounds, 10.2 free throws and 4.4 three-pointers per game.

The Lady Cougars went 6-3 after their loss to Russellville on Jan. 27. In a three-way tiebreaker for district seeding, they got the number two spot via having an higher RPI than either Todd Central or Russellville.

Epley has accounted for almost half of Logan’s 3-pointers with 61. She has attempted 187 for 32.6 percent. Emily Borders and Kyla Bilyeu also are above 30 percent for those who play frequently.

The KHSAA does not list assists, but Emily Borders would be high in that category if they did.

Like the Lady Cougars, Todd has a player leading them in both scoring and rebounding. Junior Alexis Taylor is scoring 16.5 points and pulling down 11.5 rebounds.

Among the regulars, Abby Williams gets 4.7 rebounds per game and Jamya Key 4.5. Williams is averaging 11.9 points, Key 9.0 and Jamaia Burks 7.5. Ciara Collins runs the point, but she isn’t as productive statistically as is Emily Borders.

The Lady Rebels hit only 23.8 percent of their three-pointers, although Williams has gotten 33 of 104 to fall for 31.7 percent. Todd hits just 3 three-pointers a game. They are shooting 56.7 percent from the line an

Panthers vs. Rebels

Todd Central beat Russellville twice in a week very late in the season 64-61 and 58-46 to claim the number two seed. Coach John Stigall’s team is 17-11 and has won four of its last five games. The Panthers are 7-20 and have lost seven in a row.

The Rebels are averaging 59 points per game and giving up 53. The Panthers are averaging 52.6 and allowing 59 a game.

The KHSAA’s RPI ratings make the Rebels a 10-point favorite. The wild card for Russellville is Hall of Fame coach Phil Todd, who has taken Panther teams to state three times and to the regional finals three other seasons.

Russellville features balanced scoring. Eli McMurry is averaging  10.7 points per game, Nick Woodard 10.4 and Tutu McKeage 10.3. In rebounding, McKeage leads with 5.8 boards per game, McMurry 4.2, and Layne Steele and Woodard 3.0 each. Todd Central is averaging 26.4 rebounds a game and the Panthers 24.0.

Russellville is hitting 65.4 percent of its free throws and the Rebels 56.7 percent. Todd is hitting 32.3 percent of its three-point shots and getting 6.4 of them per game to fall. RHS is connecting on 27.3 percent and 5.1 made per game. Jayden Russell has hit 34.2 percent of his 3’s (32 of 93), Woodard 33 percent (25 of 75) and Andrew Dowlen 9 of 29 for 31 percent. Everyone else is below 30 percent. For Todd Central, Hayden Strader is swishing 41.7 percent of his treys (43 of 103), Preston Rager 31.5 percent (56 of 178), and Trayvon Foster 30.1 (56 of  178).

6-6 junior Jamison Glass is leading the Rebels in both scoring (18.3) and rebounding (9.3). He has been honored recently for passing the 1,000-point and 500-rebound clubs for his career.

Stader is second in rebounding at 5.6 Foster is averaging 12.9 points and Rager 11.7.

The Rebels have won four of their last five games.

 


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