A new post player has led to a new outlook and confidence exhibited by the Logan County Lady Cougars. A shiny new trophy and the title of Classic champion gives credibility to that newly acquired swagger.
With talented sophomore Abby Hinton in the middle, Coach Scot MacAllister’s team not only became the first host school to win the girls division of the First Southern National Bank Christmas Classic, but did so with relative ease.
The Lady Cougars led Carlisle County 31-8 at the half of Saturday’s finals at LCHS, and then coasted to a 53-29 championship clobbering of an outmanned opponent. All 14 varsity players saw action, 10 of them in double-figure minutes.
Sophomores Meagann Hardison and Kaprechia Powell were the double-figure scorers with 15 and 10 points, respectively. Seven Lady Cougars scored along with eight Lady Comets (6-6). Logan had five players with six or more points, and Carlisle only one.
The Lady Cougars and their fans had a scare, however, during the lopsided game. Hinton’s head hit the hardwood hard in the first half minute of the second half. She stayed on the floor a while, and visions—make that nightmares—of the new Lady Cougar weapon being injured in only her third game of the season bounced through onlookers’ heads. The transfer from a nearby Tennessee high school got up, however, and after being checked for concussion systems by trainer Amber Mack, she returned to the game several minutes later.
Cook’s becoming eligible is the cause for much optimism among the Lady Cougar faithful. The sophomore who looms in height over an already tall team knows how to play center. She is comfortable with her back to the basket, she can post opponents up and either turn for a short jumper, put up a graceful hook shot, or pass to a teammate for an assist. Because defenses have to respect her so much, she often draws a double team, freeing up fellow frontliners for easier shots.
The biggest beneficiary of Hinton’s presence besides Coach MacAllister has been junior forward Megan Lindsey, who scored 16 points in the only close game of the Lady Cougars’ championship run, a 63-47 win over Caverna in the semifinals. “Megan understands what she needs to do to take advantage of Abby’s being there,” MacAllister says.
Hinton scored 14 points in a 70-51 win over Louisville Iroquois Thursday. Friday she added 15 in that semifinals victory. Katelyn Jones, whom she has replaced in the starting lineup, was second in scoring in Hinton’s first game with 11 points, and she played well in the championship game. Freshman Rachel Barnett, who has moved from the first inside sub to the number five front line player, is also performing well.
In that middle game, Caverna’s Madison Faulkner hit a pair of free throws to cut a 10-point deficit to five, but Lindsey hit two straight shots, Laura Hunt scored an an assist from Hardison, and Hardison hit a three-pointer at 0:05 to give Logan a 40-26 lead at halftime.
The Lady Cougars also put together a big finish in the third quarter. Andrea Davis hit a three-pointer to pull the Lady Colonels within four at 41-37 with 3:52 left in the quarter. But the Lady Cougars scored the final 10 points of the period on two goals by Lindsey and one each by Hardison, Hinton and Hunt. The margin grew to 17 before Caverna could stop the bleeding.
Hardison, who scored 14 points, hit another 3-pointer as time ran out. Ciara Wagoner led Caverna with 15 points and Faulkner added 11.
In that win over the Louisville team, Hardison scored 14, Jones 11, Powell 10, Hardison 9, Hunt 8, Taleia Mason 5, Lindsey 4, Barnett 3, and Brooke Barnes, Deja Thompson and Victoria Cates 2 each.
This was Logan’s third trip to the finals but first official championship. “We finished undefeated in the first year of the girls tournament, but it was in a round robin format, and no champion was declared, so I guess this is our first,” MacAllister said.
Championship Game
Carlisle County (29) Macy Morgan 9, Laken Sams 5, Madison DeRousse 4, Courtney Case 4, Jenna Babb 2, Heaven Hooper 2, Kimberly Thomas 3, Holly Edging 1, Melanie Thomas
Logan County (53) Meagann Hardison 15, Kaprechia Powell 10, Abby Hinton 7, Taleia Mason 6, Katelyn Jones 6, Megan Lindsey 4, Deja Thompson 3, Madison Alvis 3, Laura Hunt 1, Victoria Cates, Rachel Barnett, Hannah Statton, Brooke Barnes, Cierra Johnson