When Christmas arrived in the Land of Logan, the Logan County Lady Cougars were a team on the verge of putting all their talent and experience together to make a second semester run in 13th District basketball.
The Lady Cougars took a couple of huge steps in that direction in the First Southern National Bank Christmas Classic played in their own gym. They didn’t repeat as champions of the tournament, but they won two of three games to finish third. Those were the team’s first two wins of the season.
A week later they won again, beating the same Russellville Lady Panthers for the second time in seven days.
The tournament found a pair of seniors nearing the tops of their games. Center Katelyn Jones, who was a key member of the state quarterfinalist volleyball team, scored 23 points and had 12 rebounds Thursday in a 65-51 win over Middlesboro, which has won the tournament twice. Point guard Laura Hunt, a rugged member of the two-time district champion soccer team, averaged 15 points a game in the wins and 13 for the three games, including 18 in a 69-34 statement win over Russellville. She added five rebounds, five steals and three assists in that final game.
They also got super floor games from junior forward Kapreshia Powell, who kept feeding the posts and finding open teammates. She was credited with six assists and three steals in the third-place game.
And they also witnessed the progress being made by reserve post player Brooke Barnes, a sophomore who hit 7 of 10 field goal attempts for 15 points against the Lady Panthers. At least six feet in height, she had scored 10 in the win over Middlesboro.
Coach Finley Woodard got help from several players. Megan Lindsey, Maegann Hardison, Rachel Barnett, Madison Alvis, Taleia Mason, Deja Thompson and Cierra Johnson joined Hunt, Barnes, Jones and Powell in scoring. Jessica Hines pulled down three rebounds.
Senior Khalia Hampton scored almost half of Russellville’s points (15) after putting up 31 in a Thursday night win in the tournament. Coach Justin McClellan said he’s looking for others to add to the offense. The most likely would be freshman Loreal Chaney, who has the body and bloodline to be a special player. McClellan wants her to be more aggressive, taking the ball to the basket more frequently. Shea Hampton and Davonna Sydnor are returning starters.
Russellville put up a much better challenge against the Lady Cougars in the first official Clash of the Lady Cats of this season last Friday. They tied the score at 13-13 and had a chance to tie it at the end of the first quarter, but Chaney’s 3-point attempt went in and came out.
Khalia Hampton scored to start the second quarter, cutting the home team’s lead to 19-18, but Powell and Barnes hit inside shots and Hardison swished a 3-pointer to make it 35-21. Hampton stopped the Logan run on a 3-point basket with 35 seconds remaining in the half.
The Lady Panthers made a run to start the third quarter, highlighted by a Khalia Hampton goal on a beautiful bounce-pass assist from Sydnor. When Hampton hit two free throws, the Logan lead was cut to four. Logan’s Hardison, however, hit a rebound shot, and Barnes put in a goal to hold off the threat. The Lady Cougars took the final seven minutes 16-6 to win 52-38.
Jones was the only Lady Cougar in double figures with 13 points. Barnes scored 9 with Hardison and Lindsey adding 8 each. Powell, Hunt, Mason and Barnett also scored. Barnes had 7 rebounds while Hunt pulled down 6 boards from her point guard position.
The next step for Woodard’s team is regaining Hardison’s confidence in shooting from long range. She was 1 of 8 on three-pointers in this Clash. Last year she was deadly outside the arc.
Russellville does not keep statistics except for scoring. Khalia Hampton finished with 24 points while Sydnor scored 7. Devonte Bryant, Reagan Willderson and Chaney added two each and Shea Hampton 1.
McClellan has added an assistant coach who has great experience with the game. He’s former Franklin-Simpson and Austin Peay State University standout Jermaine Savage, a veteran state policeman.
The third meeting of the year involving the local girls will be held at Russellville on Friday, Feb. 7.