Throughout the tight final minutes of a crucial district game at Jim Young Gymnasium Friday, Logan County coach Scot MacAllister repeatedly employed
offense-to-defense substitutions.
His plan worked to perfection when defensive whiz Markita Pheal stole the ball on Russellville's end of the court, sped downcourt and laid in the
clinching field goal with seven seconds remaining.
Pheal's steal sealed the Lady Cougars' 53-47 win and guaranteed them the number two seed in the upcoming 13th District Tournament, which will be played
at Logan's gym.
“Our players came to play tonight, and we finally played smart in the final minutes. We only took one dumb shot the final three minutes, which breaks
our old record by a lot,” MacAllister said with a smile.
Senior Sara Speck was certainly one of those who “came to play.” She had a double-double 19 points and 13 rebounds. Her last point was a big one when
she rebounded Ann Dorris' missed free throw and drew a foul with 27.8 seconds. She made one of the resulting shots, building the Lady Cougars' lead to
four.
The Lady Panthers worked to cut the margin before the Pheal steal and seal.
The Lady Cougars' win overshadowed a super performance by Lady Panther point guard Amber Sydnor. Already a three-year starter as a freshman, she did
everything she could to give RHS a sweep of the Clashes of the Cats, especially in the final half. After Logan built a 37-22 lead on consecutive
3-pointers by Speck, Sydnor hit a trey from the corner with 2.5 seconds remaining in the third quarter to cut that lead to 37-33 at the break.
Sydnor's goal in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter reduced the margin to two, and it returned to that when Speck and Lady Panther Imani
Hampton traded goals.
Speck scored again, and Kayla MacAllister hit a pair of free throws to build the lead to six.
Nakia Daniel, a six-year starter for the Lady Panthers, made a senior move by stealing an ill-advised pass under the RHS basket and sticking the ball
in for a goal to stop the Lady Cougars' offensive surge. But Dorris scored and Meagan Williams hit a pair of free throws to build the lead to 50-43.
Russellville made a final charge when Sydnor blocked Pheal's shot and Daniel cashed in a 3-pointer. Logan threw the ball away, and Sydnor hit a free
throw with 44.2 seconds for the home team's last point.
Then came the final heroics by Speck and Pheal.
Logan had broken open a 12-12 tie by scoring 14 of the next 16 points in the second quarter. Reserves Miranda Rone and Jaylin Jones hit the final two
field goals in that run. Kesi Neblett's rebound bucket was Russellville's only goal during that run. Daniel's goal to end the half made Logan's lead 10
at the break.
“I'm proud of our second half effort and especially of the heart Amber Sydnor showed,” said RHS coach Dedra Adler. “I've told them during a lot of
halftimes that we can't afford to get ourselves in such a deep hole early, but this time I think it sank in.”
In addition to Speck, Coach MacAllister had high praise for Williams, who was second in scoring with eight points. She joined Speck in getting two
3-pointers to fall.
Daniel led Russellville with 15 points while Sydnor scored 12 and Imani Hampton 10.
The Lady Cougars improved their record to 14-9 overall and 3-3 in the district. Having swept Todd Central, the Lady Cougars are guaranteed the second
seed in the tournament. In three of his first four years at the helm, MacAllister's teams had to play regional and state power Franklin-Simpson. This
year they will play either the Lady Panthers or Todd Central in their district opener.
Now Russellville (7-12, 1-4) must beat visiting Todd Central Friday to avoid the Franklin curse and to set up a third meeting with the Lady Cougars in
the district semifinals. Russellville already has a win over Logan at the tournament site, winning 56-53 in overtime in early January. If Todd wins
Friday, however, the Lady Panthers will face F-S to open the tournament.
Score by Quarters: 1) LCHS 11-10, 2) 26-16, 3) 37-33, Final) Logan County 53, Russellville 47
LCHS (53) Sara Speck 19, Meagan Willimas 8, Ann Dorris 6, Victoria Elliott, Jaylyn Rose 5, Kayla MacAllister 4, Miranda Rone 2, Markita Pheal 2,
Brown
RHS (47) Nakia Daniel 15, Amber Sydnor 12, Imani Hampton 10, Kesi Neblett 4, Nikki Rose 3, Brittany Hampton 3, Rippy, Hoosier