Published: March 09, 2008 08:24 pm            

Rowan, Ashland advance to girls' final

Championship game to be played tomorrow at 7 p.m.

Rowan County held off Morgan County, 68-51, and Ashland Paul Blazer cruised past Raceland, 63-35, in the 16th Region Tournament semifinals on Sunday afternoon at Morehead State University's Ellis T. Johnson Arena. The two winners will meet for the 16th Region title and a berth to the state tournament on Monday at 7 p.m.

Rowan County (26-5) closed out the first quarter on a 6-2 run to take a 23-16 lead and put some distance between itself and Morgan County (21-10) in Sunday's second game. The 18th-ranked Lady Vikings maintained their lead at halftime, 38-30, but the Lady Cougars stayed within striking range into the fourth quarter. By the end of the third period, Rowan County stretched its lead to 51-39, but Morgan County closed within nine points with six minutes to play. The Lady Vikings scored the next five points and the Lady Cougars never got within 12 points the rest of the way.

Natasha Kissinger came off the bench to make 7-of-9 shots, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, to score a game-high 20 points. Cassidi Spurlock chipped in 13 points, while Amber Riddle added 12 points and seven rebounds. Leslie Eagle paced Morgan County with 16 points and five steals. Hannah Fugate and Alyssa finished their careers with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Rowan County made 10-of-24 from behind the arc and held a 37-27 edge in rebounding.

Ashland Paul Blazer (24-4) jumped out to a 19-2 lead by the end of the first quarter and stretched its first-half lead as high as 21 as the Kittens rolled over Raceland (19-13). The Lady Rams finished off the third period on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 39-25, but could not close the gap further. Ashland came out in the final period and out-scored Raceland, 24-10, extending the lead as high as 30, before settling for the 28-point win.

Ashland's Kim Strait finished with 19 points, while Katelyn Conner added 12 points and five rebounds. Laisha Ward contributed 10 points, six steals and five rebounds. Brooke Keeton was the lone Lady Ram in double figures with 18 points. She also added six rebounds and three blocks.

Raceland committed 27 turnovers, which Ashland turned into 29 points. The Kittens also made 45.1 percent of their shots from the field and were 11-of-14 from the foul line.

The boys' tournament returns on Tuesday with Ashland Paul Blazer (14-16) meeting East Carter (23-7) at 6:30 p.m. and Elliott County (24-3) facing Rose Hill Christian (20-10) at 8:15 p.m. The boys' championship game will be held either on Wednesday or Thursday.

        

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