Thanks to St. Elizabeth Healthcare Sports Medicine for sponsoring our girls’ high school basketball coverage once again this season. See all of our girls’ basketball stories here and enjoy our state tournament coverage this week from BB&T Arena on the campus of Northern Kentucky University.
By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Simon Kenton coach Jeff Stowers had to address two problems during halftime of his team’s game against Paintsville in the first round of the St. Elizabeth Healthcare/KHSAA girls’ state basketball tournament on Thursday at BB&T Arena.
The Pioneers had too many empty possessions on offense and committed too many fouls on defense during the first 16 minutes and the score was tied, 26-26, at the break. So they talked it over and got their act together for the second half to come away with a 70-45 win.
Simon Kenton (28-6) advances to the quarterfinals and plays Franklin County (31-5) at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
“You saw Simon Kenton basketball in the second half,” Stowers said of his team’s first-round win. “At halftime, we just made some adjustments in (defensive) pressure and decided we weren’t going to foul them and put them on the line. We kind of flip-flopped on the foul situation in the second half. We started getting the ball inside and then it was Ally Niece time.”
Niece scored 23 points in the second half to fuel her team’s 44-19 run. The junior made 11 of 12 free throws during that big finish and finished with a game-high 29 points.
“I knew that we were all nervous and I just figured if I hit a couple of shots I’d get everybody else going,” Niece said of her second-half scoring surge. “I was really looking to get everybody else involved most of the time. But I guess I saw the openings (in their defense) and went for it.”
Niece is the only Simon Kenton player who had a good amount of state tournament experience going into Thursday’s game. Two years ago, she was a starting guard on the 2015 team that lost in the first round of the “Sweet 16” at Western Kentucky University.
She was named first-team all-state as a junior and will likely receive that honor again this season. So stepping up when the going gets tough is something she’s done before for the Pioneers.
“She knows when it’s time to take over,” Stowers said. “She’s a competitor and hates to lose.”
After opening the game with a 7-1 run, Simon Kenton committed turnovers on six of its next nine possessions, including a technical foul on Stowers, and had a 13-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Pioneers got off to a good start in the second quarter to open up a 24-18 lead, but they faltered once again. On their next eight possessions, they committed four turnovers and went 1-for-4 from the field against Paintsville’s zone defense.
Paintsville took advantage of that breakdown and tied the score, 26-26, on a free throw by sophomore guard Elizabeth Williams in the final seconds before halftime. The Tigers were 12-of-18 from the line in the first half and would have been ahead if they hadn’t missed three of their last eight foul shots.
At the break, Simon Kenton was shooting 45.5 precent (10 of 22) from the field compared to Paintsville’s 30.4 percent (7 of 23) and the Pioneers had a 19-10 rebounding average. But 10 turnovers and nine fouls that sent Paintsville to the line offset both of those advantages.
“We were nervous, definitely,” Simon Kenton senior center Madi Meier said of the team’s shaky first half. “We just settled down and composed ourselves and came out in the second half ready to go.”
The Pioneers took control of the game with a 25-16 scoring run in the third quarter to take a 51-42 lead. Niece had 11 points, three assists and two steals during that period. Simon Kenton maintained that momentum and outscored Paintsville, 19-3, in the fourth quarter with Niece getting two field goals and going 8-for-8 at the line.
“We hung around with them for three quarters, but we just ran out of gas,” said Paintsville coach Les Trimble. “They threw 10 bodies at us and we’ve got basically six, and we just ran out of gas. It was a tough third quarter and it just snowballed on us. But we fought and I’m proud of them.”
Paintsville was 1-for-12 from the field in the fourth quarter and ended up shooting 33.3 percent (15 of 45) for the game. The Tigers’ leading scorer was Williams with 12 points.
Simon Kenton shot a blistering 78.9 percent (15 of 19) from the field in the second half and ended up making 61 percent (25 of 41) for the game. Meier posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds along with two assists and a blocked shot.
The Pioneers will face a familiar opponent in Friday’s quarterfinal round. They beat Franklin County, 67-43, on Jan. 19 during a tournament at Scott County High School. The Flyers won their first-round game against Russell County, 72-67, in triple overtime.
“We know they’re a lot better than what they showed us earlier in the year,” Stowers said of Franklin County. “And we know their players are amped up. That was a nice win for them (Thursday).”
SIMON KENTON 13 13 25 19 — 70
PAINTSVILLE 9 17 16 3 — 45
SIMON KENTON (28-6): Niece 8 13 29, Harmeyer 1 0 3, Gilliam 1 0 3, Harney 4 0 9, Meier 5 0 10, Jones 4 0 9, Vickers 1 0 3, Stamper 0 2 2, Dressman 1 0 2. totals: 25 15 70.
PAINTSVILLE (28-5): Williams 3 5 12, Chirico 5 1 11, Keeton 3 2 9, Fitch 0 1 1, James 1 3 5, Lanzani 3 1 7. Totals: 15 13 45.
Three-pointers: SK — Harmeyer, Gilliam, Harney, Jones, Vickers. P — Williams, Keeton.
ST. ELIZABETH HEALTHCARE/KHSAA GIRLS STATE TOURNAMENT
(at BB&T Arena, Highland Heights)
Friday — Upper bracket
Louisville Butler vs. Murray, noon
Mercer County vs. Clark County, 1:30 p.m.
Friday — Lower bracket
Franklin County vs. Simon Kenton, 6:30 p.m.
Henderson County vs. Holmes, 8 p.m.
Saturday
Upper bracket semifinal, 6:30 p.m
Lower bracket semifinal, 8 p.m.
Sunday
Championship game, 2 p.m.