By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The Cooper girls basketball team continued its historic playoff run Thursday afternoon when the Jaguars defeated Pikeville, 57-37, to post the program’s first-ever state tournament victory at Rupp Arena.
Cooper (24-9) won its first 33rd District and first 9th Region championships en route to its debut in the Mingua Beef Jerky/KHSAA “Sweet 16” state tournament. If the Jaguars win their quarterfinal game against Bowling Green (29-7) at 6 p.m. Friday, they’ll be in the final four of the statewide playoffs on Saturday.
Two of the four underclassmen in Cooper’s lineup did most of the team’s scoring in the win over Pikeville (31-3). Sophomore forward Logan Palmer tied her season-high with 22 points, 12 above her average, and junior forward Whitney Lind finished with 17 points.
Palmer was 6 of 11 from the field with two 3-point goals and made all eight of her free throws. Lind was 5 of 11 from the field and 7 of 8 at the line.
Sophomore guard Liz Freihofer had nine points, five rebounds, four assists and five steals for the Jaguars, who got 22 points off 17 turnovers committed by Pikeville. It was the first time this season that the Panthers finished with less than 40 points.
Cooper opened the game with a 7-0 run and led the rest of the way. Pikeville pulled to within two points, 21-19, with 5:31 left in the second quarter, but the Jaguars responded with an 8-3 spurt to take a 29-22 halftime lead.
The same thing happened late in the third quarter. After Pikeville trimmed the margin to 32-27, Cooper scored the last eight points in the quarter to open up a 40-27 lead.
Palmer got the last six points in that run. Freihofer had four steals and two assists during the eight-minute period.
In the fourth quarter, the Jaguars extended their double-digit lead by making 3 of 7 field goals and 11 of 12 free throws. They finished with a 22-2 scoring advantage at the foul line.
The only double-figure scorer for Pikeville was sophomore guard Kyera Thornsbury with 15 points. Sophomore point guard Trinity Rowe had seven points, nine below her average, and seven turnovers in the game.
Cooper’s next opponent, Bowling Green, won its first-round game against Letcher County, 58-45, much like the Jaguars did.
The Purples also got most of their points from two inside players — junior forward Meadow Tisdale (18) and senior center Lynkaylah James (15) — and the team scored 17 points off turnovers created by its defense.
Tisdale and James were starters on last year’s Bowling Green team that defeated Brossart, 50-48 in double overtime, in the first round of the state tournament. The Purples then lost to eventual state champion Louisville Sacred Heart, 66-54, in the quarterfinals.
The other state tournament quarterfinal games on Friday are Pulaski Southwestern vs. Franklin County at 11 a.m. and Bullitt East vs. Meade County at 1:30 p.m. in the upper bracket. George Rogers Clark will play Sacred Heart in the last lower bracket game at 8:30 p.m.
In the final Associated Press statewide media poll, Sacred Heart (33-3) was voted No. 1 and George Rogers Clark (31-2) was voted No. 3. Sacred Heart also topped the state’s Rating Percentage Index that’s used to measure teams based on record and strength of schedule.
COOPER 19 10 11 17 — 57
PIKEVILLE 14 8 5 10 — 37
COOPER (24-9): L. Palmer 6 8 22, Lind 5 7 17, K. Freihofer 1 1 3, J. Palmer 2 0 4, L. Freihofer 2 4 9, Alexander 0 2 2. Totals: 16 22 57.
PIKEVILLE (31-3): Ratliff 2 0 4, Rowe 3 0 7, Thornsbury 7 0 15, Theiss 1 0 2, Whited 1 0 3, Jackson 2 2 6. Totals: 16 2 37.
3-point goals: C — L. Palmer 2, L. Freihofer. P — Rowe, Thornsbury, Whited.
