The Grayson County Lady Cougar basketball team has had a busy start to the summer season with trips to Bowling Green, Elizabethtown, and Hartford since Saturday.
The team returned to the 3rd Region tournament last year for the first time since 2021 but is looking to replace leading scorer Sydney Perkins and the strong post presence of Allie Jennings.
On Saturday, a slow start had them drop the first two games of the day before finishing off with a win in Bowling Green.
Monday, they dominated LaRue County in their first matchup of the day before taking on a talented Pulaski County squad.
Just 24 hours later, they returned to the floor by splitting contests against Webster County and Hopkins County Central.
LaRue County
The Lady Cougars started the day Monday at Elizabethtown High School on fire and never looked back as they led 12-0 before LaRue County was even on the board.
The large lead, which ballooned to 21-4 one point early, allowed second-year head coach Mike McClintic to be more aggressive with substitutions and allow younger players to get much-needed experience.
In cruise control for most of the contest, Grayson County would go on to win 43-14 over the Lady Hawks.
Sutten VanMeter led the team in scoring with nine points with Brooklyn Dennis adding six points and four rebounds. In total, nine different players scored.
Webster County
Grayson County opened the afternoon against Webster County at Ohio County on Tuesday.
In order to keep the games moving, there was only a five-minute warm-up period before the game which might have been the cause of a rather lethargic start for both teams offensively. Finally, the shots started to fall, and Grayson County clung to a five-point advantage at the abbreviated halftime.
The third quarter was a bit more what McClintic was probably expecting for his team against a Lady Trojans squad that won only four games last season and had only hired a new coach last week.
Gracie Escue got the scoring started off a beautiful feed from Breigh Jones. Another highlight included back-to-back threes from Sutten VanMeter to help spark the 11-0 run in the quarter.
With a commanding lead entering the fourth, the Lady Cougars, knowing they still had another game to play, coasted to a 48-33 win.
VanMeter paced the team in scoring with 18 points while Isabel Blanton added 11. Jones came away with eight points to go along with her three assists and Escue had four points and four rebounds.
Hopkins County Central
The final matchup of the day for the Orange and Blue was against a physical Hopkins County Central team that the Lady Cougars downed in Madisonville last year.
Whether it was the opponent, or fatigue, or a mix between the two, the Lady Cougars struggled mightily to start against the Lady Storm. They missed their first five shots from the field before Isabel Blanton drained a three with 3:00 minutes left in the opening quarter to bring the game to 11-5.
That was just the start of an excellent showing for the rising senior. She would finish with 22 points to go along with a pair of rebounds. The issue was the rest of the team combined for just 15 points and shot only 21% from the field.
Despite that struggle, a Breigh Jones three with 26.2 seconds left brought the game to within three at 40-37.
Grayson County called a timeout to attempt to set up a defensive stop but the Lady Storm used some clutch free throw shooting to close out a 44-37 victory.
Summer ball continues for Grayson County on Thursday and Friday as they travel to Greenwood and Metcalfe County.
Next week, they will compete in the Bluegrass Cardinal Classic at George Rogers Clark in Winchester. This event is the girls equivalent of the yearly tournament held by Collins High School that the Cougar boys traditionally play in.
This competition is usually attended by the top college basketball coaches from across the country.
Grayson County drew a pod with Bardstown, Madison Southern, Ballard, and Montgomery County.
By Sam Gormley, Play-By-Play Announcer/Local Sports
Reach Sam at sam@k105.com
