LEXINGTON — Mercy sophomore Leah Macy showed the folks on hand at Rupp Arena why she is considered as one of the top players in the state during Thursday’s first round matchup of the Mingua Beef Jerky Girls’ Sweet 16 against Cooper.
Mercy got off to a slow start, and trailed 26-24 at halftime before a Macy took over in the second half to lead her team to a 70-64 win.
Macy scored 37 points while pulling down 21 rebounds. She also hit 11-of-21 shot attempts from the floor, and 15-of-20 from the free-throw line.
Teammate Emma Barnett scored 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting while Mercy finished the game hitting 20-of-39 shot attempts while outrebounding Cooper, 36-24.
Whitney Lind led Cooper with 16 points while Liz Freihofer scored 15 points, and Maleah Alexander scored 10 points. Cooper finished the game hitting 19-of-55 shot attempts, including a 3-of-22 effort from 3-point range.
Both teams traded baskets throughout the first quarter but Cooper managed to take a 14-12 advantage at the end of the period after a basket by Palmer at the buzzer gave her team a two-point lead.
Lind and Kay Freihofer each scored four points apiece in the opening quarter as Cooper hit 6-of-14 shot attempts.
Barnett, and Macy each scored five points apiece for Mercy. Mercy hit 4-of-10 shot attempts in the first quarter.
Cooper managed to keep its two-point advantage (26-24) entering the locker room at halftime as both teams continued to trade baskets.
Lind led Cooper with 10 points in the first half while Palmer added five points. Cooper hit 9-of-27 shot attempts in the first half, including a 2-of-10 effort from mind range.
Macy’s 11 points kept Mercy close. She hit 5-of-11 shot attempts while as a team, Mercy connected on 9-of-22 shot attempts from the floor while outrebounding Cooper, 18-15.
Macy kept the hot hand, scoring 14 points during the third quarter as Mercy outscored Cooper, 23-12, during the period to take a 47-38 cushion into the fourth quarter.
Mercy was 8-of-11 from the floor during the period while Cooper was 1-of-11.
Cooper continued to fight throughout the fourth quarter, and got as close as four points (68-64) with 45 seconds remaining but couldn’t pull off the come from behind win in the fourth quarter.
