“It was a win we needed.”
Whitley County coach Sean Pigman said after his team rallied to defeat McCreary Central, 53-48, during Saturday’s Colonel Classic.
“I’m happy for our girls,” he added. “It was a hardfought win. I’m proud of our girls.They just wouldn’t quit — true team effort.”
With the Lady Raiders ahead, 45-43, with under four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, a basket by Jaelyn Brackett with 3:15 left tied the contest at 45 apiece. She followed with another basket before a putback by Katlynn Collier gave The Lady Colonels a 51-48 edge with 1:24 left.
Whitley County turned in a solid defensive effort during the final minute to secure the five-point win.
The Lady Colonels were led in scoring by Jonna Rice’s 21 points while Collier added 12 points, and Brackett finished with four points.
“Jonna played a great game and really stepped up with 21 and did lots of good things,” Pigman said. “Kaytlynn had a great game as well, both offensively and defensively, she really stepped up today and attacked the basket.
“Jaelyn played great defensively and scored key points in fourth quarter,” he added. “Kylee (Brown) and Autumn (Sawyers) did a fantastic job defensively in second half. Maddie (Richardson), Michaela (Barton), Alba (Castillo-Lopez), and Amber (Brown) all contributed as well. We changed defense at halftime that the kids really bought into and played much better in second half. We also drove the ball instead of settling for quick threes which led to free throw attempts — we actually made some of today.”
Whitley County will host North Laurel Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
