AC-S Falls to Barren County in District Game
By Don Meador,
Sports Writer
The Allen County-Scottsville Lady Patriots started strong in their game against the Barren County Trojanettes on Thursday, Dec. 19 at Patriot Gym. However, following adjustments by Trojanette coach Piper Lindsey, Barren County outscored AC-S 56-37 over the span of the last three quarters–leading to a 66-52 win.
AC-S’s first eight minutes provided a glimpse of the potential within the Lady Patriots. Lady Patriots Riley Roy, Avery Morris, and Aubrie Naiser found Debora Patrick in the interior of the Barren County defense. Patrick finished at the rim, scoring 10 points to help AC-S open a 15-10 lead after the first eight minutes.
A bucket from Payton Marr and a three-point play by Morris staked AC-S to a 19-10 lead with seven minutes to go before halftime. Things quickly changed as the Trojanettes responded with an 11-0 run. After nearly five minutes without a basket, Kyra Marr drilled a three-pointer at the 2:27 mark to put the Lady Patriots ahead 22-21. Barren County closed the first half with a basket and two free throws to lead 25-23 at the break.
The Lady Patriots would not get any closer in the second half. The Trojanettes continued their strong play against a weakening host defense. By the time AC-S Coach Greg Dunn used a timeout at the 6:23 mark, Barren County led 32-24. The Lady Patriots closed to within three (33-27) before Barren County finished the third outsourcing AC-S 14-10 to take a 47-37 lead to the fourth.
The AC-S offense kept the deficit under 10 for the first three minutes of the final period. Two free throws by Morris–part of a 15-18 night at the line for the sophomore guard–closed the gap to six, 48-42, with six minutes remaining. However, the defense for AC-S failed to respond, surrounding nine unanswered Trojanette points. Barren County coasted home, taking the game 66-52.
Morris led AC-S with 22 points. Patrick finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds–her second double-double of the season. Roy tallied eight rebounds.
The Lady Patriot shooting woes continued for a second consecutive game. AC-S was 15-49 from the floor (30.6 percent) while Barren County sank 25 of 56 attempts (44.6 percent). At the line, the Lady Patriots were 18-25 (72 percent) with Barren County 15-20 (75 percent). On the glass, the Trojanettes edged the Lady Patriots, 36-35. AC-S turned the ball over 12 times, which led to 11 Barren County (6-1, 2-0) points.
AC-S (3-3, 0-0) hosts John Hardin (5-2) December 20 in the final game before the Lady Invitational of the South.
Morris, Naiser, Patrick, Roy Lead AC-S Past John Hardin
Avery Morris and Aubrie Naiser combine for 44 points to lead the Allen County-Scottsville Lady Patriots past the John Hardin Lady Bulldogs 66-58 in Friday night, Dec. 20, action at Patriot Gym.
AC-S’s fourth win of the year enabled the Lady Patriots to bounce back to the win column following back-to-back losses to Region 4 powers Franklin-Simpson and Barren County. Playing a third game in four days, AC-S was in control most of the way. The Lady Patriots owned a 17-14 lead after the first frame and took a 36-28 lead to the locker room at halftime. After claiming their largest lead of the night–51-37–late in the third, AC-S carried a 51-39 lead to the fourth.
However, John Harbin refused to fold. The Lady Bulldogs charged back with an 8-0 run to pull within four with 4:30 left. Free throws from Morris lifted AC-S to a six-point advantage before John Hardin responded with four points by Jasmine Kennedy. With 2:18 remaining and John Hardin within two, Morris took charge. A layup and four three throws by the sophomore in just over a minute’s time lifted AC-S to a 61-55 lead. Naiser followed with a steal and lay-in to give the hosts a 10-point lead, 61-53, with 46 seconds left. Free throws from Morris and Debora Patrick secured the victory.
Morris finished with 28 points. Of her total, 16 came at the foul stripe where she went 16 of 17 for the game. Morris also dished out six assists. Naiser added 16 points and had four steals. Patrick scored 10 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds. Roy just missed double figures in scoring, finishing with eight points. Roy also notched14 rebounds. Allison Ford also had a career-high six rebounds.
AC-S finished the night shooting 44 percent from the floor (22-50). For the first time in 161 games–dating back to December of 2018–the Lady Patriots did not make a three-point goal. At the line, the Lady Patriots were 22 of 26 (84.6 percent). AC-S outrebounded John Hardin 48-29. The Lady Bulldogs shot 34.3 percent from the floor and 60 percent at the line.
AC-S (4-3, 1-0) opens play at 7:15 p.m. on December 27 against Grayson County (3-3) in the Lady Invitational of the South.
