BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
PIKEVILLE — The Martin County Lady Cardinals went 2-1 in the All “A” Classic last week at the Appalachian Wireless Arena in Pikeville.
Martin County defeated Paintsville 61-56 in overtime and Phelps 68-46 before dropping the championship game to Pikeville 62-30.
The Lady Cards improved to 13-3 on the season and made history by reaching the final round, as it was the first time for Martin County High School girls basketball.
Below is a recap of the tournament action.
Martin County triumphs over Paintsville
Martin County got the better of Paintsville 61-56 in overtime Jan. 3 in the first round of the All “A” Classic at Appalachian Wireless Arena.
The Lady Cards were looking to avenge an earlier loss to Paintsville 51-46.
This one was a battle from start to finish. Both teams were going at each other and the lead changed several times in the first quarter. The Tigers were up 14-12 at the end of the first quarter.
Laken Williams started the second quarter with two picks that led to two layups. The Lady Cards were up by four with 6:30 to go in the second quarter. The score at the end of the half was 26-22.
With 6:18 to go in the third quarter, Martin County head coach Robin Newsome was hit with a technical foul and forced to take a seat for the rest of the game.
Paintsville knocked down a three at the horn to take a 37-35 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Cards were down one in the fourth quarter with 1:43 to go. Williams drove to the basket and dished off to Brooke Marcum under the goal. Marcum knocked down the layup with 1:37 remaining to give the Lady Cards a 48-47 lead.
Emilea Preece took K. Marcum to the basket, scored and drew the foul at the 1:06 mark, sending K. Marcum to the bench with her fifth foul.
Preece missed the free throw, but Paintsville got the rebound and Martin County was forced to foul down one.
Preece knocked down one free throw putting Paintsville up by two with less than a minute to go.
Williams drove to the basket and missed. Preece got the rebound and was fouled by Williams.
Preece bumped Williams after the whistle blew and was hit with a technical foul, which made her fifth foul.
Emma Keeton came from the bench to shoot the two free throws, making one to put the Tigers up 51-48 with 36 seconds to go.
Alyssa Allen was fouled, stepped to the line and knocked down two to bring the Lady Cards to within one 51-50.
The Lady Cards turned the ball over with 17 seconds to go, forcing them to foul Camryn Helton.
Helton knocked down one free throw to put Paintsville up 52-50.
The Lady Cards called a timeout with 10 seconds to go.
Williams had to rush to get a shot off, and Kellyn Vannoy stepped out and blocked the shot. The ball went up in the air, Williams skied up and snatched it with three seconds on the clock, drove to the basket and scored as the horn sounded to tie the game 52-52.
B. Marcum stepped to the free-throw line with 3:22 to go in overtime and knocked down two to put the Lady Cards up 54-52. Allen drove the lane, lost the ball, and Helton hit a layup on the other end to tie the score 54-54 with 2:16 to go.
Williams drove to the basket with 1:26 to go and dished off to B. Marcum. Marcum was fouled, stepped to the line and knocked down one of two free throws to put the Lady Cards up 55-54 with 1:26 to go.
Allen was fouled with 1:17 to go and hit two free throws to stretch the lead to 57-54. Allen was fouled again with 22 seconds on the clock and knocked down two more free throws.
The Lady Cards were up 59-54 with 5.6 seconds left in the game when Laken Williams was fouled and hit two free throws to seal the deal.
The Lady Cards survived and advanced to the semifinal Friday to take on Phelps.
“I feel like we went to war,” Coach Newsome said. “My kids fought hard. It was a very intense game from beginning to end, and my kids found a way to win. So many kids stepped up and made big plays. I am thankful we stuck together and pulled it out in the end.”