CITIZEN STAFF REPORT
GREENUP — Martin County Lady Cards started the summer season playing five games in two days. They went 4-1 with a runner-up finish in the Border Wars June 2-3 at Greenup County High School.
Coach Robin Newsome took 11 players to the event and rotated players in and out every four minutes.
“Playing five games in two days is a lot to ask out of the kids,” Newsome said. “We tried to keep players fresh and give everyone experience. It’s summer ball, and we just want the kids to play hard, get better and have fun.”
The Border Wars consisted of 12 teams from Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia. The Kentucky teams included Martin County, Hazard, Greenup County and Prestonsburg. Teams from West Virginia included Wayne County, Mingo Central and St. Albans. Ohio teams were South Point, Ironton, Lucasville, Rock Hill and Portsmouth.
Pool play first-round games were played June 2. Each team was placed into a pool to compete, with the winner of each pool receiving a first-round bye in the tournament June 3.
The Lady Cards won their pool play Friday by defeating Greenup County 51-37 and Portsmouth West 44-35.
On June 3, the Lady Cardinals defeated Lucasville 32-16 to advance to the semifinal.
Next up, the Lady Cardinals played Greenup County for the second time in two days and defeated them 48-32. This moved the Lady Cardinals into the championship game to play their third game of the day against a good Wayne County team.
Martin County fell 44-24 in the championship.
On Thursday, the Lady Cards concluded their annual three-day Camp of Champions, welcoming what Newsome said was the largest attendance in the camp’s history.
