BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

PIKEVILLE — The Martin County Lady Cardinals battled toe-to-toe with the Pikeville Panthers for much of the first half March 3. A barrage of 3-pointers after halftime helped Pikeville pull away for a 68-43 victory in the quarterfinals of the 15th Region tournament at Appalachian Wireless Arena.

Pikeville would go on to capture the 15th Region championship.

Maci Maynard recorded yet another double-double on the season and was named to the 15th Region All-tournament team.

Martin County showed early energy, jumping out to a quick lead in the opening minutes. Maynard tipped the ball to Makenna Marcum, who drove in for the game’s first basket. Maynard followed with a score under the basket to give the Lady Cards a 4-2 lead.

Marcum knocked down a 3-pointer from the wing. After Sophie Harless grabbed a rebound, Chloe May finished a floater on the other end to extend the lead.

Marcum responded to a Panther score with a spin move for an 11-8 Martin County advantage. Annaleigh Davis later added a spinning drive to put the Lady Cards ahead 13-10 with under a minute left in the quarter.

Marcum then found a cutting May for a basket before Pikeville hit a 3-pointer with just seconds remaining to end the opening stanza tied 15-15.

The Panthers came out on fire in the second quarter with a 7-0 run before Harless grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in to break the drought.

May later scored on a layup to cut the deficit to 26-19, then lobbed a pass over the defense to Maynard for a basket. Pikeville answered with another triple, but May again found Maynard inside to trim it to 29-23.

After a Panther free throw, Marcum drove into the paint and converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 36 seconds left in the half to bring Martin County within four points. Pikeville added a late basket to take a 32-26 lead into halftime.

Martin County briefly closed the gap early in the third quarter when Davis scored on an up-and-under move.

But Pikeville quickly seized control.

The Panthers knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to spark a massive scoring run, stretching the lead to 38-28 and forcing a Martin County timeout. Pikeville continued its surge with baskets that pushed the lead to 42-28, then hit three more triples to extend the margin to 51-28 – their largest lead of the night at that point.

Marcum stopped the run with a one-handed floater in the lane, and Davis added another basket to trim the deficit to 51-32. By that point, Pikeville had already connected on 10 3-pointers in the game.

The Panthers added another score before Maynard hit a free throw and later finished inside off a pass from May just before the buzzer, sending the game to the fourth quarter with Pikeville ahead 55-35.

Pikeville continued its hot shooting to open the final period, hitting another pair of 3-pointers to stretch the lead to 61-35. Davis answered with a basket, but the Panthers responded with yet another triple.

May later lobbed a pass over the defense to Maynard for a score, and Maynard knocked down two free throws late. Pikeville’s final basket gave the Panthers their largest lead of the night at 27 points before May found Maynard inside for Martin County’s final points of the game.

Despite the loss, the night marked the final high school game for Martin County seniors Chloe May, Sophie Harless and Angelina Moore.

“Our older kids showed great leadership and heart,” Martin County head coach Robin Newsome said. “They fought through adversity and injuries all season. They kept it all together and fought to have a winning season.”

After having to regroup at the beginning of the season, the Cards put it all together by the end.

“These kids worked really hard to come together as a team,” Newsome said. “It took some time for them to gel. We had to build chemistry from the start.”

Newsome said the team’s younger players were forced to grow quickly throughout the season.

“Our young guards had to grow up really fast and they had to carry a lot,” she said. “But they fought through it and were getting better each game out.”

May closed her career as one of the Lady Cards’ most reliable perimeter shooters, stretching defenses with her outside touch while also providing leadership and composure in the backcourt.

Harless built a reputation as one of the team’s toughest competitors, consistently battling on the glass and doing the small things that helped the Lady Cards win possessions.

Moore’s presence and support throughout the season helped shape the culture of the team.

Maynard finished the night with a monster performance with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Marcum hit double figures with 12 points. Davis flipped in eight points, May bucketed six points and Harless hit for two.

Pikeville’s Catharine Walters scored 12 points, Kylie Alvin 18 points, Sophie Woods 10, Ava Rogers seven, Nicole Lin six, and Daegan Oliver six.