TheTimesTribune.com, Corbin, KY
CORBIN — By Les Dixon / Sports Editor
The Lynn Camp Lady Wildcats got to see first hand how dominant the Clay County Lady Tigers are.
The Lady Wildcats turned the ball over during their first six possessions of the game, which led to 10 Lady Tigers points and the defending 13th Region champions never looked back during their 52-30 win in the first round of the 13th Region Tournament.
“We didn’t want to run the score up and you would hate to see one of your starters get hurt in a game like this,” Clay County coach Ivy Burchell said. “But you have to give Lynn Camp credit. They never quit and played hard the entire four quarters.”
Lynn Camp could never get on track against Clay County, as the Lady Wildcats could only muster eight points in the first half on four-of-19 shooting from the floor, while turning the ball over 12 times.
“Clay County showed tonight they are a very good team,” Lynn Camp coach Richard Jones said. “I am proud of my girls, though. They never quit. There was a stretch in the second quarter that I thought they were going to, but we just kept playing hard.
“You hate to see your season come to an end, but then again, I can’t be upset with my girls’ effort,” he added.
Jones admitted the game’s first three minutes set the tone of the game.
“We were just turning the ball over too much,” he said. “We turned the ball over six times and before you know it, they are ahead 10-0 and that set the tempo of the game.
“We contributed to that, though,” Jones added. “We turned the ball over too many times and couldn’t convert some easy shots we had. Their size hurt us in the long run.”
The Lady Tigers led 14-6 after the first quarter and 36-8 at halftime before taking a 50-9 lead into the fourth quarter.
Lynn Camp took advantage of Clay County’s bench play during the final eight minutes and outscored the Lady Tigers, 11-2.
“I was happy with the way the older girls played, but I wasn’t happy with our younger girls’ effort,” Burchell said. “They needed to play better than they did.”
The win advances Clay County to the semifinals where they will meet 50th District champion South Laurel Friday at 8 p.m. The two teams met earlier in the season with the Lady Tigers coming away with the win.
Burchell’s squad will enter the game with a 30-0 record against 13th Region teams during the past two years and a 75-2 mark against regional foes since the 2005-06 season. The last team to beat them was the Lady Cardinals, who knocked off Clay County in the 13th Region title game two years ago.
“South Laurel is a very good team and we’re going to have to play our best to win,” Burchell said.
The Lady Tigers’ Sabrina Smith led all scorers with 20 points on nine-of-11 shooting from the floor, while Belle Jackson and Kayla Smith each scored eight points apiece.
Clay County finished the game with only 10 turnovers and hit 23-of-47 shot attempts, while Lynn Camp turned the ball over 16 times and connected on only 12-of-39 shot attempts from the floor.
Sierra Shepherd led the Lady Wildcats with nine points.
13th Region Tournament
First Round at The Arena
Clay County 52, Lynn Camp 30
Lynn Camp 6 2 11 11 30
Clay County 14 22 14 2 52
Lynn Camp (30) - Smith 4, Shepherd 9, Grubb 4, McKinney 4, Carrie Burnette 5, Wilson 4.
Clay County (52) - Mitchell 5, Jackson 8, S. Smith 20, Phillips 2, K. Smith 8, Chestnut 7, B. Smith 2.
