East Carter High School West Carter High School Rowan County Senior High School
2019 High School Basketball
TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
A special supplement to The Morehead News and Journal-Times Wednesday, February, 20, 2019 Photos and stories by Krystal Williams
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The Morehead News and Journal-Times, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019
2019 H.S. Basketball Tourney Preview
East Carter Hanging tough Lady Raiders aim for return trip to regionals East Carter Lady Raiders have their eyes set on another trip to the regional tournament. The Lady Raiders were 7-3 in district play to end the regular season. They took on Morgan County early in the EKC. Although the game was not a seed game, the Lady Raiders came away with a 65-48 win over the Lady Cougars. They went on to beat the Lady Cougars twice in district seeding. They beat them 57-41 and 64-41. Alyssa Stickler led the way in scoring all three games with 15 points and eight rebounds, 23 points and six rebounds and 19 points and six rebounds. Stickler averaged 14.7 points per game and 5.6 rebounds. She has the team’s best free throw percentage shooting 74 percent for the regular season. She has scored 74 free throws, and 124 field goals, 45 of them from three-point range. The Lady Raiders also swept Elliott
County in district seeding. They toppled the Lady Lions 66-43. Halle Swanagan had a huge night sinking four threes and scoring 17 points. She led the Lady Raiders for the first time this season. Haley Campbell netted three threes in the game against Elliott. If unguarded, the Lady Raiders have proved countless times they are dangerous from three-point range. The team totaled nine threes in the win over Elliott and eight during their second win over Elliott. Campbell knocked down four threes during the second game against the Lady Lions. Campbell is the Lady Raiders’ best three-point shooter. She has shot .324 from outside the arch and netted 57 three-point buckets. Her 57 threes earned her 35th on the KHSAA leaderboards for three-point field goals per game.
See EAST on C-8
62nd District Girls Tournament West Carter Feb. 20 6 p.m. West Carter Morgan County
EAST CARTER
Feb. 22 7 p.m. West Carter
Mackenzie Bush shoots for three during the game a g a i n s t R o w a n County.
Feb. 20 7:30 p.m. Morgan County Elliott County
Tracking up Raiders looks to ride late season progress The East Carter Raiders showed great improvement the second half of the season. The Raiders turned the new year 19 and ended the season 12-13. They closed out the regular season on a four-game winning streak with high hopes of upsetting their rivals at West once more. The Raiders were out some key players throughout the season. Hunter Binion, who played a big role late in the season, was out six of the Raiders’ first seven games. Binion averaged 8.2 points, but his 7.1 rebounds proved vital. Jordan Brooks has stepped up his game as a senior this season. He improved from 11.4 points per game and 6.1 rebounds to 16.1 points per game and 8.5 rebounds. He had a season high 30 points and eight rebounds in the 77-64 win over Adair during the Dan Swartz Classic. He tallied a double-double in the Raiders’ 67-60 loss to Lewis County during the same tournament. The Raiders’ turning point began with the 65-62 win over Russell.
Brooks tallied another double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds. The Raiders had four players break into double digits that game, Binion, Micah Adams and Josh Damron. The Raiders then turned an 88-55 loss to the Comets into a two-possession loss, 62-56. Binion, who was out the first game against the Raiders, had 19 points and nine rebounds. Next, the Raiders took down district opponent Morgan County. They defeated them 46-42. Brooks led the team with 18 points. The first win over Morgan started a six-game winning streak that would end with a second win over Morgan. They snuck a win, 50-48, over Ashland, last year’s regional runners-up. Binion, Brooks, Damron and Adams all broke into double digits to pull off the win. The win over the Tomcats sparked an overtime win, 49-47, against West Carter at home. Brooks led once again with another 17 points and eight re-
See RAIDERS on C-8
62nd District Boys Tournament Elliott County
Hunter Binion collects a rebound during a home game this season.
Feb. 18 7 p.m. West Carter Morgan County
EAST CARTER Feb. 19 7 p.m. West Carter West Carter
Feb. 21 7 p.m. West Carter
2019 H.S. Basketball Tourney Preview
The Morehead News and Journal-Times, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019
PAGE C-3
GOOD LUCK EAST CARTER RAIDERS AND LADY RAIDERS
Members of the East Carter boys basketball team include: Micah Adams, Hunter Binion, Jordan Brooks, Donovan Damron, Josh Damron, Braden Hicks, Ethan Miller, Ethan Moore, Ryan Phillips, Timmy Pope, Treven Tussey, and Issac Walker
Members of the East Carter girls basketball team include: Skylar Block, Lynnsey Bush, Mackenzie Bush, Haley Campbell, Hannah Gallion, Markita Gamsby, Avery Hall, Riley Hall, Taylor Hall, Madison Hewlett, Maci Moore, Reagan Ockerman, Ashtyn Oney, Kaylee Robinson, Alyssa Stickler, Halle Swanagan, Rachel Tussey, Sarah Tussey, Jadien Waggoner, Makyla Waggoner
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The Morehead News and Journal-Times, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019
2019 H.S. Basketball Tourney Preview
West Carter Better than ever West Carter girls are stronger than ever. Three years ago, when Coach Aaron Rayburn took over as head coach, he was in a unique situation. His team consisted of three seniors, no juniors or sophomores and a dozen girls that were freshman or younger. Rayburn has had the chance to work with this year’s team for the last three years including this regular season. The chance to develop the same team for three years has increased the team’s ability to play as one. Their first year as a unit they averaged 51 points per game. They shot .368 from the field and .292 from outside the arch. They had three players, Allie Stone, Hannah Bear and Kallie Burchett, average double digits. Stone, a mere eighth grader, led the team with 12 points per game. Last season, the Lady Comets averaged 64.1 points per game. They shot .434 from the field and .334 from three-point range. Stone climbed to 17.1 points per game and the team welcome a new face
Morgan Berry. Berry gave the Lady Comets a little size a great rebounder and another 10.8 points and six rebounds. They finished the season 24-9 with a loss to Ashland Blazer in the 16th Region semifinals. The Lady Comets returned a full roster this season. They averaged 68.6 points per game, shot .464 from the field and .309 from threepoint range during the regular season. The Lady Comets defeated Ashland 63-52 and 62-57 to end the season after losing to them by eight in last year’s regional tournament. Allie Stone continued to climb the ladder. She averaged 20.4 points during the regular season. She ended the season with 593 points. In her first game, she joined the 1000-point club by scoring 40 points over their East Carter rivals. She shot 12for-16 from the field and 11for-12 from the free throw line. She has shot .528 from the field, .426 from outside the arch and .827 from the free throw line. She is 19th in scoring on the KHSAA scor-
ing leaderboard and 13th in free throws. Stone netted 77 points in the All A sectional across three games and 51 in the All A state across three games. Berry returned averaging 11.1 points and seven re-
bounds. Kallie Burchett broke back into a double digit averaging 10.7 points while Hannah Bear assumed her role as the point guard and play maker. Bear has averaged 7.9 points per game along with Becca Nolen who
has averaged the same. Bear became the first Lady Comets’ college commit since the early 2000s. She will continue her career with the Lady Knights at KCU.
See WEST on C-8
62nd District Girls Tournament WEST CARTER Feb. 20 6 p.m. West Carter Morgan County Feb. 22 7 p.m. West Carter
East Carter Feb. 20 7:30 p.m. Morgan County
Allie Stone gets off a shot during the Lady Comets’ quarter finals game at the All “A” State tournament.
Elliott County
A marked improvement
Comets hope to keep momentum rolling during postseason The West Carter Comets proved to be a scrappy unselfish team. Up from last year’s 9-19 finish, the Comets improved to 14-11 prior to last Friday night’s game against Bracken County. Last year’s team lacked experience where as this year’s team return all but Tanner Glancy. Ethan Adkins returned as the team’s lead point scorer. He averaged 10.9 points per game and 7.2 rebounds. Rodney Evans average 10.1 points. The Comets’ season came to an abrupt end with a loss to Morgan County in the first round of the district tournament, but this year’s Comets hoped to earn a trip back to the regional tournament. Braden Leadingham has improved from 7.9 points per game last season to 14.5 points per game. He has shot .541 from the floor and .303 from three-point range. He has scored 347 points prior to the Comets’ last game. Leadingham has led the team several times this season, however, the Comets are anything but a one-man band. Adkins and Evans have stayed consistent averaging 10.4 and 10.3 respectively. Adkins continued to be the
62nd District Boys Tournament Elliott County Feb. 18 7 p.m. West Carter Morgan County
East Carter
Feb. 21 7 p.m. West Carter
Feb. 19 7 p.m. West Carter WEST CARTER team’s warrior on the boards. He has improved to 7.8 rebounds per game. Tyson Webb improved 4.6 points per game to 10.4 points per game. But wait, there is more. The Comets’ success has truly come from a team effort. Playing nine to 10 deep each game, Evan Jordan has added 7.5 points per game, Trace Tackett has tallied 6.6 per game and Blake Skaggs netted another 6.4 a game. The Comets have played six games where over four of their players have broken into the double digits. They have played over half their games with three players scoring more than 10 points.
The Comets finished the season 3-3 in the district. They lost twice to Elliott County, this year’s regional favorite and once to their rivals at East in overtime, 4947. West Carter defeat East Carter 88-55 in the EKC tournament and 62-56 during the regular season. Braden Leadingham led the Comets in scoring all three nights with 20 in the EKC win, 19 the regular season victory, and 15
See COMETS on C-8 Braden Leadingham gets off a shot over Russell defenders.
2019 H.S. Basketball Tourney Preview
The Morehead News and Journal-Times, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019
PAGE C-5
GOOD LUCK WEST CARTER COMETS AND LADY COMETS
Members of the West Carter boys basketball team include Ethan Adkins, Trevor Callihan, Cade Carter, Dominick Dean, Rodney Evans, Nick James, Evan Jordan, Braden Leadingham, Devin Riley, Hunter Sammons, Blake Skaggs, Trace Tackett, Tyson Webb, and Ben Wilburn
Members of the WCHS girls basketball team include Ragan Adkins, Hannah Bear, Morgan Berry, Bre Boggs, Kallie Burchett, Kylie Gilliam, Madison Hanshaw, Baily Haynes, Hanna Henderson, Kara Jordan, Elizabeth Middleton, Becca Nolen, Kayleigh Rayburn, Peyton Steagall, Allie Stone, and Chyann Zeigler
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The Morehead News and Journal-Times, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019
2019 H.S. Basketball Tourney Preview
Rowan County
Looking forward Upstart Lady Vikings look for postseason success Rowan County Lady Vikings are looking for postseason redemption after falling short last season to Menifee County in the district finals. Rowan returned almost a full roster with the exception of Kammy Rose. The team’s growth, under the direction of first year head coach Matt Stokes, shocked 16th Region opponents. The Lady Vikings started the season 7-0. They beat West Carter in an overtime thriller during the EKC tour-
nament that really turned some heads. The Lady Vikings continued to win against big teams such as Casey County out of the 12th Region, and an undefeated Floyd County team in overtime of the 2A tournament. They lost by one point to Mercer County out of the 12th Region. Prior to last Friday’s game against Boyd County, the Lady Vikings were 20-8 having notched their 20th win against Nicholas County. As a team, they averaged
63.6 points per game, shot .384 from the field, .286 from three-point range and .657 from the free throw line. The Lady Vikings’ tenacity and speed upset opponent after opponent as they out ran and outlasted them. They used their fast tempo play to make teams uneasy and force turnover after turnover. They upset Ashland 65-55 during a home game after losing to the Lady Cats 67-33 during the 2017/2018 season and lost by only two posses-
Above, Members of the RCSHS girls basketball team include Haley Barnette, Ella Besant, Brooke Blevins, Grace Crisp, Faith Cross, Promise Cross, Haven Ford, Brittany Hamilton, Kelsey Lewis, Haley Makenzie, Angela Marcum, Kendall McDaniels, Kessaney Melton, Cassandra Parker, Shelby Ricer, Haley Roe, Helaina Rogers, Jada Rogers, Above, Hailey Rose shoots for three in the Hailey Rose, Bethany Lady Vikings’ last regular season home game. Sergent, Destiny UtBelow, Brooke Blevins drives to the basket in terback, and Rachel Whelan the Lady Vikings’ win over Nicholas County.
61st District Girls Tournament Fleming County Feb. 19 6 p.m. Rowan County ROWAN COUNTY
Bath County
Feb. 21 7 p.m. Rowan County
Feb. 19 8 p.m. Rowan County Menifee County sions to Russell who knocked the Lady Vikings out of last year’s regional tournament by a 20-point margin. The Lady Vikings had sev-
eral members step up to accomplish such a successful regular season.
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2019 H.S. Basketball Tourney Preview
The Morehead News and Journal-Times, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019
PAGE C-7
Rowan County
Pining for a repeat
Above, Mason Moore gets off a shot in between Bath County defenders. Right, Brady Madden lays in one off the backboard in the Vikings’ win over Bath County.
61st District Boys Tournament Menifee County Feb. 18 6 p.m. Rowan County
Vikings look for fifth straight district title
ROWAN COUNTY
Bath County
Feb. 20 7 p.m. Rowan County
Feb. 18 8 p.m. Rowan County Fleming County
Rowan County boys’ basketball (23-4) look to repeat as 61st District Champions after a great regular season. The Vikings got off to an excellent start. They won their first 14 games before falling to 62nd District opponent Morgan County, 4946, in the first round of the
2A sectional. The Vikings had no idea what to expect from the upcoming season. Their only returning varsity starter was Brady Madden. Madden averaged 11.5 points and eight rebounds. Madden had come in big for the Vikings’ postseason. He
scored 42 points and pulled down 16 rebounds across two games during the 16th Region tournament. This year Madden has consistently been in the double digits for the Vikings. He decided to leave his
See VIKINGS on C-8
Members of the RCSHS boys basketball team include Chase Alderman, Cody Collins, Will Cox, Devin Davidson, Zeke Ferguson, Tyler Gamble, Bradley Gardner, Nathan Goodpaster, Grant Holbrook, Jordan Justice, Brady Madden, Joseph Mansfield, Dilan Maxey, Mason Moore, Hunter Reisenbigler, Ray Sturgill, and Kellen Tabor
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themoreheadnews.com & journal-times.com, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019
2019 H.S. Basketball Tourney Preview
Comets from C-4
East from C-2 Alyssa Stickler had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds in the second game versus Elliott. The Lady Raiders’ kryptonite has been their rivals at West Carter. The Lady Comets are defending their title as 62nd District champions. Similar to last year, the Lady Raiders have inched closer to defeating their rivals as the season wore on. The Lady Raiders took it as far as pushing the last year’s final seed game to overtime and last year’s district finals to double overtime before falling short. This season, the Lady Raiders lost by 44 points, 88-44, in the season opener against the Lady Comets. They were able to cut it to 10 points during the first seed game by cutting Allie Stone’s 40 points in the season opener to 17 during the second en-
counter. The Lady Raiders continued to progress as the season wore on. They almost edge out Rowan County leading up to the last week of regular season. They fell two possessions shy, 58-54, after coming back from a 10point deficit to tie the Lady Vikings, 49-49, in the fourth. They also toppled a strong Menifee County team by outscoring them 8051. Campbell dropped 10 three-pointers for a total off 32 point on the game. She shot 10-for-14 from threepoint range. The Lady Raiders take on Elliott County tonight at 7:30 p.m. following the West Carter versus Morgan game at 6 p.m. The winners of both games will face off for the championship Friday at West Carter’s John “Hop” Brown Court. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
in the overtime loss. The Comets faced East Carter Tuesday night on their home floor to decide who was going to move on to the finals. The winner of Tuesday night’s
game continued on to play the winner of Monday night’s Elliott County vs Morgan County game. The finals tip off Thursday at 7 p.m. on West Carter’s John “Hop” Brown Court.
Right, Ethan Adkins gathers a ball for the shot in the Comets’ win over Russell. Below, Hannah Bear drives past a Bath County defender in the All “A” Region championship.
Above, Taylor Hall fights past the block to get off a shot during the Lady Raiders’ game at Rowan County. Right, Ethan Miller looks to the rim during a home game this season.
West from C-4
Raiders from C-2 bounds. Treven Tussey came in big scoring 12 points and Adams tabbed another 13 to out last the Comets. Their streak came to an end with a loss to Boyd County, but loss only makes the Raiders stronger. They ended their season turning the 58-45 loss into a 65-58 win to end the regular season. They defeated Rowan County with Jordan Brooks scoring a buzzer
beater to knock the Vikings off their pedestal as part of their four-game streak to end the regular season. The Raiders took on West Carter in a Tuesday night game to see who would advance to Friday’s finals and a trip to the regional tournament. Both teams fell shy of the regional tournament last season. The Raiders lost 63-53 in the first round of the district to Elliott County.
The Lady Comets felt an early upset while defending their title as EKC champions. They lost to Rowan County 67-64 in overtime. The loss only fired up the Lady Comets’ spirit. They returned from defeat to deliver Rowan their first loss of the season, 84-74, in late December. Stone and Nolen each tallied 23 points during the upset. Nolen with 10 rebounds secured her first double-double. They defeated tough 15th Region opponents Johnson Central and Shelby Valley during the Mr. Mirco Computer Ohio River Classic. They knocked another 15th Region opponent Paintsville out of the All State by beating them 58-39 at EKU McBrayer arena.
They finally broke through a quarter final barrier at the All “A” State by beating Berea out of the 11th Region but fell to Walter Verona in the semis. Burchett assisted the Lady Comets to victory over Berea scoring 16 points. The Lady Comets were 6-0 in the district seeding to secure the first seed. They play Morgan County tonight to advance to the finals. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. followed by the East Carter versus Elliott County game. The winner of tonight’s game will play the winner of the East Carter versus Elliott County game. The Lady Comets beat Morgan County 65-52 during the regular season. Stone scored 27 points and had nine rebounds. East beat Elliott twice during the regular season.
Rowan from C-6 Angela Marcum started the season with double-doubles in three of the Lady Vikings’ first four games. Marcum scored 15 points and 14 rebounds in the season opener, 16 points and 15 rebounds in the first district won over Bath County and another 15 points and 14 rebounds in the EKC championship. Marcum returned last season after suffering an ACL tear her sophomore year. She averaged 10.2 points and 6 rebounds per game. This season Marcum has averaged 11.3 points per game and just shy of ten rebounds per game. She has had a double-double in 10 games prior to sitting out the
last couple of weeks due to an ankle injury. Marcum had a season’s best of 20 points in the Greenup County game and 16 rebounds in the game against Mercer. She is the team’s only senior. Promise Cross returned as the team’s lead scorer having averaged 13.4 points and 7.2 rebounds. Cross led the Vikings for the first half of the season. She scored 15 points in the season opener and 49 points across three games in the EKC tournament. Cross has averaged 13.3 points and 6.5 rebound and had season high of 24 points in the game against Ashland.
Brooke Blevins has been a shocking addition to the Lady Vikings offensive unit. Coach Stokes will say it a thousand times, Blevins is their best on the ball defender. Blevins has caused havoc for their opponents’ offense. She took on the tough assignment of guarding Allie Stone during the EKC championship victory. She had consistently broken into double digits during the first half of the season, but sky rocketed during the 2A tournament. She scored 23 points during the Floyd County overtime win and 15 in the sectional finals. She assisted the Lady Vikings in toppling
Glasgow in the first round of the 2A State with 26 points. She averaged 10.2 points during the regular season. Haven Ford is another Lady Vikings whose improvements can’t go without notice. Only an eighth grader, Ford has assumed a leadership position. Ford’s knowledge of the game and ability to handle the ball put her in position to run the Lady Vikings’ offense, but her ability to knock down threes and free throws has carried her to the team’s lead scorer. She averaged 16.5 points per game and 5 rebounds. She had five 20-point games and fallen shy by one re-
bound of a double-double a few times this season. Ford is a 34.1 percent three-point shooter and an 86.3 percent free throw shooter. Her free thrown shooting puts her among the top ten free throw shooters in the state, according the KHSAA leaderboards. The Lady Vikings have also had the privilege of playing nine to 10 deep. Shelby Ricer and Hailey Rose have both put in over 100 points this season. Rose has locked in her three-point shooting for the post season. She is a 31.4 percent three-point shooter having netted 35 threes during the regular season.
proved player. Davidson went from averaging 1.7 points to averaging 11 points during the regular season. Davidson shot .518 from the field and .430 from outside the arch. He has netted 103 baskets, 34 of them from three-point range. The addition of Mason Moore, a transfer from Paintsville, was no surprise asset. Moore averaged 17.4 points, shot .474 from the floor and pulled down six rebounds per game for the Tigers.
He has averaged 19.9 points and 7.6 rebounds. He has scored more than 20 points in 15 of the Vikings 27 regular season games. Moore had a season’s best of 37 points against Bath County. He shot 14-for-17 from the floor, 82.4 percent. He tallied four threes and went 5-for-6 from the line. Moore led the team with the best floor percentages. He shot .566 from the field, .479 from three and 87.7 from the free throw line.
Moore’s free throw percentage puts him 5th on the KHSAA leaderboard. He is 43rd on the top scorers list. As a team, Rowan is seventh in three-point field goals, seventh in free throws and 23rd in field goals. The Vikings have averaged 60.7 points per game, shot .501 from the field and .402 from three-point range. The Vikings swept the district seeding, 6-0. They improved upon a 76-70 win over Bath to 62-37 win over the
Wild Cats in the second to last week of the regular season. They turned a 60-57 win over Menifee County into a 66-39 win. The Vikings have cracked down on rebounding and their defense in order to prepare for the post season. They faced Menifee in the first round of the district. The win of Monday night’s game will play the winner of the Bath versus Fleming County tonight at Rowan County. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
Vikings from C-7 mark on senior night with 17 point and 13 rebounds in the win over Bath County. He averaged 12.2 points for the regular season. The Vikings also return Will Cox and Devin Davidson. Cox took over as the Vikings’ point replacing Clay Sizemore. Cox went from averaging 2.5 points across 32 games to averaging 5.1 during the regular season. Devin Davidson is debatably the Vikings’ most im-