By GREG MCINTOSH

Times Reporter

 

It was a game to remember.

Last Friday, Powell County faced off against Estill County at the Rodney T. Clark Memorial Gymnasium. The game proved to be well worth the price of admission, as the Pirates and the Engineers battled in one of the year’s best games.

The first quarter was fast and furious, as the Pirates pounded the ball inside against the Engineers. Estill County’s defense rose to the occasion and they lead by one point at the end of the first period. The second quarter was a defensive struggle as neither team could take the lead by more than two points. Estill County led at the half 28 – 26. The third period was a carbon copy of the second as the game was tied five times. Morgan Reed hit a three pointer late in the quarter to put Powell County in front 42 -40 after three quarters.

The fourth quarter was a dozy Kenton Roberts of Estill County and Reed of Powell County each hit two three pointers in the quarter. Powell led by two points with less than 30 seconds to play, but Estill’s Roberts scored to tie the game and sent it to overtime.

Overtime was just as exciting. Both teams held the lead briefly. The score was tied at 70 with only five seconds to play and it looked like another overtime was to follow. Powell County inbounded the ball to Reed in the backcourt. Reed drove the ball up the left side of the floor for a last second shot, as he approached mid-court, he was bumped by Estill’s Roberts and a foul was called. Reed stepped to the line with only 1.4 seconds remaining and drained both free throws. The Engineers got off a desperation shot at the buzzer but it was just short. Powell County escaped with the 72-70 victory.

Powell County was led in scoring by Morgan Reed with 21 points, Carlisle Creech had 14 points, Donovan Nolan had 12 points, Jacob Conner had 12 points and Christian Brewer had 11 points. Ryan Goodwin scored two points and Austin Monnett scored one point for the Pirates.

“I am very proud of our effort tonight and all of our starters scored in double figures,” Head Coach Brian Hall said after the Pirates victory. “Estill County has really improved and both teams gave their best effort out on the floor tonight,” Hall said. Estill County was led by Kenton Roberts with 26 points and Devin Doty with 14 points. Powell went to 3-0 in district play.

The Pirates spent last Saturday night on the road traveling to Knott County Central to play the Patriots. Knott Central is coached by former Powell County coach Dave Fraley and they are one of the favorites to win the 14th Region title. Powell County was coming off an emotional win against Estill County the night before and a long bus ride. The Pirates once again started off slowly and trailed 47-26 at halftime. The second half was a little better for the Pirates but Knott Central cruised to an 89-64 victory.

 Powell County was led in scoring by Christian Brewer with 25 points and Carlisle Creech with 13 points. Jacob Conner had seven points, Trey Marcum had five points, Austin Monnett scored five points and Donovan Nolan scored three points. Morgan Reed, Joe Scott and Ryan Goodwin had two points each in the loss. 

The Powell Pirates traveled to Wolfe County last Monday to take on the Wolves in what used to be one of the most heated rivalries in Eastern Kentucky. Five years ago, Wolfe County moved to the 55th District and things now are a lot more civil between the two teams.

The Pirates again started off slow on the road trailing 20-17 after the first quarter. The Wolves led by six points midway through the second quarter but the Pirates began bombing three pointers and went on an 18-3 run to take the lead 43-34 at the halftime break.

The Pirates lead was short lived. Wolfe County outscored the Pirates 15-3 to start the third quarter. The Wolves led after three quarters 61-59. The game was close with only four minutes remaining Wolfe County led 67-65. and the Pirates went stone cold. Powell County could only manage six more points in the final four minutes and Wolfe County won going away 85-71.

The Pirates were led in scoring by Morgan Reed with 20 points, Donovan Nolan with 17 points and Christian Brewer with 15 points. Jacob Conner had 4 points and Austin Monnett, Henry Parks and Joe Scott each had 2 points in the Pirates losing effort.  Wolfe County was led in scoring by eighth grader Trenton Gilbert who had 24 points. 

The Pirates record goes to 10 – 5 for the season. They will be back in action Friday night at Menifee County.

By James Cook, Times Editor

The Powell County Pirates ended 2009 winning five games in a row, including the Red River Classic Championship. The Pirates were hoping to start 2010 hot as well, but Mother Nature had a different plan. The snow and cold weather forced last week’s games to be canceled. The Pirates finally got to take the court last Tuesday against, 56th District rival, the Owsley County Owls. Both teams started out as cold as the weather in the first quarter. Powell led 16-15 after one quarter. The Pirates got a big lift in the first quarter by Henry Parks, who scored six points off the Pirate bench. The second quarter was back and forth with neither team able to seize control of the game. Powell County held a one point lead at halftime over the Owls. 

Whatever Powell Head Coach Brian Hall said to his team at the halftime break worked in the third quarter, the Pirates outscored the Owls 25 – 14. The Pirate point guard, Carlisle Creech, controlled the game in the third quarter. Creech scored ten quick points and the Owls had to change their defense to try to stop him, which opened up the inside for the Pirates. 

Powell held a 12 point lead going into the fourth quarter, but the Owls were not finished. Owsley cut the Pirate lead to four points midway through the fourth quarter. The Pirates continued to make big shots and held on to win 79-71. 

Powell was led in scoring by Carlisle Creech with 26 points, Christian Brewer with 19 points and Jacob Conner had 14 points. Donovan Nolan chipped in nine points, Henry Parks had six points and Morgan Reed had five points for the victorious Pirates. 

Owsley County was led by Devan Evans who had 26 points in a losing effort for the Owls. Powell County’s record improved to 9-2 overall and 2-0 in district play. 

Last Friday, the Pirates traveled to Cordia to face off against the Lions. Cordia was out to avenge a nine point loss to the Pirates on Dec. 4. The Pirates never really got it going against the Lions in the first half and trailed 29-15 at the break. Powell cut the lead to eight points after the third quarter, but could not get close enough in the fourth quarter. The Pirates fell to the Lions by the final score of 61-56. 

Powell was led in scoring by Christian Brewer with 22 points and Carlisle Creech had 20 points. Morgan Reed had eight points, Donovan Nolan two points, Jacob Conner two points and Matt Pelfrey had one point for the Pirates. 

The Pirates record heading into the second half of January stands at 9-3. Powell was in action on Monday at Wolfe County and on Friday will be at home against the Estill County Engineers.

By James Cook, Times Editor

The Powell County Lady Pirates finally got to hit the hardwoods again following all the snow and bad roads. They hosted the Lady Owls of Owsley County. And though they started out a little cold, things heated up as Powell rolled to the 61-46 win last Friday night.

The two teams just sort of tried to get back into the swing of things early on. Powell looked a little rusty, but was able to jump out to a 31-20 halftime lead after warming up. The second half became more heated.

The Lady Owls took advantage of the Lady Pirates lack of playing time over the past two weeks. The visitors outscored Powell 18-17 in the third quarter. But Powell still held a commanding lead and tempers began to flare. 

A technical foul was called on Owsley’s Ashlea Allen after a hard foul on Powell’s Meghan Mays a pushing match ensued. Later in the final frame another technical was called, this time on Owsley Coach Paul Green. The Lady Pirates took advantage of the emotions and won going away, 61-46.

Powell Coach Ken Jones noticed the difference in this game and the one played in Booneville earlier this season. “A lot different from the double-overtime game in Booneville. I thought the girls did a great job after a two-week layoff from games due to the weather,” he said. “They worked hard in practice to stay sharp, everybody contributed. Taylor (Atkinson) did a good job running the floor; Meghan (Mays) and Kelly (Gibson) played tough defense, and Kelly pulled in 10 rebounds.”

Powell’s inside game was strong too. “Stevie (Rogers) had 25 points to lead us in scoring, Kendra (McFarland) had another double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds, and the subs did a good job coming off the bench,” Jones added. “Now we’ve got to keep the momentum going with four games both this week and next.”

Powell was led by Rogers with 25 and McFarland with 21. The Lady Pirates improved to 6-1-4, 2-0 in district play. Owsley was led by Peyton Wright with 18 and Mika Turner with 17 points. The Lady Owls fell to 6-6 and 1-2 in the district.

On Monday Powell hit the road to play the Wolfe County Lady Wolves. Rogers and McFarland each scored 23 points apiece to pace the Powell team to a 83-55 victory. The JV Lady Pirates beat their Wolfe County counterparts 50-25 thanks to a 12 point performance by eighth grader Erica Rogers. They are now 4-0.

Powell traveled to Knott Central on Tuesday. They return home to play Estill tonight (Thursday) and will host West Jessamine on Saturday.

 

Times Reporter Kayla Mays contributed to this story.

 

By James Cook, Times Editor

 

The Powell County Pirates defended their home court and claimed the 2009 Red River Classic championship, but they did with some suspect defense. Thank goodness their offense was clicking, especially from three point range. Led by a stellar three game performance by tourney MVP Christian Brewer and a much needed spark from the bench by Henry Parks, Powell held on to beat Owsley. The Pirates squandered a 12 point lead with four minutes to play to top the Owls, 82-75.

Powell entered the championship game after beating Jackson County (78-68) and Magoffin County (69-66) to take on an Owsley squad that upended Greenup County (61-58) in the semi-finals. The Owls had seen Brewer’s three point range and applied pressure early. The result was some early misfiring by him, but Morgan Reed picked it up and connected on a trio of treys in the first quarter. The Owls were not daunted by the display and led 21-20 after one period.

The second quarter was a shootout. Both sides traded shots and the lead, at least six times. Owsley grabbed a 28-27 lead, and then the Pirates ran up the sails and went to war. Brewer added two baskets with slicing moves through the lane, Reed followed suit and Donovan Nolan battled inside for a bucket to give Powell a 36-28 lead with under a minute to play before halftime.

The Owls would not give up. Behind the strong inside play of Timmy Murrell and the outside shooting of Justin Thompson, Owsley showed why they are considered by some to be the favorite to win the 56th District.  In less than 40 seconds, the Owls tied the game as the horn sounded, to make it 36-36.

In the second half Powell came out on fire, but the Owls answered quickly. The schools were still tied at the halfway point of the third period. The Pirates had chances to extend their lead, but too many missed chances and the defense was falling behind as Owlsey’s fast break kept them in the game. Powell led 58-57 entering the final frame.

That trend seemed to continue in the final frame early.  Enter Henry Parks. Parks added a spark to the team late in the third quarter with hustle on defense and rebounding. That spark jolted the Pirates offense as well. Carlisle Creech began nailing three pointers, Reed was hitting again from outside, then Brewer found his range again. Powell extended their lead to 74-62 when Austin Monnett came off the bench to score his only points of the game, a dead-on nothing but net three pointer with 4:10 to play in the game.

The Owls fought back. Murrell and Thompson were joined by Tyler Williams, Devan Evans and Marcus Peters as they began a mad rush to catch up. The three’s were falling at first, but then the Owls soaring effort fell short. Powell held on to beat their district counterparts, 82-75. The Pirates claimed the championship for the second time in the tournaments three year history.

Owsley did have a balanced attack with five starters in double figures. Murrell, Evans and Williams each scored 16 points. Peters tossed in 13 and Johnson chipped in 11. The Owls fell to 3-5 and took home the second place honors.

Powell, who is now 8-2 and on a five game winning streak, was led by Brewer with a quiet, yet effective 34 points. Reed poured in 19 and Creech added 14 to the victory. Seven Pirates scored in the game. The free throw line was not too friendly. Powell went 7-for-17, a cool 41 percent; Owsley was 18-of-23 for a much warmer 78 percent.

Powell will now host district foe, Lee County on Friday and travel to Letcher Central on Saturday. The Pirates will be back home on Tuesday, Jan. 12 and hit the road again on Jan. 15 to play Cordia. Powell will host Estill in a showdown on Jan. 22.

By James Cook, Times Editor

The Powell County Lady Pirates had a rough start to the Christmas holiday, but ended up being pretty merry about it as they took part in the Letcher Central Lady Cougars Christmas Classic last week. Powell fell to the host team in the first round, but rebounded with wins the next two games.

The tournament opened with Powell and Letcher Central kicking it off. But the Lady Cougars took advantage of some missed open shots by Powell to open a 10 point lead. Letcher led 24-14 after one quarter and never looked back. The Lady Cougars rolled on to a 75-57 win. Powell was led by Stevie Rogers with 16 points. Senior Kendra McFarland and eighth grader Keeley Rogers each added 10 points to the cause.

“The first quarter a disaster, we missed five or six wide open layups to start the game and let their freshman point guard Kelah Eldridge get 14 points on us,” Coach Ken Jones said. “After that first quarter, we adjusted and played pretty even with them the rest of the way. We pulled to within six late, but then a couple of turnovers let them pull away again.  One bright spot was our bench scoring, this was the first time that an opponent’s reserves outscored the Lady Cougars,” he added, “We got them by 27-16.”

The next matchup pitted Powell against June Buchanan. Powell jumped out to a 40-27 halftime lead, but then had to hold on for the victory. The Lady Pirates had to overcome some serious foul trouble, with four starters getting at least four fouls called on them. The Lady Crusaders tied the game at 50-50 late in the third quarter, but a spark provided by Keeley Rogers helped to push Powell to a win.

Rogers scored 10 of her 12 points in the final frame. Powell was able to hold on, despite being an underdog in the contest, to win 77-73. McFarland led Powell scorers with 20 points and Stevie Rogers added 17. Nine Lady Pirates scored in the game.

“It was a good thing we got the big lead early (13 point advantage at the half),” Jones remarked about the June Buchanan game. “Our foul trouble, four starters with four fouls each, forced us to change a few things on what we wanted to do defensively and they tied us at 50-50 just before the end of the third.  Eighth grader Keeley Rogers scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to help us keep the upset win over the Lady Crusaders.” 

June Buchanan was rated above Powell in the pre-season rankings and were a “20 point favorite according to some internet ‘experts’,” Jones said.  “Their 6’1” forward Maris Hovee is rated the second-best player in the 14th Region, and she burned us for 31 points, 22 coming in the second half.  Their free throws also kept the game close, as they hit 29 of their 44 attempts.  We had an off night at the line, making only 14 of 24. Kendra McFarland was six of six on free throws to give her 20 points and 10 rebounds on the night.  Stevie Rogers also had a good scoring night, with her 17.”

The final game of the tournament for Powell placed them against a 15th Region perennial powerhouse in Shelby Valley. Powell trailed only once in the game, when Shelby Valley’s Brooke Coleman hit a three pointer from the mid-court line at the horn to go up 17-15 at the end of the first quarter. From there it was all Powell, as the Lady Pirates cruised to 72-59 victory.

Powell was led by Stevie Rogers with 30 points and 10 boards. McFarland tossed in 26 and grabbed eight rebounds in the game. As Powell improved to 4-2 on the season.

“Stevie and Kendra went to war in the second quarter, with Rogers scoring 10 and McFarland nine to give us a six point lead at the half,” Jones said. “We stretched that to 17 in the fourth quarter and held on for the second upset in as many nights to take second place in the tournament. Shelby Valley is rated third in the 15th Region.  We had a good night inside as Stevie had 30 points and 10 rebounds, while Kendra had 26 points and eight rebounds.”

The point guard play of Taylor Atkinson, earned her a spot on the all-tournament team. McFarland and Stevie Rogers were also named to the team. Jones knows that the team and those three played exceptionally hard, but he is also clear on who the most valuable player for his team was during the tournament.

“Our most valuable player was our bench, the reserves scored 59 points in 3 nights,” Jones beamed. We could well have finished fourth without them.”

The Lady Pirates will take part in the Villa Madonna Tournament this week, before hosting Lee County on Monday (Jan. 4). Powell will then travel to Estill County next Thursday for another district showdown. They will then host Bath County next Saturday night.

By James Cook,  News Editor

Sure, most fans believed it may be a close game when the Lady Pirates traveled to Owsley County last week. But for those who doubted it, the double overtime win probably changed their minds.

Both teams seem to take turns trying to control the game, but a put back by Meghan Mays at the end of regulation helped to tie the game. Kelly Gibson nailed a charity toss to send the game into a second OT. But a combination of starters and bench players like Taylor Atkinson, Lyndsey Roe and Erica Rogers, helped Powell to overcome the Lady Owls late to win a thriller, 82-73

 “A lot of heroes in this game of basketball in Booneville. Meghan Mays’put back at the end of regulation and Kelly Gibson’s free throw to tie the score at 71 with very little time left in the first overtime, plus Taylor Atkinson scoring all five of her points in the second overtime,” an impressed and relieved Powell Coach Ken Jones remarked after the game as he reflected on the battle. “Kendra McFarland’s 28 points and 11 rebound, eight grader Erica Rogers coming off the bench to score 13 point and Stevie Rogers’ 12 points before fouling out; add that to Lyndsey Roe’s calm against the press and hitting both free throws in the second overtime. Then for Owsley County, Micah Turner’s scoring 28 of her 36 points in the second half.  The list goes on and on, so you can’t single out one player for the Lady Pirates for credit in winning their first district game of the season.  I’m proud of them all for a total team effort.” Powell improves to 2-1.

Powell was led by McFarland with 28 points. Erica Rogers’ 13 and Stevie Rogers 12, along with Mays 11 rounded out the double digit scorers for Powell. Owsley was led by Turner with a game high 36 points.

Powell is currently playing this week in the Lady Cougar Christmas Classic at Letcher Central. They are slated to play the home team first, followed by June Buchanan and then Shelby Valley. Next week they will take to the road again to play in the Villa Madonna Holiday Tournament.

 

Pirates top Lee with  last second shot

The girls win just added to the Powell excitement as the Pirates came up with a last second shot victory over Lee County last week in Beattyville.

Powell’s Carlisle Creech hit an unbelievable shot under the basket, while heavily guarded, to propel the Pirates to a 52-51 win. The Pirates faithful rushed floor like the shot had won the regional title. 

Powell had led thorough most of the contest, enjoying a lead at the end of each of the first three quarters. Holding a 10 point advantage entering the final frame, 47-37, Powell looked poised for the win. 

But Lee fought back. The Bobcats outscored Powell 14-5 in the period. The home team held a 51-50 lead with just seconds to play before Creech hit the game winner.

Powell was led by Christian Brewer with 18 points. Morgan Reed poured in 14 and Creech nailed down 11 points in the victory. Powell improves to 4-2.

Coach Brian Hall hopes the excitement will carry over as Powell will once again play host to the Red River Classic. That tournament is scheduled to begin on Dec. 28 and run through Dec. 30.

The PCMS basketball teams saw action at home this past Thursday.  Their opposition was Clark-Moore of Richmond.   

Seventh grade was the only victorious Powell County team for the night.  They beat the Braves 36-29.  

Hot-handed Brad Smith was definitely the force behind the win as he led the team with 18 points.  He connected for 4-of-6 threes, a blistering 66 percent, and was 6-of-8 shooting free throws, a hot 75 percent. Derrick Robinson did his part scoring nine points and Jordan Neace certainly contributed by pulling down seven rebounds.  

In eighth grade action the Braves jumped out to an early lead.  The scoreboard at the end of the first quarter showed the home team down 14-7.  The Pirates stepped up their game to pull within four points at the half, 26-22.  In spite of a double-double, 13 points and 14 rebounds, by Brett Goodwin, that was as close as the Pirates got to the lead.  

Hunter Martin put seven points on the score board and Matt Brooks added four. Powell attempted to catch up by shooting three pointers but to no avail for they could only connect on one of 13 treys. 

On the flip side Clark Moore’s successful 3 point barrage, hitting seven treys and their free throw shooting accounted for the final score of 48-33.  The Braves had nine players to put points on the board.  Although Powell’s defense worked hard, the even scoring made it difficult to compete.   Malik Guidry was the Brave’s lead scorer with 12 points.  

Powell’s sixth grade also suffered a loss, 38-18.  Again even scoring by the Braves made it difficult for the Pirates to even keep the game close.  Eight of the Clark Moore team contributed points.  High scorer for the home team was Kory Freeman with eight.  Close behind was Dalton Dawson with seven points.  Nathan Brooks pulled down seven rebounds.  

Congratulations to the seventh grade Pirates for the win.  The sixth and eighth grade Pirates will now pick themselves up, dust themselves off and get after it when the holidays are over.

 

By James Cook, Times Editor

 

The Lady Pirates were hoping to get some attention in the 14th Region when they hosted the three-time defending champion Breathitt County last Friday night. For a while it looked like they were about to make some noise. But behind the steady play of arguably the best guard in the region in Kendall Noble and with a second half  spurt by Tori Shouse, the Lady Kats held on to pull away with a 60-45 win.

The two teams played a close game throughout the first half. But Breathitt never relinquished the lead after Courtney Fugate hit a layup early to make it 8-6. The Lady Kats jumped out to a seven point advantage, but Powell kept it close. Senior Kendra McFarland battled inside, scoring on several tough plays and drawing fouls on the bigger Breathitt front line. But Breathitt’s larger team was also a little faster, as they held a 23-21 advantage at the half.

The game remained close as the two teams traded shots in the third quarter. But that is when Shouse began to put on a clinic. With Breathitt’s defense shutting down most of Powell’s offensive weapons, with exception to McFarland, Shouse began to hit some shots.  The visitors slowly began to pull away and led after three quarters 39-32.

The final frame was all Breathitt. Behind Shouse and Noble, the Lady Kats outscored Powell 21-9 in the final eight minutes. Powell tried to keep it close, but Breathitt’s defense began to dominate taking away the passing lanes and controlling the boards. The Lady Kats hit 15-of-25 free throws which equaled 60 percent in the game. Powell was 14-of-19 for 45 percent. The end result was a Breathitt County 60-45 victory.

Breathitt was led by Shouse with 24 points, 18 of those came in the second half. Noble tossed in 20 points and Leslie Spencer chipped in 10. Powell was led by McFarland with a game high 30 points, 12 came from the charity stripe. She was the only Lady Pirate to reach double figures.

“I thought we played well enough to win the game..take away the two third quarter  three’s by Shouse and get a couple of walking calls, and we would have been in position to win,” Powell coach Ken Jones said. “The girls played really hard, and I’m proud of them.  If we can sustain that effort, we’ll do well come tournament time.”

In the JV game it was all Powell County. The Lady Pirates younger team used a pressure defense and a balanced scoring attack to beat Breathitt County 54-25. Powell was led by Keely Rogers with 18 points. Six other Lady Pirates made the scoring column.

The Lady Pirates will take to the road this week. This past Monday night they opened district play at Owsley County. They will host West Jessamine on Friday. Game times are 6 and 7:30 p.m.

 

By James Cook, Time Editor

 

Powell looks like a different team this year. They have opened with a 3-1 record after beating Richmond Model, 73-69 last Tuesday. So the Pirates welcomed in the Bracken County Polar Bears last Saturday in hopes of picking up another early season win. But the Polar Bears ended up making the Christmas season a good one for them and a silent night for Powell. Bracken’s guard duo of Dylan Hamilton and Devin Workman combined for 35 points as they topped Powell, 68-42.

The first quarter was like a prize fight, as both sides exchanged basket after basket. There were eight lead changes in the first eight minutes of play. Christian Brewer, Morgan Reed and Jacob Conner led the way as Powell held a 16-14 lead after the first quarter ended. That trend continued until Carlisle Creech hit a driving one handed layup to pull close at 24-22 with 3:36 to play in the half.

It was all Bracken County after that.

The Polar Bears went on a 12-0 run as Workman led the assault scoring seven of those points. By the time the horn sounded for the intermission, the visitors held a commanding 36-22 lead.

The second half was all Bracken County. They jumped out to a 20 point lead before Powell got back into the scoring column. Bracken’s size, speed and control of the boards took control of the game. Despite a valiant effort, Powell could not catch up. The Pirates brought in two different groups of substitutes throughout the fourth quarter to give them some experience. The game was decided early in the final frame, as Bracken rolled to the 68-42 win.

Bracken (4-1) was led by Workman with a game high 21 points. Hamilton poured in 14 and Todd Jefferson added 10 for the visitors. Nine players scored for the visitors.

Powell was led by Creech with 13 points and Brewer with 12. Seven Pirates scored in the game. Powell connected on 11-of-25 shots from the field for 44 percent and hit only 6-of -22 shots from three point range for a cool 27 percent. But they were 2-of-4 from the free throw line. One stat that must have concerned the Pirates coaching staff was rebounds. Powell pulled down only 21 rebounds in the game.

Powell now goes to 3-2 on the season and traveled to Lee County this past Tuesday. Powell will travel to Campton to play the Wolfe County Wolves on Friday. The Pirates will be returning home on Dec. 22 as they host Berea.

By James Cook, Times Editor

It did not come easy, but the Lady Pirates opened their season with a big win. Powell played a larger Jackson County team, but a double threat inside made up of Kendra McFarland and Stevie Rogers made the difference. Powell captured a 51-42 win.

The Lady Pirates spent most of the first quarter playing catch up as the Lady Generals’ Jessica Bowling and Jessica Lanagin came ready to play. The visitors took advantage of their size and good ball  movement to take a 13-8 lead. The Lady Pirates fought back in the second quarter by going on a 9-2 run. Megan Boswell tied the game with a baseline jumper and Rogers helped her team take the lead with a steal and a layup. Powell now held a 17-15 lead and held on to enjoy a 22-18 advantage at the half.

The second half became an old fashioned barn burner. Jackson picked up the pace early in the third quarter. A put back shot by Megan Carpenter and a 10 foot jumper by Chelsea Cunigan put the Lady Generals ahead 24-22. But Powell’s Meghan Mays nailed a three pointer, the defensive specialist’s only points of the night, gave the Lady Pirates back the lead at 25-24.

Powell extended that lead to six points, 34-28, but missed free throws and turnovers forced by physical play, gave the visitors some life. Jackson County regained the lead at the buzzer when Lanagin popped a trey to  give the Lady Generals a 35-34 lead going into the final frame.

The first five minutes of the fourth quarter was like a prize fight, with both sides standing toe-to-toe and trading points. McFarland and Rogers continued to make their shots inside, as Kelly Gibson added a much needed jumper. Taylor Atkinson then nailed four-of-five free throws down the stretch, as foul trouble depleted the Jackson County lineup. Powell grabbed the 51-42 win.

McFarland and Rogers each poured in 18 points. Seven Lady Pirates got into the scoring column, including eighth grader Tristan Curtis who came in and added a much needed spark in the second half. Powell was 16-of-27 from the charity stripe for 59 percent. That included an unofficial 10-for-11 streak in the fourth quarter to seal the victory. The Lady Generals were led by Bowling with 15 points in the losing cause.

“Kendra McFarland’s 18 points broke the 1,500 point career total mark for her.  Kendra’s been a key player for us since her middle school days,” Powell coach Ken Jones said after the game.” I hope we can have a very successful season for her in her final year, as well as for the other seniors.  They’ve accomplished a lot, and we want them to go out on a winning note.”  

As for the keys to the game, Jones was pleased in at least one area of the Lady Pirates play. “ Clutch free throws, hitting 9 of 10 in the last quarter, pulled us through, but poor shooting from outside all night ( 1 for 11 on 3’s) against Jackson County’s zone almost did us in,” he said.  “I don’t know if it was opening night jitters or what, but we didn’t knock down the shots that we normally hit. We’ve got to improve on that, and on setting the pace of the game.  We wanted a much faster tempo than the way it played out.  The Lady Generals had two games under their belt coming in, and that experience helped them.” 

Jones hopes the team got those “jitters” out of their system. “We’re young and we’re learning, so we’ll have a much better performance next time out,” he added. “We’d better, with three time defending champion and top-rated Breathitt County coming in Friday night.”

The JV Lady Pirates had no problem with their Jackson County counterparts. Powell jumped out to a 32-0 lead, with the Lady Generals only scoring four points in the first half. Powell rolled to the 59-14 win behind 17 points from Erica Rogers. Stephanie Knox came off the bench to pour in 15 and Keely Rogers tossed in 11, as the eighth grade trio led the way.

Powell will play the Lady Cats on Friday. Game time is set for 6 and 7:30 p.m. After a road trip to play Owsley County on Monday, they will return home to host West Jessamine on Dec. 18.