Bowling Green wins the Girls 4th Region Championship for the fourth year in a row

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - The Bowling Green Lady Purples won the 4th Region Tournament Championship for the fourth year in a row after beating Barren County 59-37. The Lady Purples are the first team ever, in the 4th region, to win four straight region titles. It’s also their fifth title in the last six years.

“Every time it’s different...a different group of seniors, a different group of players who have to step up in new roles. It’s hard to put in words the things that they have had to endure this year,” head coach Calvin Head said. “There’s been a whole lot of stuff that this whole roster has had to endure. So for them to get to this moment and be successful in it and keep the success moving, it’s a poignant feeling.”

Right out of the gate, the Lady Purples used their size and speed to their advantage using Meadow Tisdale, Saniyah Shelton and Tanaya Bailey to do the most damage down low, where the Trojanettes couldn’t find an answer for the size disadvantage. Bowling Green opened up the game on a 10-0 run and Barren county didn’t score its first point until over halfway through the first quarter. BG lead at the end of the first quarter 18-4.

In the second quarter, the Trojanettes were able to get the offense flowing more and played better defensively, holding the Lady Purples to 14 points while they scored 11. And three of Bowling Green’s points came at the buzzer when Katy Smiley made a three that bounced off the top of the backboard and still went in, as BG took a 32-15 lead into the locker room.

The Trojanettes had a chance to pull the deficit down a little bit but the constant pressure in the back court plus the size and tenacity of the Bowling green defenders, prevented the Barren County offense from being as fundamentally sound and affective that it has been all season.

With five minutes left to go in the 4th quarter, Barren County pulled within 15 points, forcing Bowling Green head coach Calvin Head to call a timeout. The girls regrouped as doubled the Trojanettes in points over the next four minutes, 12-6.

The clock hit zero and the Bowling Green Lady Purples became the 4th region champions for the fourth year in a row, a feat no one else has been able to do. They move on to the KHSAA State Tournament next week, where the will play the winner of the third region, the Owensboro Catholic Lady Aces.

“We try to preach unselfishness as much as possible and I think that helps us when things like this happens because we can count on others to step up. It’s a team thing and the ones that didn’t play, they’ve been our scout team preparing us for everyone we play,” Head said. “They’re just as big and a part of this as anyone who played tonight.”

Tip off for the first round of the State Tournament is Wednesday, Mar. 8, at 11 a.m. E.T. in Lexington, at Rupp Arena.

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