PIKEVILLE, Ky. (WMDJ) – Floyd Central rallied from a 14-point deficit in the first quarter to punch their ticket to the girls' 15th Region semifinals for the first time since 2020, defeating Pike County Central 56-52 on Tuesday evening at Appalachian Wireless Arena.

The future is now for Floyd Central as 8th graders Maddy Engle and Raegan Laferty led the charge scoring 18 and 16 points respectfully. Laferty added 13 rebounds.

 

Senior Riley Jo Compton was a steady presence for the Lady Jaguars pumping in 13 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Compton also crossed the 1,000-career rebound total in the win.

 

The Lady Hawks jumped out quickly to a 21-9 first quarter lead fueled by an 11-0 run. Senior Hannah May and junior Lindsey Bowman each had six points apiece early.

 

Floyd Central woke up in the second quarter with an 8-0 run. Engle and Laferty combined to cut the Pike Central lead to 21-17 at the 5:38 mark. The Lady Hawks would answer on back-to-back buckets from May and Bowman pushing the lead back out to eight at 25-17.

 

Lady Jaguars senior Kaylee Hall dropped in a free throw, followed by a basket by Engle and another free toss from Hall to pull the lead back to 25-21 with 2:52 remaining. After a Layla Johnson free throw, both teams traded buckets with Pike Central leading 28-25 at the half.

 

Floyd Central kept pace with Pike Central in the third quarter as the Lady Hawks slightly increased their lead by four, 40-36.

 

The Lady Jaguars would tie the game at 42-42 with 6:45 left in the game on a basket by Laferty, then take the lead 44-42 on a put-back basket by Compton.

 

Pike Central tied the game again at 44-44 on a post basket by Abby May with 6:05 remaining, but the Lady Jaguars fought right back with a fast break layup by Engle giving the lead back to the Lady Jaguars 46-44 with 5:12 left on the clock.

 

Both teams again exchanged the lead as the fourth quarter wound down. Pike Central took their last lead at 52-51 off a Floyd Central turnover resulting in a layup for Abigail Hess with 28 seconds left.

After a timeout, Engle would fearlessly answer with a drive down the lane for a layup to give Floyd Central the lead for good at 53-52 with 18 seconds to play.

 

After a block shot by Laferty, Hall was intentionally fouled by Larah Stanley, giving the Lady Jaguars a pair of free throws and the ball while essentially yielding the victory.

 

Floyd Central coach Tyler Little finds himself in unique company as one of a rare few in the region to lead a team to the semifinals in his first year as a head coach. The last 15th region coach to achieve that distinction was Lonnie “Doe Doe” Rowe with Shelby Valley in 2019. The last 58th District coach to achieve the feat was Kristal Allen at Betsy Layne in 2016.

 

The Lady Jaguars (13-18) will face Johnson Central in the semifinals of the girls’ 15th Region Tournament Friday at 7:45 p.m. It’ll be the first time that both semifinal games have featured Floyd County schools since 2016.

 

FLOYD CENTRAL (56) – Crase 1-2 1. Engle 8 2-4 18. Compton 6 1-3 13. Laferty 6 4-8 16. Hall 1 2-4 4. Rackey 1 2. Adkins 2-2 2. Moore 0. O’Bryan 0.

 

FG Pct.: 40.0. FT Pct.: 52.2. 3-PT 0-7 (Crase 0-1, Engle 0-2, Laferty 0-1, Hall 0-2, Adkins 0-1). PF 11. Fouled out: none. Turnovers 20. Assists 13.

 

PIKE CO. CENTRAL (52) – H. May 8 2-4 18. Bowman 6 0-1 12. Hess 1 0-2 2. Stanley 4 (1) 9. A. May 4 2-2 10. Johnson 1-2 1. Looney 0. Hamilton 0. Cochran 0.

 

FG Pct.: 41.8. FT Pct.: 45.5. 3-PT 1-12 (H. May 0-3, Bowman 0-1, Hess 0-5, Stanley 1-2, Looney 0-1). PF 16. Fouled out: none. Turnovers 17. Assists 15.

 

FLOYD CENTRAL          9 16 11 20 – 56

PIKE CO. CENTRAL       21 7 12 12 – 52