FLOYD COUNTY, Ky. (WMDJ) – No one should’ve been surprised on Monday night when the girls’ 58th District Tournament started with an upset.
As was the story last year, Coach Brandon Kidd and his Prestonsburg Lady Blackcats pulled the rug out from under the top-seeded team in the tournament, as Prestonsburg staved off a late rally to defeat Floyd Central 61-55.
Prestonsburg started strong, building a 18-6 lead in the first quarter and extending their advantage to 39-22 by halftime. The Lady Blackcats’ dominance was due to defense, forcing the Lady Jaguars into turnover situations and building frustration.
The game also featured another gritty performance by injured senior guard Audrey Prater of Prestonsburg. Prater is playing with a torn meniscus and also suffered an odd oral injury during the game, causing her to wear a football mouthpiece to complete the contest.
Prater finished with 16-point performance on 2-for-6 shooting from the field, 12-of-14 from the free throw line, while dishing 3 assists and swiping 3 steals in just over 25 minutes of action.
Floyd Central cut into the Prestonsburg advantage, trailing 46-36 to start the fourth quarter, yet the Lady Jags never led the entire game and struggled with the havoc the Lady Blackcats created on the floor, turning the ball over 25 times, leading to 21-points off turnovers for Prestonsburg.
Freshman forward Maddy Engle led Floyd Central with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting, 1-of-2 from three-point range and 7-of-11 from the free throw line. Freshman Raegan Laferty contributed 11 points, shooting 5-of-16 while facing intense pressure from Prestonsburg.
The win was the second all-time for Prestonsburg against Floyd Central, both wins coming in the district tournament, when it counts the most.
Prestonsburg moved on to face Lawrence County in Wednesday's championship game. Floyd Central matched up with Magoffin County in a "first four" game in the super regional prior to the 58th District Girls' Championship, winning 67-47 to advance to play this Saturday.
(Photo: Faith Lazar and In The Paint Studio)
Scoring by Quarters:
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total
Prestonsburg 16 17 13 15 61
Floyd Central 6 10 14 19 55
PRESTONSBURG (61) - Prater 2, 12-14 16. Tackett 2, 4. Fitzpatrick 3, (2) 2-4 10. A. Howard 4, (1) 6-6 14. Newsome 1, 2. K. Stephens 1, 1-5 3. W. Howard 2-2 2. Wright 1, (1) 3. L. Stephens 2, 1-2 5. Slone 1, 2. Layne 0, 0.
FG Pct: 34.7%. FT Pct: 72.7%. 3-PT 3-12 (Fitzpatrick. 2-6, Wright 1-1, Prater 0-2, A. Howard 0-1, K. Stephens 0-2). Fouls 24. Fouled out: Tackett, Newsome. Rebounds 35. Assists 12. Turnovers 20.
FLOYD CENTRAL (55) - Moore 1, 2. Crase 3, 1-1 7. Engle 8, (1) 7-11 24. R. Laferty 5, 1-2 11. Rackey 1, 2-2 3. Adkins 0, 0. Sammons 1, 1-2 3. H. Lafferty 2, 4. Garcia 1-2 1.
FG Pct: 39.6. FT Pct: 54.5. 3-PT 1-8 (Engle 1-2, Moore 0-3, Crase 0-1, Garcia 0-2). Fouls 26. Fouled out: none. Rebounds 36. Assists 18. Turnovers 25.
