Thursday, March 9, 2017

Kentucky High-school Girls' Basketball, 12 Teams Left


Twelve teams remain in play for the state championship, and here are today's four games ...

Noon Eastern, Henderson County Lady Colonels (27-5) vs. Hindman Knott County Central Lady Patriots (28-6)



I've went ahead and tuned in to WSON AM 860 ("Your Teams, Your Town") early this morning, and, before Lady Col-pregame coverage started, I happily heard Them's 1964 "Gloria;" Michael Jackson's 1982 "Beat It;" Chicago's 1988 "I Don't Want To Live Without Your Love;" Boz Scaggs's fantastic 1977 "Lido Shuffle;" Kenny Loggins's 1986 "Danger Zone" (I moved back to Kentucky in 2008, and, seriously, I can't imagine one day has passed since then that I didn't hear this song on some local radio station or supermarket overhead); Harry Chapin's 1974 "Cats in the Cradle" (this one's for you, Go Heath!); Chic's 1977 "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)," which I thought was going to be Steve Miller Band's (also) 1977 "Swingtown;" the Hall & Oates 1980 version of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," and Bachman-Turner Overdrive's 1974 "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet."


1:30 p.m., Russell County Lakers (26-8) vs. Franklin County Lady Flyers (30-5)


6:30 p.m., Independence Simon Kenton Lady Pioneers (27-6) vs. Paintsville Lady Tigers (28-4)


8 p.m., Covington Holmes Lady Bulldogs (27-5) vs. Grayson County Lady Cougars (22-10)


51 comments:

  1. Now on WSON, we have a Henderson County assistant coach talking about the Lady Cols' experience in the regional tournament--he's really laying the love on Crittenden County, the first-round opponent. (Behind the coach and the WSON host, you can hear Journey's 1981 "Don't Stop Believin'" playin' on the PA@BB&T (of Highland Heights and not Newport--sorry again for the flub, Norse).)

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  2. The father of a former Lady Col standout just called in from back home, and the host and assistant coach really made him feel great by joshingly begging him to hurry and drive her up to NKU in time for this morning's game. "We could really use her today." That was sweet.

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  3. I feel certain that I posted this somewhere at the HP, but I can't find it. It turns out that WSON signed on in Henderson 10 days after the attack on Pearl Harbor (thanks, as always, Wikipedia). I've got some stuff that Dad wrote about being on his way to church with his family at age 16 in Henderson when news of the attack broke. I wish I could ask him if it was a big deal when WSON came on the air. I'll bet it was huge to have some happy news like that in the wake of such a tragedy.

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  4. A woman identifying herself as the nanny of one of the Henderson County players calls in to wish her and the whole team well. "She works so hard," the woman says. "Good luck, Colonelettes! ... Oh, I mean, 'Lady Colonels!' I'm sorry--I'm just so nervous." Then the WSON host and the assistant coach talk about how great a person the Henderson County player is, and then we go to commercial with some Van Halen music.

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  5. OK, the assistant coach had to get back with the team, so the call-in portion of the pregame show is over, and now we're on to some harder-boiled analysis of today's game and the state tournament from the WSON host and another host.

    On the list of my favorite things about Kentucky, Henderson media ranks pretty high. Seriously. Both WSON and The Gleaner are about as good at what they do as one could hope.

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  6. The commentators are moderate in their forecasts. Henderson County apparently has a star center who was injured in the regional--they say she probably would've been the best center in the state tournament. Anyway, she's certain to not play today and doubtful to play all weekend. The WSON guys are hopeful for a win today.

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  7. So, after an instrumental of the national anthem, we get a men's chorus singing "God Bless America." And now we have the Henderson County High band playing the school fight song:

    We are the Colonels, out for victory!
    We are bound for glory; true and loyal, we will be!
    Rah! Rah! Rah!
    Fight, Colonels! Fight! Fight, big maroon and white!
    With ev'ry challenge, we'll be behind you cheering you with all our might!
    HCHS, FIGHT!


    And, finally, we have a woman from Henderson's First Baptist Church offering a prayer.

    Seriously, I think I've posted all of this stuff before--probably word for word. (Have I ever mentioned how I think Tiger Woods gets more nervous in tournaments than when he was a kid?)

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  8. God love him, the WSON color commentator sounds nervous as a cat as tipoff approaches. "We've got to play this game with no errors! ... We've got to play loose! We've got to play like it's just a normal game! ..." Like many sermons, this one sounds like it might be written for the preacher.

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  9. Henderson County scores "an Independence Bank shot," and the Lady Cols take the 2-0 lead. Then Henderson--"Hens!" I'm pretty sure WSON people call the home team the "Hens" sometimes; I have definitely posted a lot of this same stuff before, around a baseball tournament one time--draws a charge, and everybody's seems to be relaxing into the game.

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  10. End of Q1: Hens 13, Lady Patriots of Hindman 10. And WSON rolls to commercial to Boston's "More Than a Feeling," the MIDI version of which is the OFFICIAL THEME OF THE HP PODCAST!

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  11. WSON says that Knott County Central shot 56 percent on its free throws this season, but the Lady Patriots have made 12 of their first 13 foul shots in this game.

    "If it could ever happen to a team, it happens to Henderson," groans the color guy, nervous again in the closing seconds of the second quarter.

    Halftime: 25-24, Knott.

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  12. "Eat that, box-and-one!" says the WSON color commentator and Henderson County scores a three-pointer.

    33-30, Knott, with five minutes to play in the third ...

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  13. 47-39, Hens, with a little over a minute to go in the third, and WSON flexes its commercial-bumper muscles with the opening notes of Guns 'n' Roses' 1987 "Paradise City."

    And "More Than a Feeling" brings us back to courtside in Highland Heights ...

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  14. "They're out of gas!" glows the WSON color commentator. "Keep pushing it!"

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  15. Replies
    1. It's Ace Frehley, of course--stupid spellcheck. Spellcheck also wants to change "Hindman" to "Handyman" every time. I really, really hate spellcheck. It's like instant replay in sports officiating; I really, really hate instant replay in sports officiating.

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  16. 5:01 to play in the fourth quarter, and here are the first free-throw attempts of the day for the Hens ... miss ... miss ... Henderson County still up eight points ...

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  17. Eleven teams left: Henderson County Lady Colonels 63, Hindman Knott County Central Lady Patriots 53.

    The WSON color dude: "Thank Webster County. I know Henderson County fans don't like to thank that team for anything, but thank Webster County for playing junk defenses against us three times this year. That prepared us for this game."

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  18. C-J JFrakes, keeping on keeping on ...

    Jason Frakes‏ @kyhighs
    Franklin County 50, Russell County 43, 3:44 in fourth. Craig Pippen in huddle: "We have all the time in the world."
    2:22 PM - 9 Mar 2017

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  19. The Kentucky State Parks commercials at the breaks of the state-tournament games are putting the itch in me.

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  20. The Russell County coach was right ...

    Jason Frakes‏ @kyhighs
    Franklin County fails to get off a shot. We're headed to overtime, tied at 51.
    2:39 PM - 9 Mar 2017


    Great piece of Twitter reporting a couple of minutes ago there by Frakes.

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  21. James Weber‏ @JWeberSports
    Russell County 57, Franklin County 55, 31.0 OT. Russell to inbound.
    2:49 PM - 9 Mar 2017 from Highland Heights, KY

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  22. Jason Frakes‏ @kyhighs
    Princess Stewart misses a 3, but rebound out of bounds to Franklin County. Flyers' ball, down 57-55 with 10.9 seconds left.
    2:52 PM - 9 Mar 2017

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  23. State Journal Sports‏ @frankfortsports
    Stewart with layup with 5 seconds left ties game, Franklin Co., Russell Co. going to double overtimer.
    2:54 PM - 9 Mar 2017

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  24. Russell County, trailing two, gets a three-pointer, "a big, old rebound," per the WJRS play-by-play guy, and then a layup ... 64-61, Lakers ... Franklin County timeout with 1:34 to go ...

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  25. One of two free throws made by Franklin County ... steal by Franklin County ... miss and rebound by the Lady Flyers ... miss and rebound by the Lady Flyers ... miss and make by the Lady Flyers ... 64-64! Timeout, Russell County, with 19 seconds in the second overtime ...

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  26. 18.9 seconds, actually, per WJRS ...

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  27. Russell County turnover! "They were fouling her all the way down the floor!"

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  28. KHSAA Main‏ @KHSAA
    Heading to 3OT. Matching the longest game in girls' tourn history w/ Clay Co. (48) vs. Clark Co. (44) in the 1989 Final #khsbkg #MyReasonWhy
    3:06 PM - 9 Mar 2017

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  29. 1:05 ... 68-66, Franklin County ... Russell County headed to the free-throw line ... miss ... good ... 68-67 ...

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  30. 35 seconds ... Franklin free throws ... good, 69-67 ... good ... Franklin leads, 70-67, and Russell takes timeout ...

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  31. Miss, Franklin rebound, Russell foul and two made Franklin free throws ... 72-67, Lady Flyers ... despair in the WJRS announcers' voices ...

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  32. "They'll feel this one in the morning."

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  33. Ten teams left: Franklin County Lady Flyers 72, Russell County Lakers 67.

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  34. 51-42, Kenton, at the end of three quarters ...

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  35. Nine teams left: Independence Simon Kenton Lady Pioneers 70, Paintsville Lady Tigers 45.

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  36. "K105, The Best Mix" is on the air with the last opening-round game, Grayson County vs. Covington Holmes.

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  37. Per Wikipedia, WKHG signed on in 1967, and, for its first 21 years, it broadcast on FM the same content airing on WMTL AM 87. WMTL was Grayson County's first radio station and began broadcasting on Jan. 17, 1959.

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  38. Halftime: 17-14, Holmes. "I remember what it felt like when it was 8-0, so this feels pretty good," says one of the Leitchfield radio guys. Grayson County has gotten as close as two points since the bad start.

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  39. 32-19, Holmes, through three quarters ...

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  40. Eight ...

    Grayson County High‏ @gchs_cougars
    The Lady Cougars historic season ends with a 45-32 loss to Holmes at the Sweet 16. #weareGCc
    9:01 PM - 9 Mar 2017

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