Lady Colonels Erase 11-Point Deficit, Romp Over Male, 46-31

Buckner, KY - The Lady Colonels of Oldham County stumbled out of the gate on Senior Night, but they rebounded - literally - to whip the visiting Lady Bulldogs of Male, 46-31.

Males' Kristi White started the game off right for the visitors, knocking down a long bomb off the opening tap to give Male a quick 3-0 lead. By the time OCHS coach Tony Simpson called time out with 4:37 remaining in the first quarter, Male had pushed the margin to eleven at 12-1, and OCHS had more turnovers than shot attempts.

Immediately after the time out, Erin Menard finally got Oldham's first basket of the night on a putback, pulling OCHS to within 12-3. But with about two and a half minutes left in the period, the lead was still in double digits, as Male led, 16-6 following a Whitney Hodge field goal.

Only three players appeared to be looking for shots for Male at this point, and the three had combined to score all sixteen Bulldog points - White had five points, Hodge four, and Megan Hix seven. When OCHS began making shots, the Lady Colonels were able to start pressing, and the Lady Bulldogs suddenly found it difficult to get the ball into their shooters' hands in scoring position.

The big rally started quietly enough - two Samantha Mosby free throws with 2:15 remaining in the period - but gathered steam as Male began to miss shots and OCHS began to dominate the glass against a much-taller opponent. Samantha Huecker followed Mosby's free throws with a layup, and a Brittany Ryan layup closed out the period with Oldham pulling to within 16-12.

The Lady Colonels kept up the defensive pressure in the second period. Mosby tied the game at 16 with a follow shot, and with 2:29 to play in the half, she wrapped up the 12-0 OC run the way it started - with two free throws to give Oldham its first lead at 18-16.

Despite playing against a team with three players over six feet tall, two players standing 5'11, and no starter under 5'7, the Lady Colonels' superior positioning led to a dominating performance on the glass. And by forcing Male to play at their tempo, Oldham was able to dictate terms on defense. After giving up 12 points in the first 3:23; the Lady Colonel defense permitted just 19 points in the final 28:37.

Hodge finally ended a nine minute dry spell for Male with a basket at the 1:48 mark, tying the game for the final time at 18. It would be the only two points scored by Male in the second period. A Mosby layup and a three-pointer by Allie Simpson wrapped up the scoring and gave Oldham a 23-18 halftime lead.

Oldham pushed the lead to nine at 34-25 late in the third, but the Lady Colonels suddenly found themselves turnover-prone, and Male scored the last four points of the period to stay in striking distance at 34-29 heading into the final quarter.

That's when the Lady Colonels turned the defensive pressure back up a notch. Male went scoreless for the first 5:39 of the final period, and Oldham ran off eleven unanswered points. Ten of the eleven points came on layups as Oldham repeatedly beat the Lady Bulldogs down the floor. Menard was particularly devastating, hitting Brittany Ryan and Beth Lawrey on long outlet passes for layups, pulling the defense away from the basket and feeding Mosby for a layup, and then scoring a layup on her own, driving past Male's Morgan Wilson for the shot.

By the time Wilson hit two free throws for Male's only fourth-quarter points, only 2:21 remained and Oldham led, 45-31.

Menard scored the final point of the game on a free throw to account for the final margin.

Oldham County - 12 11 11 12 - 46

Male - 16 2 11 2 - 31

OCHS (12-10) - Mosby 15, Menard 11, Ryan 7, Lawrey 6, Huecker 4, Simpson 3

Male (7-17) - Hix 16, Hodge 6, White 5, Wilson 4