VANCEBURG, Ky. — At first glance, it appears that the Clay Panthers’ girls basketball program’s ability to compete may be limited due to having only six players on its roster.
But as the old saying goes, one should never judge a book by its cover.
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Despite having just six individuals at its disposal, the Clay Panthers’ girls basketball program has put together one gritty performance after another — and it’s led to a season that those who have followed the program haven’t seen in a long while.
Five years removed from going winless and four removed from winning just two games, Drew Emnett’s basketball program, behind its six-girl squad of Sophia Craft, Ava Demorest, Emma Emnett, Mia Lunsford, Maddie Penix and Caroline Ridenour, officially clinched its most victories in a single-season since 2014.
In a special night for Sophia Craft, who finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and five steals against Lewis County (Ky.), Clay’s lone senior broke the program’s career rebounding record in the second quarter, while fellow Lady Panthers Emma Emnett and Ava Demorest chipped in 10 and nine tallies, respectively to lead Clay to a 43-35 win over Lewis County (Ky.) on the road Thursday evening in a contest that was held at Lewis County High School in Vanceburg, Ky.
The win pushed Clay’s overall record to 16-5, officially sealing its most victories in a single season since the Lady Panthers went 18-6 during the 2013-14 season. Craft and the junior class of Emnett and Ridenour were just starting elementary school at that point in their life.
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“It is a good win for us on the road,” Emnett said. “This was a game that we added late just to get a game in. We came down here and we didn’t play well, but we found a way to gut out a win. We were down three possessions to start the game and didn’t score for over four minutes to begin the game, yet battled back and still found a way to win. That’s toughness.”
Early on, the play of Lewis County forward Mya Lawhun around the basket proved to be difficult for Clay to handle.
Lawhun, a junior forward who scored a team-high 13 points in the game for the Lady Lions, used her 6-0 frame to wreak havoc on both ends of the court early for Lewis County.
Lawhun scored six straight for the Lady Lions at one point as Lewis County, who took a 7-0 lead to begin the game before Clay scored with 3:38 to play in the opening quarter, led 13-7 with just over a minute to go.
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But Craft gave the Lady Panthers a jolt of energy from start to finish.
Scoring or assisting on each of Clay’s first 12 points in the game, it was Craft’s three-pointer with 3:38 to go in the opening frame that got Clay on the board. The senior then added a pair of free throws and found Emma Emnett for two open opportunities, including an open trey that cut Lewis County’s lead down to three, 13-10, after the opening quarter.
Craft continued going to work in the second frame.
The senior began the quarter by finding Mia Lunsford for a mid-range jumper in a excellent possession where all five players touched the basketball for the Lady Panthers, then grabbed two rebounds in the second quarter to add to her two rebounds in the first, officially breaking the school record with her 788th career board.
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Craft then proceeded to score each of Clay’s final nine points to end the half, knocking down a three-pointer with 4:47 to play in the second quarter, scoring twice off of her own steals defensively, and scoring again off of a rebound.
Her 14-point, seven-rebound, four-steal, three-assist tear in the opening half changed the game — as Clay turned its seven-point deficit into a five-point halftime lead, 23-18, at the break.
“I can completely believe that statline,” Emnett said when Craft’s 22-point, 10-rebound, six-steal, four-assist effort was recited to him. “It was great to see Sophia break out and hit shots on Thursday. She plays so hard but, on top of that, is a great kid. It’s hard to find a better person to coach. It’s pretty great to see her get the rebounding record, too. It shows how long she’s been working at this. It was a big night for her, and I’m proud of her.”
Coming out with a gameplan that attempted to slow Craft, Lewis County successfully worked its halftime deficit down to one, 28-27, as Lawhun scored five third-quarter points including an and-one, while the Lady Lions’ Reagan Lykins matched fellow teammate and Lewis County’s leading scorer coming into the game, Khalee Stamper, with eight points, helping Lewis County cut the lead to one.
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But on the next Lewis County offensive possession, Craft came up big again, recording a steal with 1:03 remaining in the third quarter. Nine seconds later, the senior scored on a beautifully executed backdoor pass from Emnett, putting Clay back up by three, 30-27, before the third quarter came to a close.
In the fourth frame, Demorest and Craft then tallied on back-to-back threes, giving the Lady Panthers its largest lead of the game at nine, 36-27, with 6:51 to go and forcing Lewis County to burn a timeout. The Lady Lions cut the lead to 36-31, but a Demorest bucket, which capped off a five-point fourth quarter for the sophomore, stretched Clay’s lead back out to seven, 38-31, and the Lady Panthers never led by less than six the rest of the way.
“Ava hit big shots for us in the second half, and I thought that Emma’s three-pointer in the first half was huge,” Emnett said. “Emma’s unselfish, but when we need her to, she can knock down threes, and she did that for us. We also picked up our defense and rebounded better as a team in the second half. I thought that we pursued the ball better in terms of rebounding, and gutted out a win (on Thursday). It wasn’t our best performance, but it was a win and it was a win on the road.”
Clay now turns its attention to a New Boston Glenwood squad that is playing well themselves as Kayla Wiley’s group has won five out of its last eight games, including a 52-47 victory over Notre Dame in overtime. The two play Saturday afternoon in the final SOC I game of the year for both squads in Rosemount.
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“(Kayla) Wiley does a great job at New Boston, and she gets a lot out of her teams,” Emnett said. “We’ll have to be ready to play. We’ll have to get back in the gym tomorrow and be ready for Saturday.”
