GIRLS' 3RD REGION BASKETBALL: Meade County preps for final with O'Cath (03/04)

The last time Meade County faced Owensboro Catholic, a future Duke University signee single handedly led the Lady Aces past the Lady Waves in the Girls’ 3rd Region Basketball Tournament.

Then a sophomore, Becca Greenwell torched Meade County for 41 points, 18 rebounds and seven 3-pointers as Owensboro Catholic knocked the Lady Waves out of the postseason in the 2011 quarterfinals.

Two years later, the Lady Waves get a shot at redemption as they face Owensboro Catholic in the region final at 8 tonight at the Owensboro Sportscenter. If Meade County wants to move on, keeping Greenwell from another game like that is crucial.

“We’re going to try and throw the kitchen sink at her,” Lady Waves coach Josh Hurt said. “But you’re not going to keep her under 20. That would be a miraculous feat.”

Greenwell, a McDonald’s All-American, is averaging a team-best 22.6 points through 18 games. She had 28 points and 14 rebounds in Owensboro Catholic’s 79-69 win over Muhlenberg County in Saturday’s first semifinal.

But what makes Greenwell so dangerous, Meade County sophomore Morgan Turner said, is her ability to score in transition. While watching the Lady Aces beat Hancock County in the quarterfinals, Turner noticed Greenwell would immediately take off and be open on the other end after the Lady Hornets missed a shot.

“We were scouting her the other day and once a shot goes up, she snowbirds all the way back,” Turner said after Meade County beat Ohio County, 53-48 on Saturday. “Not letting her get those is going to be crucial.”

Hurt said the Lady Waves will probably have two players – and sometimes three – around Greenwell and will try to make the Lady Aces beat them in the half court.

“Your natural instinct is to go rebound,” he said. “Against most teams, you’ll drop someone back. But we’ll have to send two back to the basket and one directly to Becca. The hard part is their guards trust their posts enough to get rebounds that they don’t stick around. If we can get them in a half-court setting, we’ve got a better chance.”

While he knows how good Greenwell is, Hurt said the Lady Waves can’t forget about Owensboro Catholic’s other players.

Junior guard Kaylyn Pearson averages 14 points and a team-best 9.3 rebounds per game, while freshman guard Mikayla Berry scores 9.1 points and senior guard Leah Greathouse averages nine points and 5.7 rebounds.

“They’re going to be difficult to guard, there’s no doubt about that,” Hurt said. “It’ll be an interesting matchup. We feel like we’ve got a lot of good players, and there’s going to be a lot of talent on the floor.”

That should make for a fun game for spectators – and a stressful one for Hurt and first-year Owensboro Catholic coach Michael Robertson.

Hurt said fans should enjoy getting to watch Turner, Meade County junior guard Raley Johnson and Greenwell tonight.

“If you like basketball, the Sportscenter will be the place to be,” he said. “What you’ll be able to do in two or three years from now, is you can say you were there when they went head-to-head. It’s going to be a lot of fun for the average fun and probably a lot of stress for both coaches.

“We go in fully aware of how good they are and we respect their team,” Hurt added. “Our kids are looking forward to it. This is where we wanted to be. I think everyone in the region assumed it would be Catholic versus somebody in the final, and we’re glad to be that someone.”

Josh Claywellcan be reached at (270) 505-1752 or jclaywell@thenewsenterprise.com