GIRLS' PREP BASKETBALL UPDATE: LaRue County 63, Green County 50 (01/05)

Ivy Brown used an unexpected stay on the bench to her advantage Friday night.

Sitting the entire second quarter because she picked up two fouls in less than 2 minutes to start the game, the LaRue County junior wing still finished with a game-high 25 points as the homestanding Lady Hawks surged past the Green County Lady Dragons, 63-50 and into the driver’s seat in the 18th District.

With Brown on the bench, the second quarter was nip-and-tuck with nine lead changes and four ties. Sophomore guard Alexis Brewer tried to pick up the slack with seven points and two assists in the quarter, but the Lady Hawks (9-3, 3-0 district) could only manage a 27-25 halftime lead.

Brewer’s well-balanced stat line featured 18 points, eight rebounds, a team-high six assists and a game-high five steals.

The return of the well-rested Brown, plus a slew of turnovers, spelled doom for Green County (7-6, 3-1) in the third quarter. Brown scored her team’s first six points of the second half. She had 12 points in the quarter, the final three points coming off a long shot in front of the Lady Hawks’ bench that pushed their lead to 45-30 with 9:26 left in the game. The shot also came off the Lady Dragons’ 10th turnover of the quarter.

Brown also had a game-high 14 rebounds as LaRue County crushed Green County on the glass, 37-20. LaRue County had one possession in which it grabbed four offensive rebounds. The Lady Hawks had 28 second-chance points and their first five made field goals were putbacks. They didn’t make a non-putback field goal until the game was 8:48 old on senior forward Haley Holt’s jumper.

Green County finished with 21 turnovers after recording just seven in the first 16 minutes.

Senior guard Rachel Marr and junior guard Kayla Bale both scored 17 points for the Lady Dragons. Marr passed out five of her game-high eight assists in the first quarter.

UP NEXT: LaRue County hosts 5th Region rival John Hardin at 7:30 p.m. Monday.

Nathaniel Bryancan be reached at (270) 505-1758 or nbryan@thenewsenterprise.com.