BROWNSVILLE – The usually offensive-minded Edmonson County girls’ basketball team had to get defensive to stay unbeaten, holding off Barren County 39-38 on Thursday at Edmonson County High School.

Edmonson County, which averaged nearly 60 points a game entering Thursday, found itself locked in a defensive battle – getting a pair of stops in the final 48 seconds to slip past Barren County and improve to 6-0 on the season.

“We knew it was going to be a dogfight,” Edmonson County coach Kevin Jackson said. “I have a lot of respect for (Barren County coach Piper Lindsey) and what she does over at Barren. They play a great half-court defense, too. We knew it was going to be tough to score in the paint and it was.”

Edmonson County’s smallest margin of victory prior to Thursday was nine, but Barren County (4-3) pushed the Lady Cats to the limit with several chances to win late.

Barren County led for most of the first half, extending the lead to as much as 15-8 after a layup by Karleigh Delk before the Lady Cats came charging back.

Edmonson County closed the half with a 10-3 run to tie the score 18-18. The last eight came from Caitlin Simon, including a 3-pointer right before time expired.

“I was really pleased that we hung around,” Jackson said. “Right there before halftime we made a couple of plays to tie it 18-all and we should have been down seven or eight probably. That was key.”

The Trojanettes scored the first four points of the second half to regain the momentum and extended the lead to 25-20 after a 3 from Elizabeth Bertram midway through the third period.

The Lady Cats came roaring back in the final minutes of the period. Barren County center McKenzie England picked up her fourth foul with 21.7 seconds left in the third. Edmonson County retook a 29-28 lead six seconds later on a basket by Peyton Martin late in the third, before Bailey Pedigo hit a pair of free throws to push the Trojanettes back in front 31-30 to end the quarter.

No one led by more than three points in the final period as the lead changed hands five times. Mallory Pedigo’s layup with 1:15 remaining gave Barren County the lead 38-37, but Edmonson County regained the advantage on a shot in the paint by Emma Rose Vincent 27 seconds later.

Barren County missed a shot to take the lead, but Edmonson County turned it over to give the Trojanettes one more chance.

Bertram’s 10 footer on the left baseline in the final seconds rimmed off. Barren County got the offensive rebound but was called for walking in the paint with 0.7 seconds left.

Edmonson County threw the ball the length of the court to run out the clock and preserve the victory.

“Having a chance like that is really all you can ask for,” Lindsey said. “The girls played so hard. The effort was unreal. They go as hard as they can for 32 minutes and I told them that you can’t coach that. It was just that one possession.”

Simon led the Lady Cats with 21 points, while Martin added 10 points.

“We went into this game really nervous,” Simon said. “One of the big things we were talking about in the locker room before the game was that we wanted to be 6-0. We have a big tournament coming up and we wanted to have a strong record before we went up there and played some teams from Louisville. I’m glad we are 6-0 and I hope we continue to win.”

Bertram had 20 points to lead Barren County.

Barren County will host North Laurel at noon on Saturday. Edmonson County faces Assumption in the Bullitt East Queen of the Commonwealth at 1 p.m. CST Tuesday.

BCHS 11 7 12 8 – 38

ECHS 8 10 11 10 – 39

BC – Bertram 20, B. Pedigo 5, M. Pedigo 4, Delk 4, Hammer 2, Bush 2, England 1.

EC – Simon 21, Martin 10, Logsdon 3, Harrison 2, Vincent 2, Ballance 1.

Barren County 44, Edmonson County 38, Boys

Barren County used a late surge to overcome a cold shooting night and pick up the road win.

The Trojans shot 25 percent from the field but outrebounded Edmonson County 39-27 and finished 17-for-22 from the free-throw line.

“I was proud of our guys,” Barren County coach Warren Cunningham said. “Any time you shoot 25 percent from the field and get a win you have to be doing some other things. We were guarding and we were rebounding and that was good. I think in the past we would have gotten frustrated to the point that it caused us not to play defense and not do some other things. I was proud that even though we didn’t make shots we continued to fight.”

Barren County (5-2) shot 24.1 percent in the first half but was still able to build a 23-17 advantage going into the locker room.

Jared Coomer’s fast-break dunk made the score 27-17 with 6:27 remaining in the third quarter, before Edmonson County (2-5) went on a 14-3 run to take a 31-30 lead after a steal and layup by Tucker Cole.

The Trojans scored the next four points to go back in front, but Cole answered with five straight to give Edmonson County a 36-34 advantage with 6:54 left.

The Wildcats wouldn’t get another field goal, with Barren County outscoring Edmonson County 8-2 the rest of the way.

“Every game I have played here in my career it has been a rough game,” Coomer said. “You have to grind it out, find a way at the end and keep giving effort the whole game.”

Coomer led Barren County with 17 points and 13 rebounds.

Cole had 18 points to lead Edmonson County, while Dylan Elmore finished with 10 points.

“We missed some good looks (in the fourth quarter) and we may have had a couple of costly turnovers at the wrong time that got them some easy buckets or we had to foul,” Edmonson County coach Mike McClintic said. “I’m really proud of the kids. They hung in there.”

Barren County will host St. Xavier at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Edmonson County will play at Grayson County at 7 p.m. Saturday.

BCHS 16 7 10 11 – 44

ECHS 9 8 14 7 – 38

BC – Coomer 17, Stephens 9, Arterburn 6, Bandy 5, Hall 3, Reed 2, Smith 2.

EC – Cole 18, Elmore 10, Carey 4, Vincent 3, Wilson 3.{&end}