The Bowling Green girls’ basketball team will look to continue its Cinderella run when it opens play in the St. Elizabeth Healthcare/KHSAA Girls Sweet Sixteen Basketball Tournament against Elizabethtown at Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights at 12:30 p.m. CST Wednesday.

After upsetting No. 7 South Warren 59-51 with a 22-1 rally in the final five minutes, Bowling Green now faces a No. 5 Elizabethtown team that rolled to a 33-2 record – including a 58-28 win in the Region 5 final over Bardstown and a 70-43 victory over South Warren on Jan. 22.

“They only lost two games this year, but all teams at that level are pretty good,” Bowling Green coach Calvin Head said. “I think any draw would be a tough draw. We have a lot of respect for E’town, a lot of respect for their players. We are just trying to go up there and compete and give ourselves a chance.”

The Panthers are led in scoring by sophomore guard Whitney Hay (19.5 ppg) and also rely on a stingy defense that holds opponents to 39.7 points a game. Elizabethtown has allowed more than 60 points four times this season.

“Defensively, they are so long and athletic and quick,” Head said. “They play that matchup zone almost Syracuse style. We haven’t really played anyone with that amount of length on their back line, so that’s going to be a tough adjustment for us.”

Head said Bowling Green’s defense and getting out in transition will be the key for his team.

“We are going to use the longer floor as an advantage,” Head said. “We’ve had three games of experience (in the region tournament) on (a longer floor). We are going to try to get out in transition and attack them as much as possible. We are just going to compete and have fun. I like where we are at right now, I really do.”

Head added he thinks his team will be ready for the challenge.

“We have some tough-minded kids here,” Head said. “I think that is what it takes to go far in the postseason. If you look at our whole postseason those five – we beat Warren East, who was playing very well, and played South Warren in the district final. In the region we opened with Barren County, then Logan County – who was playing well, then South Warren again. We played Russell County right before the district tournament, so everything we’ve done I think has helped us lead to this point.”{&end}