Playing in back-to-back games for the first time this season the Barren County Trojanettes passed the early-season test with flying colors, downing Greenwood 64-47 in the State Farm Fourth Region Challenge at Bowling Green High School.

Abby Varney had 25 points and 15 rebounds as Barren County (5-0) took control in the second quarter and steadily pulled away from there. The win came less than 24 hours after a District 15 win over Warren East.

“That’s what we have been talking to (Varney) about all year,” Barren County coach Piper Lindsey said. “People are going to try to stop her, so what else can you do? I thought she was a well-rounded player tonight.”

Greenwood (2-2) started fast, with a 3-pointer from Leia Trinh making the score 10-2 with 3:45 left in the first quarter.

Barren County answered with six straight points to get back within two and kept chipping away with Varney’s three-point play making the score 17-14 after one.

Varney continued to lead the way for Barren, scoring 18 in the first half to help Barren County extend the lead to as many as 13 points before going into the locker room with a 33-23 advantage.

Varney said adjusting to Greenwood’s early pressure was a big key to the turnaround.

“I think it was just a change in mindset,” Varney said. “We really don’t handle pressure well. It’s something we have to work on. I think getting our mindset right and knowing we can beat this was the thing that changed the game around.”

Barren County continue to pull away in the second half.

JoJo McCorkle’s 3 for the Lady Gators made the score 35-26, the only time the lead dipped below double digits in the second half. Two technicals to Greenwood coach Terrance Williams led to a 5-0 spurt that pushed the score to 47-31 late in the third.

A 6-0 spurt made the score 54-34 early in the fourth, the largest lead of the night for the Trojanettes.

“I thought at first they kind of punched us in the mouth a little bit, had some wide-open looks and we lost them in transition,” Lindsey said. “I thought we bounced back and went on (a big run) at the end of the first half. I thought we stepped up and saw the floor well.”

Shelby Byrd added 11 points for Barren County, which shot 51% from the field.

“They were high-percentage shots,” Lindsey said. “We were getting shots around the rim. I think we were reading the defense and playing off of them and reading each other. I think that is one thing you have to be able to do, it’s the chemistry of the basketball team, learning what everyone is going to do before they do it. I think we did a much better job there.”

Trinh led Greenwood with 18 points.

Barren County will host Allen County-Scottsville at 6 p.m. on Friday. Greenwood plays at Apollo at 7:30 on Tuesday.

GHS 14 9 11 13 – 47

BCHS 17 16 15 16 – 64

GHS – Trinh 18, McCorkle 9, White 5, Nealon 5, Overmohle 5, Martin 3, Whittle 2.

BC – Varney 25, Byrd 11, Elmore 7, Gearlds 7, Atkinson 7, Strange 4, McFall 3.

Franklin-Simpson 66, Glasgow 31

The Lady Cats’ strong start to the season continued with a one-sided win over Glasgow in the State Farm Fourth Region Challenge on Saturday at Bowling Green High School.

Franklin-Simpson improved to 4-0, all against region opponents. The Lady Cats have won by at least 31 points in every game with the average margin of victory of 35.3 points.

“We have a high-powered offense,” FS coach Ashley Taylor said. “Defensively, we are able to turn up that pressure. When you get those two going together you get a game like tonight.”

Franklin-Simpson scored the first nine points and never looked back. LaReesha Cawthorn hit a pair of 3s to help push the score to 24-4 late in the first, with the lead expanding to 44-20 by halftime.

Glasgow (0-4) scored the opening bucket of the second half, but the Lady Cats continued to pull away – scoring 12 straight during a stretch in the third quarter and eight straight to start the fourth quarter.

“We have been working really hard and trying to get to where we know we can be,” Cawthorn said. “We are really just coming out there, having fun and playing hard and getting the wins in the end, so it is really great.”

Cawthorn led Franklin-Simpson with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Lyniah Brown added 14 points while Kloie Smith added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

“We are not so one-dimensional anymore,” Taylor said. “We want to be able to beat you in a variety of ways. I think that has shown over our first four games.”

Jakylie Green led Glasgow with 13 points.

Glasgow will host Russellville at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, while Franklin-Simpson plays at Warren East in the Kentucky 2A, Section 2 semifinals at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

GHS 6 14 6 5 – 31

FSHS 27 17 14 8 – 66

GHS – Green 13, Slagle 9, Kirkpatrick 5, Kuykendall 2, Austin 1, Goodman 1.

FS – Cawthorn 21, Brown 14, Smith 10, McAlister 9, Savage 6, Downey 2, Nolan 2, Butler 2.{&end}