Trojanettes use strong defense to snap skid against BG

Published 10:55 am Wednesday, January 15, 2025

by Micheal Compton

GLASGOW – Defense paved the way for the Barren County Trojanettes, who outlasted Bowling Green 32-25 on Tuesday at Barren County High School.

One day after a convincing win against Monroe County, Barren County (14-2) overcame a poor shooting night with a strong defensive effort to snap a six game losing streak against the Lady Purples dating back to 2021.

Barren County coach Piper Lindsey said it was a solid effort for her team, especially coming off Monday’s win.

Email newsletter signup

“Everybody is out of a routine right now, so it is kind of different but we made the best of what we got,” Lindsey said. “I thought we were solid (against Monroe County) and to play back-to-back against a team as tough as that one – that’s the best we could. We are proud of the girls.”

In a game with long offensive droughts, the Trojanettes started fast – jumping out to an 8-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.

Barren County went cold from there, allowing Bowling Green (6-6) to climb back into the game. The deficit was cut to 10-5 at the end of one and the Purples opened the second quarter with five straight to tie the game 10-all after a 3-pointer from Maddie Davenport.

Both teams split a pair of free throws to tie the score 11-11. Barren County got some momentum as time expired in the half with Adalynn Slagle banking in a 3 to give the Trojanettes the lead again.

“I think we just had one point (in the quarter) going into that 3 right there,” Lindsey said. “That was a big lift for us. That’s what we keep telling them, just keep shooting the ball. Finally she did and had some luck. Definitely a bonus for us.”

The momentum carried over into the third quarter, with Barren County outscoring Bowling Green 8-1 to extend the lead to 22-12. The Lady Purples hit three 3s in the first three minutes of the fourth to cut the deficit down to 25-21, but were unable to get any closer.

“It was a team effort,” Barren County sophomore guard Shelby Byrd said. “We didn’t hit many shots tonight, but for us defense wins ballgames.”

Byrd and Ann Ashley Atkinson finished with seven points each to lead a Barren County offense that shot 29% from the field, but outrebounded the Lady Purples 26-24.

“They are so good defensively – their length and their athleticism just really bothers us,” Lindsey said. “I thought we had a lot of really good looks early that didn’t fall. It is just one of those things where you continue to tell the kids to keep shooting and keep their confidence up. They make it hard to score, so we had to be really good defensively to counteract the offensive struggles.”

Bowling Green shot 31% from the field, but head coach Calvin Head said the defense was ultimately the difference in the game.

“I am not focused on the offensive end,” Head said. “We lost discipline on the defensive end. We’ve got to find a group of kids that are going to be tough enough and disciplined enough to carry out the scout. We know we have scoring woes, but I don’t care if we score 25, they score 24 and we win.”

Kori Ware led the Lady Purples with eight points, while Katy Smiley added six points.

“At some point we have to start elevating and figuring out the best version of us,” Head said. “Sometimes we take steps forward and sometimes we take steps back. I think we took a step back tonight. They are really, really good. They are well-coached. We have a lot of respect for Barren County and what they do. I wish we would have played harder, but you can’t do that against them. They are too good.”

Both teams return to district play at 6 p.m. on Friday. Barren County will host Allen County-Scottsville, while Bowling Green will be at home against Warren Central.

BGHS 5 6 1 13 – 25

BCHS 10 4 8 10 – 32

BG – Ware 8, Smiley 6, Davenport 6, Smith 3, Woods 2.

BC – Byrd 7, Atkinson 7, Elmore 5, Gearlds 4, Burton 3, Slagle 3, McFall 3.

BOYS

Bowling Green 71, Barren County 61

Barren County whittled a 20-point deficit down to five late before the Purples were able to halt the comeback bid and secure the victory.

“This was a good test for us,” BG coach D.G. Sherrill said. “They are a well-coached basketball team. I’ve seen three or four films on them. They keep knocking on the ceiling, knocking on the ceiling and tonight they played well. We had to beat them at their best.”

Bowling Green (12-3) used a late first-half run to take a 38-27 halftime lead and extended that advantage to 51-31 after a layup from Kadyn Carpenter with 3:23 left in the third quarter.

Barren County (8-9) still trailed 53-37 heading into the fourth, but used a 13-2 run to pull within 55-50 with 3:30 remaining. The Trojans had a chance to get closer, but turned it over.

Jace Wardlow then provided the Purples with some distance, with back-to-back, three-point plays that pushed the margin back to 61-52 with 1:28 remaining. Barren County was unable to get closer than eight the rest of the way.

“That brought back the intensity a lot,” Wardlow said. “When we get our intensity going, it gets the whole team going. We started moving the ball, rebounding and getting to the rim. That’s all we need to win.”

Wardlow led the Purples with 25 points. Carpenter added 15 points and Luke Idlett added 11 points.

“I could have called some timeouts, but I thought it was best to let us kind of struggle through those moments,” Sherrill said. “We made some substitutions and let our guys kind of fight through some adversity and see how they come out on the other side of it. I don’t get wrapped up in final scores. I want more that our team has to get better. I thought we learned a little bit tonight and we have some (things) now that we can point out to them and work on over the next couple of days.”

Kade Hardy led the Trojans with 21 points. Tate Spillman added 15 points and Joshua Decker finished with 13 points.

“That was great to see because it could have very easily gone the other way,” Barren County coach Warren Cunningham said. “I thought our guys got some stops, we rebounded a little bit and made some shots. We got the momentum back at the right time there. We just needed another couple of plays.”

Barren County hosts Allen County-Scottsville at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Bowling Green will host Warren Central at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.

BGHS 18 20 15 18 – 71

BCHS 18 9 10 24 – 61

BG – Wardlow 25, Carpenter 15, Idlett 11, Bailey 9, Bailey 7, Hurt 4.

BC – Hardy 21, T. Spillman 15, Decker 13, Blackburn 6, Bewley 2, W. Spillman 2, Reece 2.

About Micheal Compton

I am a sports reporter and movie critic for the Bowling Green Daily News.

email author More by Micheal

More Sports

Dragons heat up to smoke Wildcats, 70-32

Hudson paces Spartans past Lady Scotties, 71-39

SLIDE SHOW: Barren County hosts Bowling Green for doubleheader

WKU freshman Herron earns preseason accolades

Print Article