Lady Raiders’ season ends in heartbreaking fashion

Published 9:46 am Tuesday, March 4, 2025

By Micheal Compton

The Warren East girls’ basketball team was ready to put in some extra work in hopes of extending its season during Monday’s Region 4 Tournament game against Metcalfe County.

Instead, the Lady Raiders’ season came to a sudden and heartbreaking end.

Lydia Jones’ game-tying free throw with 0.5 seconds left was waved off on a lane violation, effectively ending Warren East’s season with a 45-44 loss to the Lady Hornets. Warren East (20-8) trailed most of the night, but was able to rally late, and even lead briefly, before seeing the season end in stunning fashion.

Email newsletter signup

“These ladies did everything in their power to win a ballgame and honestly I feel like we still should be playing,” Warren East coach Jenny Neville said. “It’s a tough lesson to learn. A tough lesson when you’ve hit a free throw, two free throws, under pressure like that and to get a call and it gets taken away. It hurts.”

Neville, who called a timeout right after the play to talk to the official, said she never really got a clear answer on what happened.

“He said somebody crossed the line,” Neville said. “I believe he said Sam (Carver) crossed the 3-point black line, which is not our line. Our line is the white line.”

The ending came in a game that saw a gritty Metcalfe County team battle through some adversity and Warren East able to answer late – with the result hanging in the balance down to the final horn.

Metcalfe County’s night got off to an inauspicious start with sophomore Jozie Allen, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, going to the bench in pain after aggravating her knee injury – an ACL tear – that she has been playing through the last part of the season.

While Allen regrouped, Metcalfe County (26-5) was able to jump out to a 5-0 lead and extend that margin to 14-7 by the end of the first quarter.

Warren East trimmed the deficit to 18-14 after a steal and layup from Carver midway through the second, but the Lady Hornets answered with eight straight – the final six from Allen – to take the largest lead of the first half.

“I knew I had to get back in there and help my team because I’m a big part of it,” Allen said. “I am willing to do that for them.”

Warren East got a little momentum back right at the end of the half with a 3-pointer from Brelynn Wardlow making the score 26-17. The Lady Raiders added the first four points in the second half to pull within five and the margin remained between three and eight points for the rest of the third quarter – with Metcalfe County holding a 34-31 advantage heading into the final period.

Warren East got back-to-back layups in the first minute of the fourth to take its first lead of the night, but Allen answered on the other end to give the lead right back to the Lady Hornets.

Back-to-back buckets from Madison Lawson and Kennedy Lawson again put the Lady Raiders in front with 3:23 remaining, but Metcalfe County used a 7-0 run to go back ahead 43-39 with 1:37 left.

Wardlow’s layup cut it to two and a steal and layup from Carver tied the game with 52 seconds remaining. Aubrey Glass gave the lead back to Metcalfe County, scoring on a drive down the right baseline with 21 seconds left.

The Lady Raiders came down with a chance to tie, but Jones was tied up in the paint and the alternate possession gave the ball back to Metcalfe County with about two seconds left. Jones was able to steal the inbounds pass under her basket and got up a shot, but was fouled to set up the final sequence of events.

After Jones’ second free throw was waved off, Metcalfe County was able to get the ball in bounds to secure the victory and send the Lady Hornets into Tuesday’s semifinal against Bowling Green.

“I am so, so sorry that is how the game ended, but at the same time I am so grateful that call went our way,” Metcalfe County coach Heidi Coleman said. “Quite honestly, we really, really stalled out in the second half. We stopped attacking and I felt like our offense was so terribly stagnant. Jozie was hurting. Bree (Jolly) in foul trouble was a problem and they did a phenomenal job guarding Kassady (London). We really had to work to get shots.

“Hats off to them. I know they have five seniors and that’s such a heartbreak to lose that way, but they did everything they could to win. I feel like we did a lot of things to lose and it just fell our way tonight.”

Allen finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds for Metcalfe County, while London added 10 points.

Jones finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds, while Kennedy Lawson added nine points for Warren East.

“These ladies are never out,” Neville said. “They are never out and you can never count them out. I don’t care what the score says and that shows tonight. They fought back and they deserve to still have had a chance to go to overtime and that is where we should be right now.”

The loss was the end for five Warren East seniors who had helped the Lady Raiders reach new heights in recent years. Warren East won its first district title in 17 years last season and finished with back-to-back 20 win seasons for the first time since 1997-98 and 1998-99.

“I think this group has done a lot for this program,” Kennedy Lawson said. “It wouldn’t be where it is at without us.”

WEHS 7 10 14 13 – 44

MCHS 14 12 8 11 – 45

WE – Jones 10, K. Lawson 9, M. Lawson 7, Wardlow 7, Carver 6, Collins 3, Brooks 2.

MC – Allen 12, London 10, Glass 9, Blythe 5, Jolley 4, Boles 3, Compton 2.

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

email author More by Micheal

More Sports

Lady Toppers win UNF Collegiate

BG’s ‘Energy Bus’ drives past Todd County Central

UK signee Lewis wanted to help eastern Kentucky flood victims

Tops’ Plona named finalist for 2024-25 Joe B. Hall Award

Print Article