HISTORIC WIN: Metcalfe County beats BG to advance to first final since 1992

Published 10:12 am Wednesday, March 5, 2025

By Micheal Compton

Kassady London has heard the stories of the 1992 Metcalfe County’s girls’ basketball team and its run to the Region 4 championship game.

London’s mother Leslie was on that team, along with current Metcalfe County coach Heidi Coleman.

Until Tuesday night, that was Metcalfe County’s only appearance in the region championship. After the Lady Hornets’ 40-30 win over Bowling Green at E.A. Diddle Arena, London and her teammates now join that team in Edmonton lore.

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Metcalfe County (27-5) closed with a 13-2 run to advance to the championship game for only the second time in school history and in the process end Bowling Green’s historic five-year run as region champions.

“I told her we were going to be as good as their team,” London said. “Everybody talks about that team. They went so far. Our goal coming into the year was to take out Heidi and her team.”

Metcalfe County had reached the semifinals three straight years, but had not cleared that hurdle until Tuesday. The Lady Hornets finally were able to break through despite a strong challenge from Bowling Green in a game that was nip and tuck until Metcalfe County was able to pull away late.

The Lady Hornets led 10-5 after a three-point play from Jozie Allen late in the first before Bowling Green (13-17) used a 9-0 run to move in front 14-10 after a jumper from Emma Macy with 6:01 left in the half.

Bowling Green wouldn’t score again in the half, allowing Metcalfe County to score the final six points and go into the locker room with a 16-14 advantage.

A 3-pointer from Lily Blythe in the opening minutes of the second half made the score 19-14 and Metcalfe had a chance to extend the margin further on the next possession, but Bowling Green’s eight-minute scoring drought ended on a steal and layup from Amaya Brown to trim the deficit to three.

That bucket sparked the Lady Purples’ offense. A 3 from Neariah Woods tied the game 21-21 and after a jumper from Allen, a 3 from Macy gave BG a 24-23 lead after three quarters.

The teams kept exchanging leads in the opening minutes of the fourth, with a layup by Zara Hall giving BG a 28-27 advantage with 5:20 left.

That would be the last field goal for the Lady Purples, giving Metcalfe County the chance to pull away. Allen scored four straight to give the Lady Hornets the lead for good and spark a 13-0 run to seal the win.

Bowling Green’s final points came on the only two free throws of the night in the final minute.

“I’m proud of our kids for getting to this part of the regional tournament,” Bowling Green coach Calvin Head said. “Things just didn’t quite go our way. I’m proud of them. They fought to the end. These three seniors have a resiliency about themselves that is truly unmatched. I am extremely proud of them. No one likes their season to end. The ball didn’t bounce our way. Congratulations to Metcalfe. They played a great game. Jozie Allen is a warrior. We just couldn’t get into a good defensive rhythm to try to keep us at bay.”

Allen led Metcalfe County with 17 points and nine rebounds. The sophomore forward, who has played the last few weeks of the regular season and the postseason with a torn ACL, wasn’t even sure if she was going to be able to play until right before game time.

“I kind of had to block out the pain and do my usual role because they are bigger than us and we had to block out and get the rebounds,” Allen said.

Blythe and London added eight points each for Metcalfe County, which will face Franklin-Simpson for the Region 4 championship at 7 p.m. Saturday at E.A. Diddle Arena.

“We played the opponent, we didn’t play the occasion,” Coleman said. “I don’t think you saw jitters. I think you saw our kids feel like they were prepared. It’s been a very long year, a very hard year, but man we have had fun and it has made them work even harder and longer. It was the right kids, the right time, the right chemistry. This doesn’t happen for schools our size very often. It goes in waves. Maybe we will get an opportunity sooner than 33 years the next time.”

Macy led Bowling Green with six points, while Brown and Maddie Davenport added five points each.

The loss ends Bowling Green’s Region 4 record five-year run as region champion and is the first time since 2017 the Lady Purples have not advanced to at least the region final.

Bowling Green battled through adversity all season, including the loss of senior point guard NaTaya Wardlow less than two weeks into the season.

“We’re competitive, we never wanted it to end,” Head said. “Never in my wildest dreams would I think Taya was not going to finish on the floor with us this year. I just told them in our locker room that she could have went and hid in her bedroom all year, but she was on the sidelines all year cheering her teammates. She made it about them and not about herself. It’s borderline criminal what I asked Katy Smiley to do this year. Be the point guard, get us in our offense, score the basketball, defend. Who asks people to do that? Calvin Head I guess.

“That’s a whole lot and we are in the semifinals of the region. We won our district, went undefeated in district. These three (seniors) are pivotal to what we do in our program, the toughness aspect. I just hope our younger kids learned a lot from them this year.”

MCHS 10 6 7 17 — 40

BGHS 9 5 10 6 — 30

MC — Allen 17, Blythe 8, London 8, Glass 3, Jolly 2, Compton 2.

BG — Macy 6, Davenport 5, Brown 5, Woods 5, Hall 4, Smiley 3, Miley 2.

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

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