SCOTTSVILLE — Facing a hostile crowd, a feisty defense and poor shooting, things weren’t looking up for Barren County’s Courtney Thomas in Monday’s District 15 Tournament semifinal.

That is, until the fourth quarter.

Thomas scored 11 of her 13 points in the final frame and the Trojanettes used an 11-0 fourth quarter run to pull away from host Allen County-Scottsville, 60-53.

Barren County advances to Thursday’s final, where it will take on rival Glasgow, which knocked off Monroe County earlier on Monday, 53-49.

“The fourth quarter was big, it was a tight game and our shots weren’t falling but we just kept shooting,” said Thomas, who added 10 rebounds to go along with her 13 points. “Their defense, I mean they played hard, and any team in this district is going to play hard.

“We just did what we had to do.”

In a physical game that went back and forth, it was Thomas’ personal 6-0 run that helped turn a 45-45 tie with five minutes left into a 56-45 Trojanette lead with less than two minutes remaining.

As shots started to fall for Thomas and the Trojanettes, they also were able to hold the Lady Patriots without a point for more than three minutes during crunch time.

“(Courtney) had 11 there in the last quarter and was unbelievable,” Barren County coach John Butler said. “She made big shot after big shot and really played like a four-year starting senior that’s been in big games before.”

While Thomas surged late, teammate Tiffany Jones kept the Trojanettes in the game early, scoring 22 of her game-high 25 points before the final frame.

Even though Barren County struggled early, Thomas said that the Trojanettes never let it get to them.

“You really can’t think like that honestly,” Thomas said. “Being a senior on the team you have to keep everybody up and make sure they’ve got their confidence and shots will eventually start going in.”

Lady Patriots coach Brad Bonds said the outcome was a result of Barren County’s timely shooting, as well as his own squad’s missed opportunities.

“They hit some really key baskets and we never really hit the one basket we needed down the stretch,” Bonds said. “Free throws down the stretch, they did a really nice job with that as well … when they’re shooting the ball well like they did late tonight, they’re going to be really, really hard to handle.

“But hey, the sun will come up tomorrow and we’ll keep trucking along and hopefully our kids will realize that there’s more to life than just the wins and losses, even though it’s a really hard one to accept right now. But we’ll be fine.”

Baylee Heath led the Lady Patriots with 16 points, while teammate Shelby Harper added 14.

Butler said he’s extremely excited to see his team advance to another Region 4 Tournament.

“This was one of the better first round performances I’ve ever seen a team play, they had to make big plays in a hostile environment, so I’m tickled to death to be back in a region tournament,” said Butler, whose team will now face its crosstown rival for a district crown Thursday. “(Glasgow) beat us last year in the finals, and we split with them this year. And when they are healthy, they’re very good. Their record is deceiving.

“But I’ve always said the district final games are a lot more fun than the first one, because win or lose we’re moving on. We want to go on and win, but we’re moving on no matter what.”

ACSHS 13 11 15 14 — 53

BCHS 12 13 15 20 — 60

ACSHS – S. Harper 14, Mahaney 3, Heath 16, Napier 3, Hairston 2, H. Harper 4, Rice 4, Rich 7.

BCHS – Beals 10, C. Thomas 13, A. Thomas 5, Jones 25, Trowbridge 1, Mitchell 6.