Miss Basketball candidate Kensley Feltner stood in the spotlight with 7.5 seconds remaining and the game tied at 48-all.
The Lawrence County senior hit a pair of clutch free throws and the Bulldogs held on for a 50-49 win over Pikeville in the girls’ 15th Region championship game played at the Appalachian Wireless Arena on Sunday afternoon.
It was the first title in program history and denied the Lady Panthers of becoming the first school to win five consecutive championships.
Lawrence County, now 30-5, will play Sacred Heart in the opening round of the Sweet 16 at 1:30 pm on Wednesday at Rupp Arena.
The Bulldogs used a 14-0 run to go ahead late at 46-42, erasing a 10-point deficit. Pikeville, which finished the season at 28-6, battled back and tied the game at 48.
Feltner, voted the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, led all scorers with 24 points. Abby Nelson followed with 11.
Trinity Rowe led the Lady Panthers with 15 points. Leighan Jackson finished with 13. Kyera Thornsbury chipped in nine.
At Pikeville
(15th Region championship)
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
LC (30-5)…..12 11 9 18 – 50
PK (28-6)…..14 15 13 7 – 49
Scoring:
Lawrence County (50) – Kensley Feltner 8 8-10 24; Sophie Adkins 3 0-1 6; Leandre Curnutte 2 2-3 6; Kaison Ward 0(1) 0-0 3; and Abby Nelson 4(1) 0-0 11. Totals: 17(2) 10-14 50.
Pikeville (48) – Trinity Rowe 4(2) 1-3 15; Kristen Whited 1(1) 0-2 5; Kyera Thornsbury 2(1) 2-2 9; Leighan Jackson 3 7-9 13; Rylee Theiss 2 1-2 5; and Kylie Hall 1 0-0 2. Totals: 13(4) 11-18 49.
SEMIFINALS
Pikeville……..…69
Martin County…19
Pikeville was raining three-point baskets against Martin County as the Lady Panthers cruised to a 69-19 win in the semifinal matchup played at the Appalachian Wireless Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Panthers improved to 28-5, advancing to the championship game against Lawrence County for the second straight year.
Trinity Rowe led a balanced scoring attack with 17 points, including five three-pointers. Kylie Alvin came off the bench to add 15, all on treys.
Kristen Whited and Rylee Theiss added 10 points each.
Martin County did not have a single field goal over the final two quarters and made just three for the game.
Brooklyn Marcum net six in the loss.
At Pikeville
(15th Region semifinals)
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
MC (26-6)……5 5 6 3 – 19
PK (28-5)……21 18 14 16 – 69
Scoring:
Martin County (19) – Allysa Allen 0 3-4 3; Laken Williams 0 1-2 1; Katie Marcum 2 0-1 4; Brooklyn Marcum 1 4-4 6; Candance Spaulding 0 2-4 2; and Kennadi Mollett 0(1) 0-0 3. Totals: 3(1) 10-15 19.
Pikeville (69) – Trinity Rowe 1(5) 0-0 17; Kristen Whited 3(1) 1-2 10; Kyera Thornsbury 0(1) 1-1 4; Leighan Jackson 2 0-3 4; Rylee Theiss 4 2-3 10; Kylie Alvin 0(5) 0-0 15; Sophie Woods 1 0-1 2; Kylie Hall 1 0-0 2; Nicole Lin 0(1) 0-0 3; and Cat Walters 1 0-0 2. Totals: 13(13) 4-9 69.
Lawrence County…81
Pike Central……….68
Lawrence County advanced to the championship game with an 81-68 win over Pike Central on Saturday afternoon at the Appalachian Wireless Arena.
Kensley Feltner poured in a game-high 29 points as the Lady Bulldogs moved to 29-5. Kaison Ward followed with 22 points and Sophie Adkins added 16. Leandre Curnutte chipped in nine.
Hannah May led four Central players in double figures with 25 points. Abby Hess finished with 13 while Emalie Tackett scored 14 and Lindsey Bowman tallied 10.
At Pikeville
(15th Region semifinals)
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
LC (29-5)……26 21 10 24 – 81
PC (16-15)…..12 20 17 19 – 68
Scoring:
Lawrence County (81) – Kensley Feltner 8(1) 10-11 29; Leandre Curnutte 3(1) 0-0 9; Abby Nelson 1 1-1 3; Kaison Ward 5(4) 0-1 22; Sophie Adkins 3(1) 7-10 16; and Madison Artrip 0 2-2 2. Totals: 20(7) 20-25 81.
Pike County Central (68) – Hannah May 4(3) 8-9 25; Emalie Tackett 5 4-5 14; Abby Hess 5 3-7 13; Lindsey Bowman 4 2-2 10; and Abby May 3 0-2 6. Totals: 21(3) 17-25 68.