WC girls win one of three at Caverna

By Jimmie Earls

Shorty Lassiter

Rikki Fry anticipates a pass in tournament action at the Caverna Holiday Tournament.

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Shorty Lassiter

Morgan Burton handles the ball for the Commanderettes during tournament play.

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Shorty Lassiter

Pooh Railey is double-teamed by the Lady Cougars defense.

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Shorty Lassiter

Washington County’s Pooh Railey (1), Lizzy Hahn, (21) and Morgan Burton (12) follow the ball on defense at the Caverna Holiday tournament.

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Sun Sports Writer

Following their first victory of the season against Bethlehem on Dec. 19, the Washington County Commanderettes basketball team traveled to Horse Cave to participate in the Lady Colonel Christmas Tournament at Caverna High School.

It was tough competition for the girls as they fell 74-52 to Grayson County and lost 66-30 to Bowling Green last Monday before pulling out a double overtime 47-44 win over West Jessamine last Tuesday. The Commanderettes now stand at 2-8 on the season as they head into a winter break.

The Washington County Commanderettes were all aboard the P-train as junior guard Pooh Railey recorded three double-doubles and led the team in scoring in all three games played at Caverna.

Grayson County

Head coach Bernard Smalley knew the competition was going to be tough coming into tournament play.

“Grayson County is number two in their region,” Smalley said before the tournament. “We have our hands full but we’ll go in there, throw it up and see what happens.”

The injury bug was also plaguing the Commanderettes with several members suffering everything from broken fingers to a possible torn rotator cuff.

Grayson County came into the game with a 5-1 record and took care of the Commanderettes 74-52.

Despite the loss, Railey and freshman Shay Yocum had strong games for Washington County. Railey recorded her first double-double by totaling 22 points and 11 rebounds. She shot 8-for-13 from the floor and 6-for-7 from the free throw line. Yocum had 14 points and eight rebounds, shooting four-for-eight from the floor including a three-pointer, and hitting five of eight from the charity stripe.

Washington County shot 45.2 percent from the floor, hitting 19 of 42 shots. They went 11-for-17 on free throws for 64.7 percent.

“We shot pretty good that game,” said Smalley. “We had some turnovers and we got behind, but we the shooting is getting better.”

Washington County (1-7) – Railey 22, Burton 9, Yocum 14, Haydon 3, Medley 2, Fry 2

3-point shots: Burton 1, Yocum 1, Haydon 1

West Jessamine

Next up for the Commanderettes were the Lady Colts from West Jessamine. An injury forced Shelley Medley out of the lineup. It took two overtime periods for the Commanderettes to put away the Lady Colts for good, as WC came out on top 47-44.

Railey got her second double-double of the tourney by scoring 18 points and 10 boards, shooting eight-for-18 for 44.4 percent from the field and going two-for-six on free throws.

Yocum also scored in double digits with 10 points while recording three rebounds and three assists.

All together, the Commanderettes shot 32.3 percent from the field, connecting on 20 of 62 shots, including three-for-seven from three-point range. They went four-for-15 from the free throw line while turning the ball over seven times.

Washington County (2-7) – Railey 18, Burton 4, Yocum 10, Haydon 8, Fry 1, Edelen 6

3-point shots: Haydon 2, Yocum 1

Bowling Green

With another victory under their belt, Washington County knew they had a tough time ahead with the Bowling Green Purples being ranked one of the top teams in the state.

Two games in one day appeared to take their toll on WC as the Commanderettes’ shooting percentage dropped considerably from their previous game, shooting only 24 percent from the floor against Bowling Green, making only 12 of 50 shots.

Even the P-train seemed to be losing steam as Railey barely managed a third straight game with a double-double, recording 12 points and 10 rebounds in the 66-30 loss to the Purples.

Washington County went six-for-11 from the free throw line for 54.5 percent but they also had 14 turnovers.

Washington County (2-8) – Railey 12, Hahn 4, Burton 4, Yocum 3, Haydon 2, Edelen 1, Libby 4

In the end, it was a grueling tournament for the Commanderettes, but they got some good competition and showed signs of making better shots. They’re still practicing hard through the winter break as they prepare to resume the season on Jan. 8 when they host Adair County at home.