The scoreboard showed a lopsided loss at the end of Adair County’s first round contest of the 2017 5th Region tournament Monday night, Feb. 28, 2017, but the future is bright for the young Lady Indians as their improvement over the course of a tumultuous season has been remarkable.
“We were a young team this year, didn’t have that much experience coming into the season, and we’ve had a ton of injuries,” assistant coach Amanda McCloud, who finished the season as head coach in James Turner’s absence, said Tuesday. “We didn’t always play well, but we always played hard and I’m proud of the girls for that.”
Nelson County ended Adair’s season Monday, as the more seasoned squad took advantage of the Lady Indians’ youth en route to an 84-49 final margin. There were bright spots, however, as Adair County continued to fight until the final seconds against one of the region’s top teams. Senior Katherine Curry ended her ACHS career with an impressive effort, scoring eight points and grabbing eight rebounds. Sophomore point guard Ashley Owens, the team’s lone representative on the all-tournament team, tallied a team high 15 points and nine rebounds, while Kyla Kessler sank four threes to account for her 12 points on the night.
After the game, McCloud praised Curry for her contributions to the team as its only senior. “We’ve watched Katherine develop over the last few years not only as a player but as a great young lady,” McCloud said. “She’s the kind of person who leads by example and she’s been a great leader for us. I’m going to miss her and I know the girls will miss her a lot.”
While the team’s record this year, 9-22, won’t turn many heads, the experience the team gained will serve it well moving forward. “I’m excited for our younger girls because they got an opportunity to get out there this year and learn from their mistakes,” McCloud said. “That will help them next year and after kind of a rebuilding year this year I think the program has a lot to look forward to. We’ve got a great group of girls.”
By Wes Feese
Media Relations, Adair County Schools