Lady Indians fall, set sight to region
With the runner-up finish in the district tournament, Adair County reached the 5th Region tournament that starts on Monday night at Taylor County High School. The draw for the tournament was held Saturday morning and since the Lady Indians finished runner-up, they are now matched up with a district tournament winner.
The Lady Indians got a tough draw to start the tournament by facing the favorite or one of the favorites to win the region, Bethlehem. The Banshees will come into the game with a 25-7 record and undefeated against region opponents, while also on a seven game winning streak and 12-1 since the middle of January.
“I think we drew the toughest draw of the region, but we are excited to see the regional tournament for the first time in several years,” Coach Jerald Bryant said. “Our junior class has played at the high school level for five years and are finally getting the fruits of their labor. For our younger players, this is a critical investment into their future potential.”
Adair County will play the second game of the doubleheader on Tuesday night at Taylor County with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. central time. Best of luck to the Lady Indians as they get their first look at the 5th Region tournament for the first time in six years.
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After making it to the 20th district championship game for the first time since 2017, the Lady Indians met a tough Taylor County team on Saturday night. The Lady Cardinals controlled the game from the tip and ended up winning their second straight district title by a final score of 68-36.
“I believe we were caught in the moment of the district championship stage and our nerves showed in our execution,” Coach Bryant said. “We are closer in our skill set to that of Taylor County than the score displayed.”
The press by Taylor County was too much for the young Lady Indians as they came out and jumped out early with a 9-0 advantage by forcing several turnovers. Adair County scored their first basket of the game over halfway through the first period and only managed to score three baskets in the quarter. They trailed 20-8 after the first quarter of play.
The Lady Indians continued to play hard and compete but the pressure by the Lady Cardinals continued to be a battle for Adair County with many forced turnovers and mistakes. Taylor County led at the half 45-18 and continued to add to their lead in the third quarter as they led 63-30 into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter with a running clock, the time passed quickly but Coach Bryant was able to get most of his younger players some valuable time at this stage of the season. Ellie Cheatham scored all six of Adair County’s points in the final quarter but the Lady Indians can still hold their heads high with a runner-up finish.
“It does show that we are building and growing our talent and the structure is there for the future,” Coach Bryant said.
For the game, Adair County had two players in double figures with Cheatham scoring 16 and adding 10 rebounds to her stat line, while Reece Bardin came in off the bench to provide 10 points for the Lady Indians. Sarai Collins finished the contest with five points, Kinslee Akin had three, and Lily Loy scored two.
Adair County had 34 turnovers in the game and only attempted 39 field goals compared to their opponents 57. The Lady Indians fought hard on the board but were outrebounded 35 to 27, and only shot eight free throws while Taylor County attempted 19.
The All-20th District teams were recognized after the game, as well as Adair County being presented their 20th District tournament runner-up trophy. Cheatham was named to the all-academic, all-season, and all-tournament team, while Collins was named to the all-season and all-tournament team, and Akin joined them on the all-tournament team.
