Bullitt East’s Amber Higdonn(11) attempts to block the shot of Male’s Kyra Hogan (32) during the championship game of The Queen of The Commonwealth tournament, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016 in Mt. Washington KY. (Timothy D. Easley/Special to the C-J)
One night after sinking the game-winner, Male High School’s Logan Calvert did her damage early Thursday night.
The 5-11 senior forward was one of four Bulldogs in score in double figures as they walloped host Bullitt East 74-53 in the Queen of the Commonwealth championship. With the win, Male – the No. 5 team in The Courier-Journal’s preseason coaches’ poll – upped its record to 9-0.
The senior scored 12 of her 13 points in the first half, nailing three 3-pointers to help the Bulldogs build a 16-point halftime advantage. Usually Calvert plays down in the low post, but the Chargers (8-4) started off in a zone defense to keep guards Ciaja Harbison and Emilia Sexton in check. That allowed Calvert, who made 4 of 10 3-pointers in her first seven games this season, to get open on the perimeter.
“Logan truly can score inside and out,” Male coach Champ Ligon said. “She’s one of our best finishers on the inside. (But) if you leave her out there and you don’t guard her, she’s going to make you pay.”
Calvert’s final trey came with 2:59 left and gave Male a 33-21 lead. It was part of 17-4 run to end the first half, with the Bulldogs scoring the last eight points in the final 1:23 to take a 41-25 lead at the break.
“I’m not saying she can’t (shoot), but she picked a good night to be hot,” Bullitt East coach Chris Stallings said.
Harbison, who scored eight of her 16 points in the closing run, added five more in the first 82 seconds of the third quarter. Eventually, Male built a 47-28 lead with 6:20 remaining in the third quarter, but that’s when the No. 7 Chargers, spurred by their Miss Basketball candidate, made a run.
Lindsey Duvall scored 16 of her 21 points in the third quarter. At one point, she went on an 11-2 run against Male by herself. Her runner with 2:00 remaining in the third allowed Bullitt East to climb back to 51-44. However, the Chargers did not get any closer the rest of the way.
It wasn’t for lack of effort though, as Bullitt East got a couple turnovers early in the fourth quarter, but the Chargers had a stretch of six possessions in the period where their shots all rimmed out. Male made them pay, extending the lead to as much as 70-48 with 3:28 remaining.
“At halftime, coach told us they were going to come out strong,” said Calvert, who hit the game-winning shot with :02 left in Tuesday’s come-from-behind 57-56 semifinal victory over Marist (Ill.). “So, we knew we were going to react to it. We had to stay focused.”
Sexton added 14 for Male, which also got 13 from Cameron Browning. Kirstie Henn added 10 for Bullitt East.
In jumping out to a 9-0 start for the season, Male has stayed focused in pulling out some impressive victories. In addition to two against Bullitt East, the Bulldogs have earned wins against No. 1 Butler and No. 10 Covington Holmes, who they beat in a Monday quarterfinal.
Both teams now head to Florida next week for another round of holiday tournaments. Bullitt East goes to Fort Myers to play in the Queen of the Palms, and Male ventures to the Destin Holiday Classic. If the Bulldogs win their first two down in Destin, they likely will face Fairfax (Va.) Paul VI, the top-ranked team in the USA TODAY Girls’ Super 25, in the final.
MALE 74, BULLITT EAST 53
MALE (9-0)
Ciaja Harbison 16p, Emila Sexton 14p, Jada Ownes 7p, Jamari Tillman 4p, Kyra Hogan 7p, Cameron Browning 13p, Logan Calvert 13p.
BULLITT EAST (8-4)
Lauren Masden 4p, Lindsey Duvall 21p, Lexi Taylor 5p, Alyssa Peak 5p, Kirstie Henn 10p, Kathleen Scott 3p, Emmy Ralph 2p, Rienna Hayes 3p.