Basketball file
GAME 8: HOLMES VS. GRAYSON COUNTY, 8 P.M. THURSDAY
HOLMES
* Coach: Tony Perkins.
* Record: 27-5.
* Nickname: Bulldogs.
* Location: Covington.
* Region: Ninth.
* Enrollment: 828.
* Litkenhous Rating: 105.7 (No. 12 in state).
* Sweet 16 trips: Fifth (3-4).
* Last trip to State: 2016 (lost to Mercer County 59-55 in quarterfinals).
* What to look for: The Bulldogs, who return three starters from the team that lost to Mercer County in the Sweet 16 quarters last season, bounced back from a loss to Covington Holy Cross in the 35th District final to win the Ninth Region Tournament for the second straight year. Their only other losses this season were to No. 4 Male, No. 7 Manual, No. 10 Mason County and No. 18 Highlands. “We have played a tough schedule and we have matured as a team,” Perkins said. “We are a team that plays hard and a team that does not worry about who scores.” Holmes hangs its hat on defense. The Bulldogs rank among the state leaders in scoring defense, allowing only 40.4 points per game, and have held opponents to 39 or fewer points in 15 games this season.
* Key player: Jaynice Stovall. The senior point guard, who is the team’s leading scorer, drives the Bulldogs. She averaged 20.3 points per game in the Ninth Region Tournament.
* Coach-speak: “We have to shoot the ball well, and we need to stay out of foul trouble,” said Perkins, whose team beat first-round opponent Grayson County 43-34 Dec. 22 in the Queen of the Commonwealth at Bullitt East.
STARTERS
3-Laila Johnson
5-6, Jr., 13.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg
12-Kamari Graham
5-3, So., 11.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg
13-Latavia Keith
5-7, Jr., 4.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg
15-Tyrah McClendon-Englemon
5-8, Jr., 12.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg
22-Jaynice Stovall
5-3, Sr., 14.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg
KEY RESERVES
00-Megan Beckett
5-6, Jr., 3.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg
14-Deara Stowers
5-1, Fr., 5.9 ppg, 1.1 rpg
GRAYSON COUNTY
* Coach: Daniel Pharris.
* Record: 22-10.
* Nickname: Cougars.
* Location: Leitchfield.
* Region: Third.
* Enrollment: 1,309.
* Litkenhous Rating: 88.7.
* Sweet 16 trips: First.
* Last trip to State: None.
* What to look for: After some recent near-misses, the Cougars are making their Sweet 16 debut. They started the season 7-5, won four in a row, then lost five of 10 (a stretch that Pharris thinks helped prepare his team for the postseason) before winning their last six, capped off by Sunday’s 36-31 win over Apollo in the Third Region final. Grayson County is one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the state, making 37.2 percent of its shots from long range. “We’re not very big, we don’t really have a post presence inside unless we get a mismatch with Grace White,” Pharris said. Pharris said 5-4 junior Mackenzie Edwards “played really well in the (region) tournament. She was the X-factor for us the last four games coming off the bench.”
* Key player: The Cougars are led by 5-10 senior guard Grace White. The Northern Kentucky University signee leads the squad in scoring and rebounding. “Everything goes through her; she creates a lot for everybody else,” Pharris said. White had a double-double (10 points and 12 rebounds) in the Third Region final and also guarded Apollo’s best player. “Grace refused to lose,” Pharris said.
* Coach-speak: “These seniors I’ve got, they’re a special group of girls,” Pharris said. “Allie (Horton) and Grace have started since they were freshmen.” The Cougars lost in the Third Region semifinals in two of the previous three seasons, both times to the eventual champion. “This year they finished it off,” Pharris said.
STARTERS
1-Grace White
5-10, Sr., 16.1 ppg, 8.2 rpg
12-Allie Horton
5-4, Sr., 8.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg
20-Brandi Minton
5-8, Jr., 4.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg
21-Hannah Saltsman
5-8, Jr., 10.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg
30-Shannon Smith
5-9, Sr., 6.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg
KEY RESERVES
10-Mackenzie Edwards
5-4, Jr., 4 ppg, 2.3 rpg
22-Kenzie Renfrow
5-0, Fr., 1.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg
-Josh Cook