After star player I’Liyah Green took just one shot in the first half, Male High School girls basketball coach Champ Ligon Jr. made sure there wouldn’t be a repeat performance in the second half.
“We had to have a little meeting of the minds at halftime to make sure we actually threw the ball into her,” Ligon said. “In the first half we missed her several times, and when we did to try to throw it to her we were throwing it right to the other team or throwing it out of bounds.”
The Bulldogs got the message, and Green took advantage. The 6-foot-1 senior forward finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds, seven blocks and four steals as Male beat Bullitt East 65-42 in Wednesday’s second round of the Republic Bank/Coca-Cola Consolidated Louisville Invitational Tournament at Bellarmine University’s Knights Hall.
Green finished 6 of 11 from the field, including 5 of 10 in the second half.
“It’s a credit to I’Liyah’s teammates that they made a concerted effort to get her the ball in the second half,” Ligon said. “And it’s a credit to I’Liyah that when she did get the ball that she finished.”
Emilia Sexton scored 14 points and Cameron Browning added 10 points and nine rebounds as Male (15-1) – No. 3 in the state in The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings – extended its state-best winning streak to 15. The Bulldogs will face Highlands in Friday’s 8:30 p.m. quarterfinal.
Kathleen Scott scored 15 points to lead No. 16 Bullitt East (14-4). The Chargers played their second straight game without junior point guard Alyssa Peak, who is out with strep throat.
While Green wasn’t much of an offensive factor in the first half, her teammates picked up the slack. Logan Calvert, Sexton and Sydney Vestal each hit 3-pointers during a 17-0 run that gave Male a 23-8 lead at the 7:07 mark of the second quarter.
Bullitt East pulled within nine points on four occasions, the last coming on Amber Higdon’s basket that made it 40-31 with 2:02 left in the third quarter.
But Male responded with a 20-6 surge to put the game away, taking a 60-37 lead on Sexton’s free throw with 2:41 remaining.
“We didn’t play our best basketball, but we kept grinding and grinding and finally were able to break the game open,” Ligon said. “I give the kids credit for being mentally tough because it was a physical game.”
Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046 and jfrakes@courier-journal.com.
BULLITT EAST 8 15 9 10 – 42;
MALE 18 16 11 20 – 65
Bullitt East (14-4) – Ralph 2, Masden 6, Higdon 5, Scott 15, Henn 4, Williams 7, Love 3.
Male (15-1) – Harbison 8, Kraft 2, Johnson 2, Sexton 14, Vestal 3, Owens 2, Browning 10, Green 15, Calvert 9.
3-point goals – Masden, Scott 2, Love; Sexton 3, Vestal, Calvert.