HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Joey Thacker admitted it hasn’t been pretty so far, but he has his Franklin County High School girls basketball team in the state semifinals.
Princess Stewart and Malaka Frank both had big games and the Flyers withstood some tense moments in the final seconds to defeat Campbell County 41-38 on Friday in the quarterfinals of the St. Elizabeth Healthcare/KHSAA Sweet 16 at BB&T Arena.
Franklin County defeated Shelby Valley 47-39 in a tough first-round contest Wednesday.
“You’re going to have to grind out some games in March,” Thacker said, “and we’ve grinded out two in a row.”
Stewart, a 5-foot-7 junior, had 14 points and eight rebounds to lead the Flyers (30-4), No. 5 in the state in The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings. Frank, a 5-10 senior who has signed with Western Kentucky University, added 11 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and four steals.
Franklin County will face the Mercer County-Holmes winner in Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. final.
Mackenzie Schwarber had 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 19 Campbell County (25-10). Taylor Clos pitched in 11 points and four assists.
Camels coach Beau Menefee said the difference in the game was a 13-7 run by Franklin County that gave the Flyers a 29-24 halftime lead. The Camels committed nine of their 15 turnovers in the first half.
“If we had taken better care of the ball in the first half, I think we’re sitting here victorious,” Menefee said. “We really figured it out in the second half. They weren’t doing much to stop us, and we were getting wide-open looks.”
Jolly’s 3-pointer pulled Campbell County within 39-38 with 1:19 remaining and set up a frantic finish.
Frank’s basket gave the Flyers a 41-38 lead with 1:04 left, but they missed the front end of one-and-one free-throw situations on their next two possessions.
After the second miss, Campbell County had a chance to tie but Clos was called for an offensive foul while attempting to set a screen with 2.5 seconds left. Menefee said it was the same call that cost the Camels’ in a 60-56 loss to Mason County in last year’s 10th Region Tournament semifinals.
“Even if I did, they didn’t call it all game,” Clos said. “It’s two years in a row, and it doesn’t happen very often. When it does, you wouldn’t think it would happen in a moment in a game like that.”
Campbell County had a final chance Friday after stealing Franklin County’s inbounds pass but couldn’t score. Menefee tried to call a timeout after the steal, but it wasn’t granted.
“I guess nobody saw me,” he said.
Thacker said he’s proud his team has been able to persevere as Stewart has struggled from the field. After going 0 for 9 against Shelby Valley, she hit 3 of 11 shots Friday. She entered the tournament averaging a team-best 17.9 points per game.
“We’ll let her have an off night or two every now and then,” Thacker said. “Our strength is our balance and versatility.”
Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046 and jfrakes@courier-journal.com.
FRANKLIN COUNTY 14 15 5 7 – 41
CAMPBELL COUNTY 12 12 5 9 – 38
Franklin County (30-4) – Frank 11, Kilbourne 4, Stewart 14, Arrastia 9, Cook 3.
Campbell County (25-10) – Kramer 4, Clos 11, M. Schwarber 12, Jolly 6, Keeton 5.
3-point goals – Stewart, Arrastia 3; Clos, M. Schwarber 2, Jolly 2.