Star sophomore Seygan Robins had 21 points, four assists and three blocks and three steals to lead the Mercer County High School girls basketball team to a 59-55 victory over Holmes on Friday in the quarterfinals of the St. Elizabeth Healthcare/KHSAA Sweet 16 at BB&T Arena.
With one junior and five sophomores among its top six players, Mercer County (31-5) – No. 4 in the state in The Courier-Journal’s Likenhous Ratings – is in the state semifinals for the first time. The Titans lost in the first round of the Sweet 16 last year.
“I’m ultra-competitive, so I thought they should be here when they were eighth-graders,” Mercer County coach Chris Souder said. “You get a special group of kids once in a lifetime as a coach, so I really try to enjoy this. This doesn’t surprise me.”
Lyric Houston added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Titans before fouling out at the 3:59 mark of the third quarter. Souder said winning despite playing the final 11:59 without Houston – the team’s second-leading scorer – was a sign of his team’s toughness.
“Seygan is a tremendous player, but we have a team full of them,” Souder said. “I don’t know if I’ve had a player foul out in the third quarter … but it worked out for us. We have a lot of good players.”
Jynea Harris scored 19 points and Janice Stovall and Kamari Graham both added 13 to lead No. 9 Holmes (29-5), which shot just 29.1 percent (16 of 55).
“I thought we played hard,” Holmes coach Tony Perkins said. “We played OK in the second half and got back in the game. We just didn’t make enough shots.”
The Titans led by as many as 14 points, 36-22, early in the third quarter before Holmes rallied. Kamari Graham’s layup pulled the Bulldogs within 54-48 with 2:50 left. After Faith Lake missed a pair of free throws, Holmes had a chance to pull closer but Graham’s 3-point try was off.
The Titans hit just 5 of 12 free throws down the stretch but held on for the victory.
Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046 and jfrakes@courier-journal.com.
MERCER COUNTY 20 14 14 11 – 59
HOLMES 14 8 16 17 – 55
Mercer County (31-5) – Souder 8, Houston 10, Robins 21, F. Lake 8, L. Lake 6, Davis 5, Burke 1.
Holmes (29-5) – Englemon 2, Johnson 8, Harris 19, Stovall 13, Graham 13.
3-point goals – Robins 2, F. Lake 2, L. Lake 2; Harris, Stovall, Graham 3.