Murray-Calloway ... round one

Murray and Calloway County, as schools, are separated by a little over a mile.

In the various state girls' basketball rankings, they're even closer.

Murray is the defending First Region champion. Calloway, which fell to Murray in overtime in last year's regional final, has a Division I signee, returns a bit more on paper and is, at least in some quarters, the regional favorite.

So ... who wins tonight's game at Murray's Tiger Gym, the first of two regular-season showdowns between the two teams?

Does it really matter, given that conventional wisdom has them meeting four times this year, including the district and regional finals?

You bet it does.

"This year, it's even more important to get the number one seed (for the district tournament)," Calloway coach Scott Sivills said. "You don't want to be the two-seed and have to play Marshall County on their court in the first round of the district."

Sivills also makes another point that it is arguably the First Region's biggest regular-season game in years, perhaps even close to two decades. For the first time in recent memory, the region has two teams ranked in the state's top 20 in the Cantrall and Litkenhous ratings.

So ... how big is it?

"It's a big game, but it's not the end of the season," Sivills said. "I think sometimes you can make this out to be too big and your players play tight.

"Our players are excited about it, because it's Murray and because it's the first time we've played them since the regional finals. But they're not as jacked up as the media and the parents and the fans."

Murray coach Rechelle Turner's answer to the question was laced with a little humor.

"Everybody gets real excited about it, and I'm not sure why," Turner said with a smile."These two teams gave everybody four classic match-ups last year, and this is the first time we've seen them this year."

Could we see another foursome this season?

"If that means we're both in the regional finals, I'll take it," Turner said. "I'm not sure I would necessarily pick them as the team I would want to play four times."

On paper, it's a tough game to call. After battling through some sickness and injuries early in the season, Murray hit its stride just before Christmas, going 3-1 in Lexington Catholic's Republic Bank Holiday Classic and later winning its own Lady Tiger Classic, beating a strong Grayson County team in the championship game.

Two of the Lady Tigers' three losses are to defending state champions. Guard Haley Armstrong and point guard Janssen Starks lead the way, and 6-foot-3 Sian House is a strong defensive presence in the paint. In recent weeks, Murray has gotten more offensive production from forward Shelby Crouch and defensive whiz Amanda Winchester lately.

Calloway's Averee Fields, a West Virginia signee and the returning Paducah Sun All-Purchase Player of the Year, is her usual self, averaging 22 points and 12 rebounds per game. Point guard Taylor Futrell is averaging 11 points per game, and guards Abby Futrell and Karlee Wilson have made significant strides. Forward Alyssa Cunningham, sidelined by mononucleosis in the postseason, provides solid work in the post..

"My uncle, who has coached for 40 years, told me after the regional final last year that we would be much when our sophomores became juniors," Sivills said. "And he was right. We're seeing that on the floor."

The Lady Lakers' only loss was to a team from Connecticut in a post-Christmas tournament in Orlando, Fla., and Calloway owns two wins over a Martin Westview squad that's been in the Tennessee Class 2A final four the last two years.