Catching my breath ... girls

A few notes on the area girls' basketball picture as we close out 2008:

Even after its close call with Calloway County, Marshall County remains the clear favorite in the First Region race. A lot of little things went in Calloway's favor in the first of five potential meetings, and the Lady Marshals still prevailed in overtime.

First of all, Marshall was without point guard Margaret Thomas, whose ability to penetrate was missed when Calloway played zone. Marshall coach Howard Beth also felt that she was missed on the defensive end.

Calloway also got some unexpected contributions. Reserve Karlie Wilson buried four 3-pointers and Averee Fields looked like the best player on the court at times, particularly in her 17-point first half, before she fouled out late in regulation.

The two teams meet again in a few days, so we'll see what adjustments both teams make.

• Both teams could take their lumps in tough holiday tournaments. Calloway lost to Lexington Lafayette in the first round at Montgomery County and takes on a top-20 team in Southwestern in the consolation bracket.

Marshall faces an even tougher field at Greenwood. Christian County beat the Lady Marshals on Saturday, and Monday finds Louisville Iroquois on the same court. Iroquois, the state runner-up in 2007, is led by guard Adia Mathies, a Kentucky signee.

Ballard Memorial is in a tough field at Bourbon County, and Murray — which looks like the Lady Bombers' top challenger in the All A Classic — hosts its own tournament this week. Murray showed a glimpse of its potential even while going 1-3 in Ballard's pre-Christmas tourney. Murray took Clarksville Northeast and Tennessee signee Kamiko Williams to overtime in pool play, and Northeast later beat Ballard in the finals.

And we can't overlook Paducah Tilghman, which probably will meet Murray in the championship game of the Lady Tiger Classic. The Lady Tornado, which has gotten good work from sisters Natalie and Chelsey Shumpert and Brandy Allen, is 6-1 with its only loss coming in overtime to a Central Hardin club that has lost by single digits to top-20 teams North Hardin and Elizabethtown.