Ballard Memorial 56, Monticello 53

RICHMOND, Ky. — Candace Bryant grabbed the defensive rebound and turned upcourt with that look in her eye.

With Ballard Memorial needing a basket to go ahead in the final 20 seconds of its opening-round game in the All A Classic state tournament, Bryant took the ball the length of the court, sliced her way through a pair of defenders and drove the lane for the go-ahead basket with 13 seconds remaining.

And after 12th Region champion Monticello missed a 10-foot jumper for the lead, Tiffani Hatley was fouled on the rebound and hit two free throws with 3.6 seconds remaining to seal an improbable 56-53 victory in a game that ended at nearly 1 a.m. (EST) at Eastern Kentucky University's McBrayer Arena.

"I had missed one the trip before and all I was thinking was 'Finish it, finish it.' I saw I could get through their defense and I had to go for it," said Bryant, who scored 12 of her game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter despite suffering with some flu-like symptoms.

"My throat feels kind of nasty," Bryant explained. "I just don't feel good all over."

Ballard (16-5) has little time to rest. Because of the winter storm that has prevented several of the boys' teams from getting to Richmond, the girls' quarterfinals and semifinals will be played on Thursday. Ballard will take on Green County, an 84-72 winner over Elliott County, in a 1:30 p.m. (CST) quarterfinal contest.

"We had three girls sick when we lost to Cumberland County in the quarterfinals," Ballard coach Kevin Estes said. "Just once, I would like to get to a state tournament with everybody healthy."

If the Lady Bombers win that one, they will meet either Sheldon Clark or Gallatin County in a 8 p.m. (CST) semifinal. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

The frantic nature of the game reflected the Lady Bombers' experiences on their second trip to Richmond. They left on Monday, a day earlier than planned, to avoid the ice storm, then changed hotels on the day of the game after spending the night in a Richmond hotel that has lost electrical power.

Ballard finally found some shelter in a hotel on the northern edge of Lexington, some 40 minutes away from McBrayer Arena.

For a time, it appeared that turnovers would do in the Lady Bombers — 15 in the first half contributed mightily to a 23-21 deficit.

"We just get going too fast sometimes," said center Abby Shelley, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Or, as Bryant put it, "our bodies get ahead of our minds."

Ballard trailed by eight with two minutes left in the third quarter, then raced back into the game with a 10-0 run that gave it a 46-43 lead with 5:07 remaining. Reserve Shannon Tubbs hit an 18-foot jumper for the lead and Bryant hit a pair of free throws after drawing the fourth foul on Monticello point guard Cortney Morrow, who had five assists and six steals, establishing herself as a genuine pest on the defensive end.

After Monticello took the lead on a Jordan Hensley 3-pointer, Bryant picked off a pass and was fouled as she took the ball to the basket — it was Morrow's fifth personal.

"If she was in the game at the end, I don't know that (Bryant) takes the ball all the way down," Monticello coach Marla Kelsch said of Morrow's absence. "She wouldn't have let that happen, and she would have been taking some big free throws down the stretch. She hit six in a row in the regional final to get us here."

Ballard got a reprieve when Whitney Owens and Hensley missed front ends of bonus situations in the final 35 seconds. On Ballard's first possession, Bryant found Shelley in the post with a bounce pass but Shelley couldn't get the shot to fall.

"I was kind of at a bad angle," Shelley said, "I was almost right under the basket."

Bryant missed on a drive on the other end, but when she rebounded Hensley's miss from the line, she was on a mission to score.

Next up is Green County, which might be the closest thing to a favorite in what is generally considered a wide-open lower bracket. Green returns several players from the team that beat Marshall County 57-49 in Allen County's Lady of the South Invitational last season, and the Lady Dragons also own a win over the same Clay County club that has split two meetings with Marshall in the last month.

Monticello (14-8) ... 11 23 41 53
Ballard Memorial (16-5) ... 8 21 36 56

MONTICELLO — Alley 7, Brown 15, Frost 8, Owens 3, Morrow 6, Hensley 8, Crabtree 6, Casada, Anderson.

Field goals 19/59. 3-pointers 5/20 (Hensley 2, Crabtree, Owens, Alley). Free throws 10/17. Rebounds 31. Fouls 15.

BALLARD MEMORIAL — Hatley 6, Rodgers 10, Shelley 17, Bryant 18, Ralph 3, Mitchell, Tubbs, Hudson, Denton.

Field goals 20/44. 3-pointers 2/8 (Shelley 2). Free throws 14/17. Rebounds 40. Fouls 16.