Basketball musings ... no Tilghman-Marshall game

Paducah Tilghman and Marshall County are still generally considered the First Region's top boys' teams, but there is a possibility they won't play each other this season.

If they do collide, it will be in the regional tournament.

Area teams have been reshuffling schedules since a winter storm effectively called off basketball for nearly two weeks, and the Tornado has been the big loser with schools scrambling to complete their district obligations. Tilghman hasn't been able to reschedule any of the four games it has lost to inclement weather.

"Three of them were home games for us," Stieg said, referring to the lost revenues from games with Fulton County, Reidland and Graves County. "We're going to end up losing five games this season."

The Marshall matchup was scheduled for Jan. 30. Tilghman also lost a game with Christian County in early December when the Colonels cancelled because it fell on the same night that their football team was playing for the state championship.

Tilghman, which takes a 15-4 record into tonight's game with Heath, will end up playing only 23 regular-season contests.

• Most of the area district races are mostly settled, or will be after tonight's action. Two districts remain largely in play on the girls' side, the Third and Fourth.

Ballard Memorial has the inside track on the No. 1 seed in the Third and can clinch in tonight with a win over Mayfield, and St. Mary isn't completely locked into the fourth seed. The Lady Vikings hope Ballard is ripe for an upset in LaCenter on Thursday night, considering it would be the Lady Bombers' third district game in four nights. St. Mary win could force a tie for the No. 3 seed with either Graves County or Mayfield.

On the boys' side, the No. 1 seed in the Second District is up for grabs. Tilghman is 4-0 in district play going into tonight's game with Heath and hosts Lone Oak (4-1) on Friday night, a team it beat by only one point in early January.

• The Fulton City-Fulton County boys' game that was suspended because of a fight has been rescheduled for Feb. 14 (Valentine's Day, of all coincidences) and will be played at Fulton City. The general public, however, will not be allowed to attend the game.

Feb. 2 was the original makeup date, with that game scheduled to be played at Hickman County. However, this time the decision was made to play the game at Fulton City. Gametime is 5 p.m.

• Laken Tabor has been granted eligibility at Crittenden County. Tabor, who transferred from Marshall County in early January, has played in a couple of games but hasn't had any more time to work into the lineup since the Lady Rockets were sidelined for two weeks by the winter storm. Tabor, a fine perimeter shooter, could be a big factor in the Fifth District tournament.

• Covington Holmes, which is widely ranked as one the states's top two teams, will play at Marshall County's Hoop Fest next season. Holmes, coached by Carlisle County native David Henley, will have three Division I prospects in the senior class next season — 6-7 forward Elijah Pittman and guards Ricardo and Jeremiah Johnson.

Hoop Fest founder Steve Woodward also expects several other top Kentucky teams to attend, including Scott County, Jeffersontown, Christian County and Warren Central.

• Community Christian's overtime loss to Murray got me to thinking about the plight of the school's girls' program, which has made a splash in the All A Classic in each of the last three seasons and has established itself as one of the region's better outfits.

Under Mary Lee Evers' tutelage, the Lady Warriors have become a program to be reckoned with. Evers has quietly established herself as one of the region's best coaches, showing the ability to develop players and withstand what appear to be significant personnel losses on a yearly basis. The latest shining example is 6-2 sophomore forward Bonnie Durrett, who is starting to become a force on both ends of the floor and has the ability to play on the outside.

Unfortunately, the move to the Fourth District a couple of years ago has put CCA in a tough position. In any other district, the Warriors would have a decent shot or better to make the regional tournament, something it's never done.

But locked in with Marshall County, Calloway County and a Murray team that has two freshmen and an eighth grader among its top six players, CCA — even with just one senior, point guard Laura Evers, on this year's roster — faces an uphill climb to ever get to the Regional Special Events Center floor in March.

"Obviously, depth and numbers are always going to be our biggest challenge," Evers said during the All A Classic.

That might change with the pending consolidation of Heath, Lone Oak and Reidland into McCracken County High. Many observers believe that Paducah's two private schools — St. Mary and CCA — could benefit from it, with parents looking to send their kids to a smaller-school environment.

Stay tuned.

• Massac County's girls split with Herrin last week, settling for a three-way tie with Herrin and West Frankfort for the River-to-River Conference title. The Lady Patriots could play Herrin in Thursday night's regional finals at Anna-Jonesboro, their potential third meeting in 11 days.

The Patriots' boys squad, fresh off an impressive second-half effort at Murphysboro that put Massac in control of the league race, could see the Red Devils again in the regional finals. Massac and Murphysboro are the top two seeds in the regional tournament, also at Anna-Jonesboro.