Hoops talk ...

For Community Christian's girls, the road to Richmond is built for speed. To get to the All A Classic First Region championship game, the depth-starved Lady Warriors will have to get by a pair of much deeper, up-tempo teams in Hickman County and Ballard Memorial.

"In the past, it would have been more of a concern. We did it after Christmas and handled it pretty well," said CCA coach Mary Lee Evers, referring to games with Tennessee squads Henry County and Clarksville Northeast in a four-games-in-three-days stretch in Murray's Lady Tiger Classic. "We're in pretty good shape. Sometimes we get going a little too fast, but that's something we're working on."

In recent years, the All A Classic has become the showcase for CCA's improving program. The Lady Warriors made it to the regional finals in 2007 and 2008 and were beaten 55-52 by Murray in the semifinals last year. CCA is the No. 3 seed this week, but the consensus is that — behind the forward duo of Bonnie Durrett and Cari McMullen — they're a legitimate threat to win the tournament.

Ironically, one of the answers to CCA's depth issues was in attendance as it disposed of Hickman on Tuesday night. Guard Caitlin Rust, who started for CCA a year ago before going off to a military school last fall, was watching the game from the bleachers at Graves County's Eagles' Nest.

"She's already finished school and enrolled at Mid-Continent (University), and she is going to play there," Evers said. "Yeah, we could use her."

• Throughout the week, First Region officials — primarily at the All A Classic — are working with pink whistles as part of an effort to raise awareness of breast cancer and money for cancer research.

Each official is donating at least one game check to the Jimmy V Foundation. Cancer struck especially close to home last spring, when longtime official Randall Cruse was diagnosed with cancer in his mouth and throat. Cruse underwent surgery and extensive treatment, both radiation and chemotherapy, and returned to the court in December.

• How strong is Massac County's Superman Classic? Two of the First Region's top three teams, Paducah Tilghman and Marshall County, were beaten in the first round, as was a Calloway County club that is in the top half of the regional hierarchy. As it turns out, Tilghman is guaranteed to meet either Marshall or Calloway on Saturday in a consolation-bracket game.

The semifinals look like barnburners, with Murphysboro meeting Madison in a battle of teams ranked in their respective classes, and the host Patriots — back at full strength as Cory Ayala returns from a foot injury — meeting Carbondale in a rematch of a semifinal contest last year that went into overtime.

• Paducah Tilghman girls' star Brandy Allen is serving a school-issued six-game suspension. She missed the Lady Tornado's 90-80 loss at Ballard Memorial and Tilghman's 59-50 win over Marshall County on Tuesday night, a good bounce-back for Josh Barnett's club.

• Heath's Tra Tharp could have an eventful weekend planned. Tharp, who starts at off-guard for the Pirates, will play in Friday night's All A Classic regional semifinal against Fulton County, then head down to take a football recruiting visit to Tennessee-Martin. If the Pirates make it to the finals, Tharp will have to cut his visit short to try and help Heath advance to the state tournament.