Boyd's big night keys Lady Lions to OT win over Lady Devils

SUMMITT — Clutch shooting from behind the arc and key defensive stops gave the Boyd County Lady Lions all they needed on Thursday night to beat the Russell Lady Devils 56-48 in overtime in a key 16th region matchup at Coach Roger Zornes Gymnasium.

Boyd County coach Kimberly Groves had plenty of praise to go around, especially for junior guard Carley Boyd.

"Tonight was Carley's night. They left her open and she made them pay for it. She really got after the glass really well in the second half, especially late in the game."

Boyd led the Lady Lions with a game-high 19 points — including four 3-pointers — 8 rebounds and 4 steals. Jylin Edmondson finished the night with 18 points and 5 rebounds. Kollyn Groves added 10 points and 5 boards in the win.

Boyd gave most of the credit for her success to the teams' ball movement and her teammates helping to get her the looks she needed.

"Coach is big on ball movement and my team is just behind me to know that I hit a couple before and they got me the ball," said Boyd.

The win gives the Lady Lions record to 11-5 while Russell falls to 14-5 on the season. Both teams will square off again on Feb. 16 in Flatwoods as a tune up for tournament time.

Boyd gave the Lady Lions a 30-27 lead with a 3-pointer from the top of the key midway through the third. Then Edmondson hit a jumper to extend the lead and seemingly swing the momentum back in Boyd County's favor.

However, the Lady Devils would answer late in the quarter with 6 straight points, getting a pair of free throws from Kennedy Darnell, then Kenley Kouns scoring on an offensive rebound. Finally, Lily Ervin caught a pass from Kouns and hit a jumper as time expired to give Russell a 33-32 lead going into the final quarter.

In the fourth, Russell began to build up a lead with Kouns hitting a pair of free throws, and Darnell scoring on a layup following a steal by Gabby Oborne to put Russell up 39-34 with 6:30 remaining in the game.

But the lead wouldn't hold as the Lady Lions put together a quick 7-0 run to take the lead when Edmondson scored off a lay up in transition with 4:36 showing on the clock.

Ervin would come up with two straight baskets to give the Lady Devils a 45-43 lead with just over 2 minutes to go.

Boyd would draw a foul on a 3-point attempt and sink 2 of her 3 free throws to pull the Lady Lions even with 1:34 left in the game.

Neither team could come up with a scoring chance in the final 90 seconds and the game went into overtime.

During the extra period, the Lady Lions came up with the first big play on a 3-pointer by Kennedy Blankenship in front of her own bench to give Boyd County the lead for good.

"(Blankenship) knocked down a huge three in the overtime. It's kind of been a process and coming all year long. That's a shot we want her to take any time she's open and she did," coach Groves said.

Kollyn Groves later pushed the lead out to five with a pair of free throws, but Ervin responded on the ensuing possession with a 3-pointer to cut the lead down to 50-48 with 1:27 left.

Boyd's defense would stand tall and keep the Lady Devils from getting any good looks and the Lady Lions sank 6 of 8 free throws to close out the game to earn the win.

"In overtime, we knew we just had to keep them in front of us and then whenever they shot, just box out and rebound," said Boyd.

Russell took control of the momentum in the latter stages of the first quarter with a 14-2 run that ran over into the second frame. Darnell contributed 5 points during the scoring run and Ervin highlighted it with a steal, drive and layup.

The Lady Lions fought back to close out the first half with a 10-0 run. Boyd hit from beyond the arc and Edmondson scored on a layup to close out the half to trail 25-20.

"We got down 12 and Jylin got into a little bit of foul trouble and that limited what we could do offensively," said Groves. "We dug ourselves into a bit of a hole, but we were able to get her back in the game, switch things up defensively and help keep her in the game."

The Lady Devils were led in scoring by Ervin with 19 points, 5 rebounds and a game-high 7 steals. Kouns had 11 points and 3 rebounds. Darnell finished with 11 points, 4 boards and 3 blocked shots. 

Russell 11  14   8   12  3 =  48

Boyd County 8   12   12   13  11 =  37

RUSSELL (14-5): Lily Ervin 6 2 1-2 19, Kennedy Darnell 3 0 5-7 11, Gabby Oborne 1 0 1-1 3, Myla Troxler 0 0 0-0 0, Mila Wheeler 0 0 0-0 0, Kenley Kouns 4 0 3-4 11, Kamryn Fleming 2 0 0-0 4. Totals: 16 2 10-14 48. Rebounds: (O-14, D-14) 28. (Kouns 8, Ervin 6, Darnell 4). Assists: 6 (Oborne 3, Darnell 2). Steals: 13 (Ervin 7, Oborne 3). Blocks: 3 (Darnell, Oborne, Fleming). Fouls 16. Fouled out: None.

BOYD COUNTY (11-5): Jada Ray 1 0 0-0 2, Jylin Edmondson 6 0 6-12 18, Carley Boyd 0 4 7-9 19, Hannah Lykins 0 0 0-0 0, Kollyn Groves 3 0 4-4 10, Allison Phipps 0 0 1-2 1, Kennedy Blankenship 0 2 0-0 6. Totals: 10 6 18-27 56. Rebounds: (O-8, D-18) 26. (Boyd 8, Edmondson 5, K. Blankenship 5). Assists: 5 (Ray 2, Groves 2). Steals: 8 (Boyd 4, Groves 2). Blocks: 1 (Edmondson). Fouls 16. Fouled out: None.