Kittens spoil Russell's upset bid to claim Region title

MOREHEAD — A fourth quarter rally from Ashland and some late stops propelled the Kittens to a 53-49 comeback win over the Russell Lady Devils to win the 16th Region championship on Friday night at Ellis T. Johnson Arena. 

"Just too many empty possessions down the stretch and we knew (Ashland) would eventually gonna break free," said Russell coach Mandy Layne.

"But I'm just so proud of my kids though. The effort they gave and a they played as hard as they could, I told them afterwards how a missed shot here and a made shot there just makes a difference."

The Lady Devils were led in scoring by senior Gabby Oborne, who finished her career with 17 points. Russell's other senior, Kennedy Darnell, finished the night with 9 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and a pair of steals.

Ashland was paced by a trio of double digit scorers. Brookelyn Duckwyler with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 6 steals. Gabby Karle scored 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Zoey Smith provided huge contributions off the bench with 10 points and a steal.

Russell went on a 7-0 run that started with 1:04 remaining in the first and carried over into the second to give the Lady Devils the their first lead.

Prezley Price got the run started with a steal and went coast to coast for the layup.

Oborne scored on a transition bucket following another steal from Lily Ervin. Then Kenley Kouns pulled the trigger from the 3-point line to give the Lady Devils a 17-10 advantage.

Karle found Duckwyler alone at the and kicked a pass out to the senior for a triple from the wing to cut Russell's lead down to 19-14 with 4:25 left in the half.

However, Russell would extend their lead back out to 10 before halftime with a 3-point bomb from Oborne and and a pair of free throws from Kamryn Fleming to take a 26-16 lead into the break.

In the third, Ashland (26-5) closed the gap early with a putback from Jenna Delaney and Karle connecting on a 3-pointer off her own steal to make the score 26-21.

But the Lady Devils would answer with a scoring push of their own, getting a key basket from Kamryn Fleming and a 3-point play from Darnell.

Oborne would later convert a 3-point play as well to help the Lady Devils carry a 41-33 lead into the final quarter.

The Lady Devils opened up their biggest lead of the night to begin the fourth, as Oborne corralled a long rebound and went coast-to-coast for the layup and a 45-33 lead.

Running out of time and needing a spark to make a comeback, the Kittens finally found it in Karle.

The senior guard scored 6 of the Kittens' points — including the baskets to begin and end the run — during a 15-2 run over a 4 minute and 38 second stretch to help Ashland go ahead for good.

Smith's free throws with 2:30 remaining gave Ashland a 48-47 lead. Then Karle scored on a score underneath to extend the lead to three.

Oborne pulled Russell back within one with a drive for two, but that would be the final points the Lady Devils would score.

Forced to foul, the Kittens would convert 3-of-8 from the foul line and the defense would make the needed stops to secure the win.

Layne spoke highly of the senior class for their accomplishments that go beyond the x's and o's of the game and feels confident that they will find success out of high school.

"They're another important part of our legacy, being apart of two region titles and twice region runner-ups," said Layne. "But not only that, they're just great kids and they've poured everything they've had into this program and being loyal to it. We're going to miss their leadership and their character. They're just high-character kids and they really pushed the other kids to be good examples. We know they're going to do great and we can't wait to see what they do in the future."

Russell's Fleming, Ervin and Oborne were named to the All-Tournament team. For Ashland, it was Gulley, Duckwyler and Karle receiving honors.

Darnell was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

Ashland 10 6 17 20 = 53

Russell 12 14 15 8 = 49

ASHLAND (26-5): Alexis Troxler 1 0 2-4 4, Zoey Smith 2 1 3-4 10, Brooke Campbell 0 0 0-0 0, Brookelyn Duckwyler 2 2 2-4 12, Gabby Karle 4 1 0-0 11, Addi Wolfe 0 0 0-0 0, Jenna Delaney 4 0 0-3 8, Aryanna Gulley 2 0 4-6 8. Totals: 15 4 11-21 53. Rebounds: 41 (Gulley 12, Duckwyler 7, Troxler 6). Assists: 5 (Karle 4, Duckwyler). Steals: 9 (Duckwyler 6). Blocks: 5 (Troxler 4, Gulley), Turnovers: 12. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: Troxler (4th, 0:11).

RUSSELL (25-8): Lilly Ervin 4 0 0-2 8, Kennedy Darnell 2 0 5-5 9, Gabby Oborne 5 1 4-7 17, Kenley Kouns 1 1 0-0 5, Kamryn Fleming 2 0 3-3 7, Prezley Price 1 0 0-0 2, Myla Troxler 0-0 1-2 1. Totals: 20 2 12-18 49. Rebounds: 34 (Darnell 11, Kouns 5, Ervin 4). Assists: 6 (Darnell 3). Steals: 7 (Ervin 3, Darnell 2). Blocks: 2 (Ervin, Fleming). Turnovers: 18. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: Fleming (4th, 0:38) Darnell (4th, 0:10).