Cassidy Rowe, Leah Macy are two of Kentucky's high school basketball stars

Separated by a few years in age and even more inches in height, Cassidy Rowe and Leah Macy share plenty of similarities. They’re both Bluegrass girls born to play basketball and have spent time as AAU teammates on Kentucky Premier. But taking it a step further, they’re both two of the best high school players in the entire state. On Sunday afternoon inside of Lexington Catholic’s gym, they showcased why.

Rowe, a senior Kentucky WBB commit who plays for Shelby Valley High School under her father Lonnie Rowe, led the undefeated Lady Cats into a second-round matchup at the White, Greer & Maggard Holiday Classic. Their matchup? A top 10 team in the state with a pair of underclass players already fighting for Miss Basketball votes in the Mercy Jaguars.

Mercy is powered by Macy, a 6-foot-2 freshman who has been dominating at the high school level since seventh grade. She spent the previous two seasons at Elizabethtown before transferring to Mercy where she now plays for her Kentucky Premier head coach, Nick Cann. Next to Macy is another impressive freshman, the speedy Alyssa Murphy.

On the season, Macy is leading Mercy in scoring at 17.0 points per game while doing the same in rebounds at nearly 13 per outing. She’s a well-rounded stretch-four who can run the floor and score from all areas of the court. Macy is up to 60.9 percent shooting overall and over 90 percent from the free-throw line. Murphy isn’t far behind with her 12.4 points per game on 43.4 percent shooting.

As for Rowe, she’s finally getting the opportunity to show everyone why she’s going to play basketball in the SEC next year. The 5-foot-9 point guard has been a Wildcat since the summer of 2018, but two different ACL injuries cost her multiple high school seasons. Add in the impact that COVID-19 had on sports a year ago and Rowe simply hasn’t had the chance to showcase her skills. That’s all changing this season, though.

Mercy wound up taking down Shelby Valley on Sunday, winning 70-55, but it was the individual heroics of Rowe and the budding potential of Macy and Murphy that made for a thrilling matchup.

Rowe finished with 27 points on 10-20 shooting, including a 6-12 clip from distance. She added five assists and four steals to her stat line, as well, taking over for Shelby Valley down the stretch. After trailing by as many as 22 at one point, Rowe almost singlehandedly brought her squad back, trimming the Mercy lead to as few as four points in the early fourth quarter. Whether it was contested three-pointers from a couple of feet behind the line or tough pull-up jumpers in transition, Rowe was doing everything she possibly could have.

But Macy and the overall talent level of Mercy proved to be too much. She finished with 23 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocks on 9-13 shooting. Murphy added 13 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Those two got the best of Rowe in the win column, but Rowe came away as the clear star.

Regardless, it was an excellent showcase for a few of the state’s best players.

These two young ladies balled out last night!! Two of the top players in the state without a doubt! @cassidyballer5 @leahcmacy pic.twitter.com/jC1h07yTMI

— Lonnie Rowe (@coachrowe20) December 20, 2021

Could Rowe and Macy one day suit as teammates again? Rowe will join Kentucky once her high school career finishes up in the spring while Macy picked up an offer from UK head coach Kyra Elzy in August. She took an official visit to campus where Elzy quickly offered her after. Macy even returned for Big Blue Madness in October. But Kentucky isn’t alone in its recruiting efforts of Macy.

So far, Macy has already hauled in 13 Divison I offers, including the likes of Tennessee, Louisville, Arizona, Mississippi State, LSU, and plenty others. There’s a reason she was named one of the top 25 best class of 2025 recruits in the nation by ESPN. She’ll be in the hunt, along with Rowe, for KY Miss Basketball once the postseason rolls around.

High school girls basketball in Kentucky sure is in good hands.