Ramiya White Dazzles to Send Butler to Sweet 16 Semis; McCracken County Shuts Down Bowling Green

The first two games of the KHSAA Girls’ Sweet 16 quarterfinals were ones for the books early Friday afternoon at Rupp Arena. The first game saw a solid all-around team come out on top. The second showdown was a barn-burner until the very end.

Below, KSR dives into the battle between McCracken County (Paducah, KY) and Bowling Green (Bowling Green, KY), along with Butler (Louisville, KY) vs. Franklin County (Frankfort, KY), to recap the first two games of Friday’s slate. Later tonight, two more teams will lock up a post in Saturday’s semifinal round.

McCracken County Glides Past Bowling Green Behind Steady Offense

The Lady Mustangs of McCracken County got off to a hot start on Friday morning at Rupp Arena. It was a back-and-forth match-up at the start but the Mustangs held Bowling Green off in the end, 47-41.

Out of the gate, McCracken’s Mikee Buchanan drained a three to put her team on the board and then drove into the paint to take an early 5-3 lead over the Purples.

Bowling Green found an 8-7 lead later in the first off a fast break layup courtesy of senior Jasiyah Franklin. Unfortunately for the Purples, this would be the only time that they would hold the lead in the game. McCracken finished the first quarter on a 4-0 run and came away with an 11-8 lead going into the second.

Buchanan came out red hot once again to start the second quarter after hitting another from deep to give her team the lead at 14-8. Neither team scored for over two minutes until Nataya Wardlow made a three-point jumper with a little over four minutes to go until half. McCracken senior Claire Johnson made it an 18-12 game after putting in two shots from the charity stripe. Johnson closed out the first half on a four-point scoring run to maintain a lead of 20-12.

The Lady Mustangs played a zone defense throughout the game which caused trouble offensively for Bowling Green. The Purples were finally able to break up the defense after Ryleigh Campbell hit a three early in the third quarter to make it a 22-19 game. McCracken drove back down and Jayden Skaggs hit a deep shot of her own but Bowling Green’s Wardlow hit another to make it 25-22.

The Lady Mustangs sparkled on offense toward the end of the third quarter. Fortunately for Bowling Green, Natajia Alexander knocked down a huge bucket from behind the arc as the buzzer went off to get her team within four points of the Mustangs heading into the final quarter.

At the start of the fourth, it was a 29-25 game with McCracken still in front. The Lady Mustangs did not get comfortable with their lead though and went on a 7-0 scoring run within the first two minutes of the quarter to get up by double digits, 36-25. Johnson was red hot in the fourth and scored six of her own in that run.

Alexander made it 38-30 after her teammate, Franklin, was able to get the ball back off a steal. Bowling Green could not stop McCracken on offense as Skaggs nailed another deep three. However, the Purples cut their deficit down 41-35 after being aggressive and getting to the free throw line with a little under three minutes left.

Franklin did miss one from the charity stripe which found Bowling Green back down 45-38. Although the Purples were able to get to the line, their defense came up short and the Mustangs’ steady offense carried them to the 47-41 victory.

McCracken County went 46.4% from the field and 45.5% from behind the arc. Johnson and Buchanan shined in the Mustang victory as they both put up double digits in points with 19 and 15, respectively. Buchanan also led the team in rebounds as she finished with eight.

Butler Stays Hot From The Field, Sends Franklin County Home

This was a game of defense on both ends of the court. The second game of the day between Butler and Franklin County proved to be a battle between two fighting teams until the final buzzer went off. The Lady Flyers fell 39-36 as they could not contain Butler in the paint.

Coming into the match-up, each team had a player to watch out for. The Butler Bearettes have Kentucky signee Ramiya White who had 16 points in the team’s first game of the tournament. On the other side of the floor, Franklin came into the game with Bellarmine signee Rachel Shropshire who had 14 points in their win over North Laurel in the first round.

Butler had clearly done some research on the future Bellarmine Knight prior to the game as they held the talented player to eight points on 3-10 shooting from the field. The Bearettes’ defense was stellar in their win as they did not allow any of the Lady Flyers to score in the double digits.

The second quarter was uneventful for both squads as they each put up a combined eight points total. They stuck right there with each other out of halftime and both scored 12 points in the third.

At the start of the fourth, it was a 26-25 ballgame in favor of Butler. White caught fire in the fourth and recorded two And-1 calls to put her team in the lead on both occasions.

With 1:45 remaining in the game Butler was up 37-34. Franklin cut their deficit down to 37-36 with a little under a minute left but two missed free throws kept the score the same. White got the ball down low and put in a layup to place the nail in the coffin with 16 seconds to go.

Butler led 39-36 with 8.8 seconds left but the Lady Flyers could not get a good look and the time ran out on their tournament hopes.

White finished the game with a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double. Butler’s Mariah Knight also finished the game in double digits after going 50% from the field to walk away with 12 points and the victory.

Franklin County struggled from the field, going 20.9% from the field and 7.7% from beyond the arc. The lack of shooting from the Lady Flyers and Butler’s stellar 60% three-point percentage allowed them to get the win.

McCracken County and Butler will go head to head in the Final Four on Saturday, March 16 at 11 a.m. EST at Rupp Arena. The winner will advance to the championship game later that night at 7:00 p.m. EST.