Ballard Memorial (24-6, Third District Champions) v. Calloway County (19-10, Fourth District Runner-Up)

Head to Head...December 7 @Massac County...Ballard defeated Calloway 63-61.  February 18 @Ballard...Calloway defeated Ballard 52-43.

Last five games...Ballard Memorial 4-1, Calloway County 3-2

Games decided by five points or less...Ballard Memorial 3-1, Calloway County 4-3

When scoring 50 points or more...Ballard Memorial 23-4, Calloway County 16-4

When scoring 50 points or less...Ballard Memorial 1-2, Calloway County 3-6

Average points per game...Ballard Memorial 62.2, Calloway County 56.1

Average points allowed per game...Ballard Memorial 48.4, Calloway County 49.1

Against the regional tournament field...Ballard Memorial 6-4, Calloway County 6-4

Strength of schedule...Advantage, Calloway County.  Ballard Memorial played a very strong schedule, adding games against 25-4 Letcher County Central and 19-win Hart County to a First Region slate that included two meetings with Calloway, Graves County, and Paducah Tilghman and single game battles with Community Christian and Murray.  Calloway County's schedule,  though, is even tougher...perhaps the most grueling in the region. The Lady Lakers played the top three teams in the Second Region (Henderson County-23 wins, Webster County-21, Madisonville-20), the top team in the 13th Region (Clay County-24), and they faced the Third Region's Ohio County three times.  Ohio County finished with 22 wins, and they have not lost since Calloway knocked them off on January 16.  And oh yeah...Calloway County faced Marshall County and Murray three times, and Ballard Memorial, Community Christian, Paducah Tilghman, and Graves County twice each. 

All-A Classics...As in Averee and Abby.  Two ridiculously skilled bigs with different abilities, but an undeniable similarity in terms of their importance to their respective clubs.  We'll say it right here...Averee Fields is the best all-around player to ever lace 'em up in girls basketball in the First Region. She is a dominant offensive weapon, she is the best rebounder in the region, and she is the best defensive player in the region.  And she's a pretty fine passer, and an unstoppable force in transition.  Fields is the region's leading scorer at 24 points per game, and her 50-rebound effort in last week's Fourth District tournament, she now pulls down 13.2 caroms per contest.  Anyway...she's really good.  So is Abby Shelley, who might be the best pure shooter in the region.  That's no small feat for a 5-11 forward, but you understand how few players are capable of shooting 46% from the field, 38% from three-point range, and 77% at the foul line.   Shelley averages 15.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest, and she also serves a rim deterrent to opposing offensive players thanks to the range and length that make her a capable shot-blocking presence.

Big-Game Bryant (and Tubbs, too)...Candace Bryant (14.9 ppg) has put together a marvelous career at Ballard Memorial, and she has shown the ability to raise her game on the biggest stages.  She has long been huge for the Lady Bombers in the All-A Classic, and it is time for her to add the regional tournament stage to her collection of big-game performances.  Bryant always attacks the game with a certain fearlessness, a quality that serves her well as she is unafraid to take...and make...huge shots in huge moments.  Anyone who has followed Ballard closely knows that Shannon Tubbs has that same uncanny knack for coming up big when it matters most, and she has authored terrific performances in each of the last two All-A regional championship games.  She also knocked down six triples as Ballard beat Marshall County on the road last month, and Calloway County will have to keep an eye on the senior sharpshooter who leads the Lady Bombers in made threes.

Young Guns...The region is rife with outstanding young guards, and a handful of the best square off in this one.  And despite the impact of upperclassmen like Fields, Bryant, and Shelley...it is these fresh-faced backcourt talents that may decide the contest.  Ballard's trio of Brandi Jones, Anna Denton, and Abbi Denton are at the core of Ballard's defensive engine, and they have shown an ability to make big plays with the game on the line.  Calloway County offers up a sophomore guard line that has depth and plenty of tenacity, headlined by starting guards Taylor Futrell and Karlee Wilson.  The vastly improved Futrell will be sorely tested by Ballard's pressure, and the Lady Lakers will continue to neer her critical shot-making.  Wilson ranks with Bryant and Tubbs as a big shot-maker, and her three-point shooting ability is another pivotal factor for the Lakers.  Abby Futrell has been huge down the stretch for Calloway, and Lauren Benson offers solid defense and extra ball-handling off the bench.  All of these kids are high-energy, max-effort competitors...meaning we should be in for quite a battle on Tuesday night.

We Meet Again...No strangers, these two.  This is round three this season for the Lady Bombers and the Lady Lakers, and fittingly, the rubber match will determine who continues towards a Sweet Sixteen dream and who goes home.  Perhaps of greatest importance is the fact that this is the third straight year the teams have met in the regional tournament, and the biggest question may be whether or not Ballard can exorcise the demons that have plagued them on this stage.  The Lady Bombers have not represented themselves well in these games, and for a group of kids who have done everything else there is to do in First Region basketball, this is their last order of business.  Can Calloway County survive a physical grind without power forward Alyssa Cunningham?  Add that to the list of questions to be answered in this championship-quality quarterfinal.  A mutual respect exists.  So does a burning desire to beat the other.  It all should make for compelling theater on a grand stage.

Ballard Memorial wins...

• If they hold Fields under 25 points
• If they limit Calloway County to three three-point field goals or fewer
• If they create 15 turnovers or more
• If they win the battle of the glass
• If they score 60 points

Calloway County wins...

• If Averee Fields scores 25 points or more
• If they commit fewer than 15 turnovers
• If they make five threes or more
• If they win the battle of the glass
• If they hold Ballard to 50 points or less