Sarah Sutton Reaches Milestone
Allen County-Scottsville sophomore Sarah Sutton reached the 1,000 point mark for her high school career, a highlight of a rough week for the Lady Patriot basketball program. With 15 points on Thursday, February 9 against Metcalfe County, Sutton placed her name in the AC-S record books becoming the 13th girls basketball player to reach the milestone.
With one
regular season game remaining and the post-season looming, the Allen
County-Scottsville Lady Patriots are in, what might be described as uncharted
waters---at least in terms of the last several years.
A rough week---with losses to Metcalfe County (65-54) and Franklin-Simpson (49-40)---has left AC-S scrambling to turn things around with District 15 tournament action scheduled to start Monday night. The setbacks mean that the Lady Patriots would need wins against Warren Central and Russell County to avoid the program’s first losing regular season record since 2011.
Still, the rough week did have a silver lining---an impressive silver lining. Last Tuesday, AC-S downed Greenwood 57-41 in a game in which the Lady Patriots displayed their potential against a solid basketball team.
Greenwood jumped on AC-S early, building a 14-9 lead after the first period. The Lady Patriots answered, sparked by the outside shooting of RaeAnn Stafford. Her three, three-point baskets helped jump-start the Lady Patriots and pushed them to a 19-9 run in the second frame. The outburst staked AC-S to a 28-23 lead at the break and built momentum. Led by Sarah Sutton and Mason Towery, AC-S outscored the hosts 17-12 in the third frame and 12-6 in the fourth period to win by 16, 57-41.
“This is a good Greenwood team,” coach Brad Bonds said. “We came to play tonight. RaeAnn caught fire and Sarah went to war. She was really good offensively. Sarah played like a senior tonight. It was a great team win.”
Sutton finished with 19 points despite missing seven of her 12 shot attempts. However, Sutton’s wiliness to attack the basket drew contact and Greenwood fouls. Sutton made eight of eight free throws in the game---helping her remain among the state’s best free throw shooters. Sutton also grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds giving her the 16th double-double of her career.
Towery added 15 points---despite seeing reduced playing time due to fouls. Towery was five of 11 from the floor, five of six at the line, grabbed five rebounds and handed out four assists. Stafford matched her career high as she finished with 12 points, all coming on three-point buckets.
The Lady Patriots----who finished the game shooting 40% from the floor (18-45)---also got key contributions Sydney Day. The point guard who scored four points and dished out six assists. In addition, Baylea Cook, Jaylee Woods, and Allison Meador added key baskets.
AC-S controlled the glass, out rebounding the Lady Gators 35-23. The Lady Patriots was solid at the line, finishing the game 15-18.
Thursday, the Lady Patriots looked like a different team at Metcalfe County. While struggling offensively, the Lady Patriot defense wasn’t strong thus allowing the Lady Hornets to grab an early lead, build on their momentum, and upset AC-S. Plus, a 35-point, 14 rebound, four-block night from future Tennessee Tech player Mackenzie Coleman did not help the Lady Patriots.
Behind the play of the 6’4” Coleman, the Lady Hornets grabbed an early 14-13 lead after the first eight minutes. Metcalfe used an 18-11 second frame to build a 32-24 lead at halftime. The Lady Hornets followed with an 18-12 third period to take control. The Lady Patriots won the final frame 18-15 but were never able to overcome the Lady Hornets.
“Metcalfe shot the basketball rally well from the beginning and that got us back on our heels,” coach Bonds explained. “We didn’t guard well. Coming into the game, we wanted to put pressure on their guards and try to limit the touches that Mackenzie Coleman would have. We didn’t do a good job of making their guards handle the ball until late.”
The loss overshadowed a milestone night for Sutton. Her 15 points---coming on an off shooting night in which she made just six of her 17 shots---lifted her to 1,002 points for her career. Sutton becomes the 13th player in the 43-year history of Lady Patriot basket to reach the 1,000-point total for her career. Sutton’s achievement came in her 86th start and her 118th game wearing the Lady Patriot uniform.
Towery also had 15 points for AC-S despite her struggles to make shots against the inside presence of Coleman. Towery missed 12 of her 19 attempts. Stafford added 10 points.
The Lady Patriots finished the game shooting 38.3% from the floor (23-60) and 66.7% at the foul line (4-6). Metcalfe County went 24-47 from the field (51.1%) and 12-17 at the foul line. On the glass, despite Coleman’s 14 rebounds, AC-S was even with the Lady Hornets. Led by Sutton’s six boards, AC-S had 33 rebounds as did the Lady Hornets.
More shooting and defensive struggles plagued AC-S Friday night as the team dropped a 49-40 decision to Franklin-Simpson. Towery led AC-S with 15 points despite missing 10 shots in the game. Sutton was held to 10 points, limited to three field goals and forced to miss almost a quarter of action due to foul trouble.
It was an uphill battle all night for AC-S, evident by the fact that the Lady Patriots’ biggest lead was two, 2-0 early in the game. Franklin-Simpson shot the ball well---finishing the game 20-40 for an even 50 percent. Their shooting and solid defense---combined with AC-S’s struggles made for a long, disheartening night for AC-S.
The Lady Cats led 12-8 after the first eight minutes and was able to push their lead to six, 25-19, at halftime. AC-S showed signs of a rally to start the third. A bucket from Sutton and back-to-back hoops off the hands of Towery tied the score at 25 with 5:49 left in the third. Franklin answered with back-to-back hoops before a three-pointer by Cook cut the Lady cat lead to one, 29-28, at the 2:47 mark. Another Franklin-Simpson score built the lead to three before Woods sank a three at the 1:21 mark to tie the score at 31. Towery sank one of two free throws moments later to give AC-S a 32-31 lead but Lady Cat Oneisha Baker’s basket gave her team a 33-32 lead going to the final period.
The Lady Patriots would threaten once the rest of the way. Franklin-Simpson opened a seven-point lead, 39-32, at the 6:04 mark before the Lady Patriots battled to within one. Led by six points from Towery, the Lady Patriots pulled to within one, 41-40, at the 2:37 mark. However, a three-point basket by Tiffany Lunsfurd at the 2:14 mark pushed the Lady Cat lead to four, 44-40. The Lady Patriots---also hurt by six fourth quarter turnovers that led to seven Lady Cat points---could not counter. Free throws sealed the win for the Lady Cats.
AC-S (13-14) concluded the contest 15 of 43 from the floor (34.9%). At the line, AC-S was seven of nine. The Lady Cats outrebounded AC-S 28-25. Towery led the Lady Patriots with nine rebounds.
The Lady Patriots will close the regular season Friday night against Russell County (21-7). Between games, the team’s lone senior---ReaAnn Stafford----will be recognized as part of Senior Night activities. AC-S will then turn their attention to Monday’s first round district matchup with Monroe County (25-2). The game will tip off at 6 p.m. at Barren County.