BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
MONTGOMERY — A battle-tested Beauregard High School basketball team traveled to Montgomery with dreams of extending a magical postseason run with a win against Central Clay County High School.
Instead, the Lady Hornets (17-9) committed 29 turnovers and were initially out-rebounded by the Lady Volunteers (17-11) in a 45-33 season-ending loss in the girls’ 5A central region semifinals on Feb. 19.
It is the first time the BHS girls basketball team has made a regional tournament since the 2010/11 season, when the Lady Hornets finished 24-6 and lost 71-48 against Livingston High School in the 4A central region semifinals.
A disappointed yet upbeat BHS head coach Trent Powell reflected on BHS’ best girls basketball season in 15 years.
“When I took this job, we lost a lot when I came in and it was, ‘Hey, you don’t have [Cooper Watson] anymore,’” Powell said. “It took two years for this group to believe in something, to come out here and reach the Sweet 16. We didn’t get the result that we wanted, but the journey has been very, very rewarding.”
He also thanked his four seniors for their effort and used them as an example for future teams.
“We’ve now seen the hard work that these kids have put in for four years, the seniors that are leaving us,” Powell said. “We’ve seen the grit that they played with throughout the year, the hustle, the weight room, how important that is to show up every day and get physically strong.”
The Lady Hornets faced a tough start as CCCHS attacked the lanes and made life miserable in the paint for BHS to open a 10-4 lead within the first five minutes. After that, the Lady Hornets appeared to settle in, forcing several turnovers and matching the Lady Volunteers’ scoring to go into the second quarter down 14-8.
Despite that late momentum, continued difficulties with turnovers plagued BHS, and CCCHS proved opportunistic with a 6-1 run within the first three minutes and 45 seconds of the second quarter. While the Lady Hornets turned up the heat with a full-court press, the Lady Volunteers’ success on the offensive glass and second-chance scoring opportunities limited its effectiveness.
Coming out of halftime down 22-14, BHS stormed the court with much-improved play after Kalise Culbertson made an early three-pointer and the defense forced back-to-back turnovers. However, CCCHS’ Ramyah Billingsley then hit two quick threes and began a scoring avalanche that buried the Lady Hornets in a 37-21 deficit by the end of the third quarter.
With mostly pride left to play for, BHS made its traveling fans proud by fighting for every possible loose ball and pushing the ball up the court to score points as quickly as possible. Lindsey Moulton was particularly impressive for the Lady Hornets, scoring seven fourth-quarter points before Kamryn Torbert hit a gorgeous buzzer-beating half-court shot.
Moulton paced BHS with 13 points, while Torbert contributed 10 points and Jakera Davis finished with 15 rebounds. Zy’keria Heflin was the game’s leading scorer with 16 points for CCCHS, and Ramyah Billingsley chipped in 13 points.
