Kentucky differs from a lot of the other states by only having 1 state championship. Some people like that and others wish they would have a champion for each class. Regardless of how you feel, what cannot be denied is that there are a ton of talented teams in the 16 team field each year. The opening session of the 2022 Mingua Beef Jerky Girl's Sweet 16 State Tournament featured Boyd County, Meade County, Bullitt East, and Bethlehem. So, who shined in session 1?
To kick things off, <em><strong>Meade County</strong></em> defeated Boyd County 53-46. The Lady Waves overcame a 13 point halftime deficit to come away with the victory. As disappointing as the loss is to Boyd County, they are extremely young and should find themselves back on the big stage.
<em><strong>Bullitt East</strong> </em>defeated Bethlehem 67-50. The Lady Chargers set the precedent early and while the Banshees made some really good runs, they couldn't overcome the dominance of [player_tooltip player_id="106153" first="Gracie" last="Merkle"] and [player_tooltip player_id="199613" first="Lilly" last="Reid"].
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Top Players</strong></span>
<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="254562" first="Peyton" last="Bradley"]</strong> | Meade County | Freshman
Bradley plays like a veteran. She never looks rattled. So poised and has so much control in her game. High basketball IQ, great court awareness, and can really do it all very well. She plays so hard and her effort is impressive. A top 15 free throw shooter in the state, she hit them when it mattered today and finished 9 of 10 from the line. She is also currently Kentucky's top 3-point shooter and she hit 4 triples in Meade County's opening game.
<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="167104" first="Audrey" last="Biggs"]</strong> | Boyd County | Sophomore
Biggs has great size and is an extremely versatile player. She can score in a variety of ways. She drives hard to the basket hard and isn't afraid of contact. She is an excellent free throw shooter. She has good ball handling skills and makes some really good passes. Very much so a team player and a high level player all-around.
<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="231464" first="Jasmine" last="Jordan"]</strong> and <strong>Emilee Neese</strong> were also big for Boyd County. Jordan has great length. The sophomore is a solid shot blocker and she is excellent at getting offensive rebounds & keeping them high enough that she doesn't get blocked on her put-backs. She had 2-3 players on her and was still finding a way to get them in the basket. She finished the game with a double-double (11 points and 11 rebounds). Neese was lethal from the 3-point line, knocking down 5 shots from deep. The freshman found the gaps and moved to get open looks. She caught the ball ready to shoot and has a quick release on her shot.
<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="106153" first="Gracie" last="Merkle"]</strong> | Bullitt East | Senior
I've watched and played with girls that are extremely tall like Merkle, but none of those players have been able to dominate in the way that Merkle does. She gets up and down the floor so well, and though it doesn't get discussed much, she makes phenomenal passes. She threw one pass the full length of the floor and it landed perfectly in her teammates arms. She rebounds strong and makes it nearly impossible for teams to stop her on the boards. Merkle has great touch around the basket and is the currently the state's leader for field goal percentage (71.7%). She finished the game with 24 points and 15 rebounds.
<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="199613" first="Lilly" last="Reid"]</strong> | Bullitt East | Junior
Reid absolutely dominated in this game. She played lockdown defense and continuously got her hands on the ball to disrupt Bethlehem's offense. She crashed the boards and came up with quite a few rebounds as well. On the offensive end, she really fueled the Chargers in the 1st half and then started off the 2nd half by knocking down back-to-back baskets from deep. She is also the floor general for Bullitt East and she handled the pressure really well. She is fearless out there and was a major factor in the result of today's game.
<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="228143" first="Carlie" last="Thurmond"]</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="257280" first="Emma" last="Filiatreau"]</strong>, and<strong> [player_tooltip player_id="206009" first="Kasey" last="Spalding"]</strong> led the way for Bethlehem. Thurmond has so much speed and is such an unselfish player. She has excellent court vision and she threads the needle perfectly. She can get to the basket, shoot the 3, handle and distribute the ball at a very high level. Excellent defender as well. Filiatreau is such a solid player. She finishes around the rim and is a really good free throw shooter. The junior also has a knack for rebounding and has lead Bethlehem on the boards all season long. Spalding did a little bit of everything and she really fought to try to keep Bethlehem alive. Spalding is a good passer, defender, and finds the gaps on her drives.
