Week 1’s Top Scoring Performances in Kentucky
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The 1st week of the 2023-24 Kentucky high school basketball season just wrapped up and there was some extremely impressive performances in the 1st week. I want to highlight some of the players that had huge scoring games in week…
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Continue ReadingThe 1st week of the 2023-24 Kentucky high school basketball season just wrapped up and there was some extremely impressive performances in the 1st week. I want to highlight some of the players that had huge scoring games in week 1. First, I want to note that I tried to avoid any repeats from Akeem’s articles (check out part 1 here and part 2 here), so if you aren’t included, it may be because you’re in his articles. Also would like to note that this is not a comprehensive list and I apologize for any deserving performances that are missing below!
McCracken County graduated some key players from their team last season, so I feel a lot of people had questions going into this season as to what they would look like in those players absence. Everyone knew Claire Johnson Claire Johnson 5’10” | CG McCracken County | 2024 State KY should be their leader, but in the same breath, opposing teams know they need to put a focus on her. Well they may be doing that, but it certainly is not slowing Johnson down any in the start of her senior season. In fact, she just broke McCracken County’s single-game scoring record by putting up 41 points in a win over Bethlehem, a top team in Kentucky. She was averaging 17.5 PPG and 2.5 RPG while shooting 62.5% from the field going into that game. Johnson is proving why she is one of the best players you’ll find in Kentucky GBB right now.
Highlights
Another top girl’s basketball player in the state (and beyond), Peyton Bradley Peyton Bradley 5’9″ | CG Meade County | 2025 State KY has continued to impress in the start of her junior season. In Meade County’s 1st three games, she is averaging 26.3 PPG and 6.7 RPG while shooting 50% from 3 and 90.5% from the free throw line, all of which are team-bests. As of that wasn’t impressive enough, let me tell you about who she’s done this against: a highly-ranked CAL team, a very good Daviess County that is proving to be a top 25 team, and a talented Silver Creek team out of Indiana. Against Daviess County, Bradley scored 39 points while knocking down 5 of 7 of her 3-point attempts. Safe to say Bradley is continuing to show her high-level talent on some very big stages.
Highlights
It’s only right to follow up Bradley’s write-up with 2 other Lady Waves that have started off the season on an impressive note. Annabelle Babb Annabelle Babb 5’7″ | SF Meade County | 2024 State KY had everyone in the gym on notice in the 1st game of the season against top-25 CAL. Not only did she put up 26 points to lead all scorers, but she had an outstanding defensive performance. She was tasked with guarding CAL’s leading scorer, a D1 prospect, and she held her to only 7 points on 3/10 shooting. She has continued her outstanding play by averaging 17.7 PPG and 3.3 RPG in Meade County’s 1st 3 games of the season. She is also shooting 51.3% from the field.
Once again, another impressive scoring performance comes from Meade County, this time in the form of senior guard Paige Medley Paige Medley 5’5″ | PG Meade County | 2024 State KY . In the Lady Waves season opener, Medley scored 25 points and went 6 of 13 from the 3-point line (46.2%). On the season, she is averaging 14.3 PPG and 1.3 RPG while shooting over 30% from 3.
Sipes is poised to have a huge season at North Oldham this year. In the Lady Mustangs 2nd game of the season, she scored 30 points. She followed that up with a 25 point game. Sipes has a very quick release and can light it up from 3. She also has very deep range and she can create off of the bounce both for herself and for her teammates. She doesn’t need much space and she does a great job using fakes and hesitations to get a step on her defender. I highly recommend checking Sipes out if you haven’t already.
Highlights
Pernell has started off her freshman season very strong, leading her team to an early 2-1 record, including 2 games against some of the top competition in Kentucky. In 3 games, she is averaging 23.3 PPG and 5 RPG while shooting 48.8% overall and 59.1% from 3. She has been her team’s scoring leader in all 3 games and dropped a season-high 29 points in the season opener. Simon Kenton is a young team, but they are a team that made it to the state tournament at the end of last season while showing the talent and potential they have. Pernell is a huge part of that and she is currently poised to score over 500 points in her freshman season alone.
Harlan County’s Ella Karst Ella Karst 5’4″ | PG Harlan County | 2024 State KY is off to a hot start, averaging 27.7 PPG in the Black Bears 1st 3 games of the season. I know it’s a small sample size in week one, but she has actually increased her scoring in every game so far this season. She opened with a 24 point game and followed that up with a 29 point game. She then dropped a season-high 30 points in their last game. There’s no reason to believe the UVA Wise commit is slowing down anytime soon, so she is definitely a player to watch for this season.
I love players that play bigger than their height and Webster certainly does that. She’s a good ball handler, has strong court vision and awareness, and makes excellent fakes/hesitation moves. On top of that, she can use her moves to create shots off of the bounce or to create plays for her teammates. She just had a 23 point game in a win versus Oldham County and will look to build on that tonight versus St. Henry.