Teams to Beat in Each Region: Regions 9-16

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The state of Kentucky has 16 regions. One team from each region will get the chance to play for a state championship. We are now midway through the season, so I thought it would be a good time to look at who currently sits as the favorite in each region. Below you will see the current favorites from the 9th through 16th Regions in Kentucky. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">9th Region: Cooper</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cooper's only 3 losses on the season came within 5 day period at the beginning of December. Despite playing one of the toughest schedules in the state, they are currently on a 13-game win streak and have a 16-3 record overall. They are one of the toughest defensive teams in the state and they also have a ton of weapons on the offensive end of the court. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='167174' first='Logan' last='Palmer'] (17.2 PPG), [player_tooltip player_id='167107' first='Liz' last='Freihofer'] (11.2 PPG), and [player_tooltip player_id='502110' first='Bella' last='Deere'] (9.7 PPG) have been leading the way for the Jaguars, but they have 7-8 players that are capable of scoring in double figures in any given game. If we had strength of schedule rankings in Kentucky, Cooper would be towards the top of the list, if not #1. They will be battle-tested and battle-proven come postseason play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">10th Region: George Rogers Clark</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>GRC may be without their junior star in [player_tooltip player_id='311967' first='Ciara' last='Byars'], but they are still one of the toughest teams you'll find in Kentucky. They have so much talent and HC Robbie Graham always has them ready to compete. Sophomore PG [player_tooltip player_id='739686' first='Kennedy' last='Stamper'] (11.1 PPG) is their leading scorer, but they have multiple players that can be the leader in each game. [player_tooltip player_id='631218' first='Jailenn' last='Green'] (9.8 PPG), [player_tooltip player_id='376806' first='Teigh' last='Yeast'] (9.5 PPG), and [player_tooltip player_id='403466' first='Khania' last='Jones'] (6.5 PPG/6.1 RPG) have made huge impacts after transferring to GRC in the offseason. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='376804' first='Anaya' last='Chestnut'] (8.7 PPG) showed she can play with anyone in her freshman season, but she has taken another huge step up this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">11th Region: Franklin County</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Franklin County and Frederick Douglass seem to be the 2 names you hear the most when it comes to favorites in the 11th Region, but anyone could come out on top come tournament time. However, Franklin County is the only team undefeated within the region at the moment. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='413440' first='Rachel' last='Shropshire'] (10.3 PPG/4 RPG), along with juniors [player_tooltip player_id='471746' first='Leia' last='Hogan'] (10.4 PPG) and [player_tooltip player_id='328576' first='Juliana' last='Frazee'] (9.5 PPG/7 RPG) have been a tough trio to stop. The rest of the Lady Flyers core makes them especially dangerous as they are deep and have speed, athleticism, and size. When they come together as a team, they are extremely hard to beat.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">12th Region: Danville Christian</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 12th Region is one of the toughest regions in the state this year as they have multiple teams that could come out on top come tournament time. However, for the purposes of this article, I feel the team that is undefeated in the state, including 9-0 in the region, has to be the team to beat at the midway point of the season. They also stand out because they are one of the only teams I've seen that actually have 2 players averaging a double-double. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='403464' first='Grace' last='Mbugua'] (25.7 PPG/14.5 RPG) and freshman [player_tooltip player_id='913408' first='Amauri' last='Blackford'] (12.1 PPG/10.5 RPG) have been leading the way, but [player_tooltip player_id='897377' first='Paisley' last='Metz'] (11.1 PPG) is also averaging double figures for the Lady Warriors. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">13th Region: Corbin</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 13th Region tournament could get very interesting because all of the top teams have proven that while they can beat anyone on any given night, they also could get beat on any given night. For now, I'll go with Corbin because their only loss in the region is by 1 point and they have already beat another region favorite in North Laurel. While the Lady Redhounds have had some struggles recently, they also have faced a lot of really talented teams. What makes this team so tough is the fact that they have 4 different players averaging double figures: [player_tooltip player_id='321711' first='Kallie' last='Housley'] (17.4 PPG), [player_tooltip player_id='1053070' first='Kylie' last='Clem'] (16.1 PPG), [player_tooltip player_id='199610' first='Bailey' last='Stewart'] (10.8 PPG), and Darcie Anderson (10.2 PPG). Their leading rebounder, Reagan Walker (7.5 PPG/6.6 RPG) is also more than capable than scoring in double figures. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">14th Region: Perry County Central</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This might be the hardest region to pick a favorite from at this point in the season because the only undefeated team in the region has only played 2 regional games and the 5 top teams in the region all only have 4-5 total losses this season. I narrowed it down to Perry Central and Owsley County, but since the Lady Commodores won the head-to-head matchup earlier this season, they got the edge. Kyra McAlarnis (19.7 PPG/7.4 RPG) and Emmalee Neace (14.7 PPG/4.9 RPG) have been a tough duo to stop. However, they have multiple contributors each game. [player_tooltip player_id='761877' first='Brooklyn' last='Cornett'] (8.2 PPG) and [player_tooltip player_id='1093165' first='Taylor' last='Couch'] (8.1 PPG) are some other scoring leaders.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">15th Region: Pikeville</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pikeville has not yet lost a game against a Kentucky opponent this season and they have some very tough senior leaders. [player_tooltip player_id='167106' first='Trinity' last='Rowe'] (17.5 PPG), [player_tooltip player_id='167103' first='Kyera' last='Thornsbury'] (13.7 PPG), and [player_tooltip player_id='290222' first='Kristen' last='Whited'] (12.4 PPG) are averaging double figures, while [player_tooltip player_id='398030' first='Rylee' last='Theiss'] (8.7 PPG/9.8 RPG) and [player_tooltip player_id='688045' first='Leighan' last='Jackson'] (8 PPG/5.5 RPG) have been the leaders on the boards. The Lady Panthers have 3 players shooting over 40% from 3. As a team, they are shooting 47.2% from the field and 38% from 3. They are tough and have a lot of weapons, including who I feel is the best passer in the state this season in [player_tooltip player_id='167106' first='Trinity' last='Rowe']. I would honestly be shocked if they are not the 15th Region champion come post-season time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">16th Region: Boyd County</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are 3 teams in the 16th Region that are viewed as top teams in the state: Boyd County, Russell, and Ashland Blazer. There are multiple regions you could move them into and they would likely become the favorite team in those regions. I feel like Boyd County has probably played the toughest schedule so far, so I'm going with them for the purposes of this article, but I truly would not be surprised to see any of those teams come out on top come tournament time. The Lady Lions just won the 2A State Championship and they have some very tough senior leaders. [player_tooltip player_id='231464' first='Jasmine' last='Jordan'] (17.7 PPG/8.3 RPG) and [player_tooltip player_id='167104' first='Audrey' last='Biggs'] (17.6 PPG/5.7 RPG) have been extremely hard for opposing teams to stop. [player_tooltip player_id='743739' first='Jada' last='Ray'] (9.4 PPG) and [player_tooltip player_id='326397' first='Taylor' last='Bartrum'] (7.6 PPG) have also been key players on both ends of the court. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->