Lady Rebs outmatch Taylor for 52-42 win

Defense was the key when the Lady Rebels traveled to Taylor County Jan. 4 to take on the Lady Cardinals. Despite facing a halftime deficit, the Lady Rebs’ defense rallied back to give Casey the 52-42 win.
Going into the game, Salyers knew that Taylor County would be a tough opponent.
“Like us, they are ranked about third or fourth in their region. They are very strong inside and we have had problems this year against teams with a good inside game,” Head Coach Randy Salyers said.
The Lady Cardinals’ inside game did cause problems for Casey early. Elizabeth Thomas, who had 18 points in the game, anchored the paint for Taylor, which allowed them to take a 24-19 lead at halftime.
Salyers and the Lady Rebels made some halftime adjustments which focused on disrupting Taylor’s half-court game and their ability to get the ball inside.
“We decided to pick up the defensive pressure in the second half and started pressing. We wanted to create turnovers and get some fast break opportunities. And when they got in the half-court game, we wanted to keep up the intensity on the guards so they couldn’t get it inside as easy,” Salyers said.
The Lady Rebels shifted to a full-court man-to-man press which proved to be effective. The Lady Rebels rigorous defense forced turnovers and allowed Casey to outscore Taylor 19-9 in the third quarter to take the lead.
“We played much better defense in the second half. We deflected several passes and created tougher shots for them. Once we got the lead, we backed off the press to avoid our girls getting too tired and just controlled the tempo of the game and got the win,” Salyers said.
Nicole Coffman racked up an impressive 32 points to lead the Lady Rebs to a 10-point win.

Chris Zollner

Katy Laman battles two Somerset players for control of the ball during an early-season district match-up.

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The Lady Rebels now turn their attention to a crucial district showdown against Rockcastle County Friday night.
Rockcastle is ranked fourth in the state and holds the best record in the 12th region. The Lady Rebels are not far behind with a 9-2 mark and are ranked 28th in the state. The match-up could be very important in seeding for the district tournament in March.
“The biggest factor in this game is for us to keep them from scoring inside. We will have to play great defense and keep them off the boards. If we can do that, we should get the win,” Salyers said.
The game is the nightcap of a boy-girl district doubleheader which tips off at 6 p.m. Friday at the Casey gym.

Jan. 4 at Campbellsville
Casey                                   12    7   19   14 -- 52
Taylor                                             14  10     9     9 -- 42
Casey (9-2) — Nicole Coffman 32, 7 rebs; Jasmine Johnson 7, B.J. Hogue 5, Katy Laman 5, Christian Terry 3.
Taylor (9-4) — Thomas 18, Wigginton 15, Cox 7, Riggs 2.