KHSAA Sweet 16 girls basketball tournament results, highlights from 1st day at Rupp Arena

LEXINGTON — Russell girls basketball struggled to shoot the ball in its 50-33 loss to McCracken County on Wednesday at the Mingua Beef Jerky/KHSAA Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena.

The Red Devils (28-7) started 0 for 16 from beyond the arc, and McCracken (30-5) took advantage by pushing the pace and getting high-percentage shots with 28 points from inside the paint.

The Mustangs were ranked 10th in the state for points allowed this season. They held the Red Devils below their season average of 60.1 points per game and 47.6% from the field.

Russell shot 26.1% from the field and was 2 for 21 from beyond the arc.

Samford signee Claire Johnson finished with a game-high 21 points in the win. Sophomore Reagan Hill had a double-double (12 points and 11 rebounds).

"I was really happy for Reagan Hill. ... She really makes us a different team," McCracken coach Scott Sivills Jr. said. "We knew all year long that she was capable of doing that. She had a terrific game."

Russell senior Shaelyn Steele scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds before fouling out with 3:42 remaining.

The Penn State signee has played varsity basketball for Russell since she was in seventh grade. In those six years, Russell won three regional titles and made it to the Elite Eight once.

The Mustangs will play Bowling Green in the Elite Eight at 11 a.m. Friday.

“Bowling Green has been a staple up here for many, many years, and they're very well coached. I commend him for his scheduling. He played some very tough teams the last five to seven games of the year, and what that did (is) give his kids confidence,” Sivills said of Purples coach Calvin Head.

“We're very familiar with him. We won one and lost, so this will be a very good matchup.”

McCracken won the first matchup against Bowling Green by 16, and it lost the second game by three.

McCRACKEN 17 8 13 12 – 50

RUSSELL 9 5 7 12 – 33

Russell (28-7) – Shaelyn Steele 15, Kennedy Darnell 11, Hannah Sanders 4, Courtney Fitzpatrick 3.

McCracken (30-5) – Claire Johnson 21, Reagan Hill 12, Mikee Buchanan 8, Jayden Skaggs 6, Ava Hughes, 3.

Franklin County 51, North Laurel 30

Bellarmine University signee Rachel Shropshire hit a trio of 3-pointers and scored a game-high 14 points to lead the No. 11 Flyers (30-6) over the No. 12 Jaguars (29-6).

Keyonna Taylor (12 points, six rebounds) and Makiyia Wheeler (six points, nine assists) also had big nights for Franklin County, which extended its state-best winning streak to 17.

North Laurel shot 27.5% (11 of 40).

“Just proud of how we guarded,” Flyers coach Joey Thacker said. “We made it real hard on them. We had to. That’s kind of been our m.o. all year long is try to get some stuff done on the defensive end.”

The Flyers will face Butler in Friday’s 1:30 p.m. quarterfinal.

Mariella Claybrook scored 10 points to lead North Laurel. Leading scorer Brooke Nichelson had six points and five rebounds and fouled out late in the third quarter.

“Mentally, I did not have them ready,” North Laurel coach Eddie Mahan said. “You can rest assured the blame is here on me.”

NORTH LAUREL             7        7       11      5 – 30

FRANKLIN COUNTY      9       17       13      12 – 51

North Laurel (29-6) – Chloe McKnight 5, Jaelyn Black 2, Haley Combs 7, Brooke Nichelson 6, Mariella Claybrook 10.

Franklin County (30-6) – Madison Jackson 3, Rachel Shropshire 14, Juliana Frazee 5, Leia Hogan 5, Logan Kennedy 4, Makiyia Wheeler 6, Keyonna Taylor 12, Maleric Walton 2.

Bowling Green 46, Owsley County 44

Bowling Green rallied from a 12-point deficit to defeat Owsley County.

Bowling Green (24-10) jumped to a 4-0 lead, but Owsley County (26-10) ended the quarter on a 16-0 run.

The Purples defense tightened in the second quarter and held the Owls to six points, shooting 2 for 13 from the field.

“It's kind of been how we played all year — a little muddy, an up-and-down roller coaster, but I thought our kids fought,” Head said. "We knew they were going to be tough to handle. They shoot the ball extremely well, and they made us pay when we didn't do what we were supposed to do defensively.”

Bowling Green’s offense continued to improve throughout the game, going from making only one field goal in the first quarter to shooting 7 for 10 from the field in the fourth.

After starting the game 0 for 9 from beyond the 3-point arc, their first 3-pointer came from senior Chloe Potter in the third quarter, sparking a rally that cut the Owls’ lead to three.

“​​When your team is losing, you feel a lot of pressure. You don't want to go home first round,” Potter said. "So, making big plays is what we had to do to get the momentum back for our team.”

With 6:59 remaining in the fourth, the Purples grabbed their first lead since the first quarter after a layup by junior Katy Smiley.

Potter, Smiley and senior NaTajia Alexander each finished with 12 points.

BOWLING GREEN 4 9 13 20 - 46

OWSLEY COUNTY 16 6 7 15 - 44

Bowling Green (24-10) – Chloe Potter 12, Katy Smiley 12, NaTajia Alexander 12, Jasiyah Franklin 8, Ryleigh Campbell 2.

Owsley County (26-10) – Carly Smith 14, Addison Terry 14, Aaliyah Lynch 11, Macey Brown 4, Shelby Murray 1.

More: 'Unprecedented': Sacred Heart basketball on quest for first KHSAA Sweet 16 four-peat

Reach sports reporter Prince James Story at pstory@gannett.com and follow him on X at @PrinceJStory.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KHSAA Sweet 16 girls basketball: Results, highlights from Wednesday