LEXINGTON — Thirty three years after Monica Owens helped the Cumberland Lady Skins win in the state tournament for the first time, her daughter, Maalyiya, was on the Rupp Arena floor in the opening game of this year’s Sweet Sixteen.

Owens, a Tennessee Tech signee, led the way for the Lady Cardinals with 30 points on 9-of-19 shooting, which included a 6-of-11 effort from 3-point range. Teammate Morgan DeFoor added 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-9 from behind the arc, while Juliette Smith scored 14 points. Malea Williams finished with four points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots in the Lady Cards’ 87-61 win over 14th Region champion Knott Central.

Scott County (34-1) entered Wednesday’s game averaging a state-best 81.1 points per game and had three players scoring in double figures.

“It was a great opening round for us,” Helton said. “We’ve got to clean up some things. … We want to run for 32 minutes. Today, I thought today we ran for about 27 minutes.”

Scott County connected on 29-of-69 shot attempts, including an 12-of-28 performance from 3-point range, while the Lady Patriots finished 19-of-66 from the floor. Jada Higgins led the Lady Patriots with 20 points.

Scott County (34-1) got off to a slow start, falling behind 10-4, before closing out the first quarter with a 17-2 run.

A 3-pointer by Knott Central’s Keara Mullins gave her team a 6-4 edge while her two free throws a minute later increased the the Lady Patriots’ advantage to 10-4.

Consecutive 3-pointers by the Lady Cardinals’ Kenady Tompkins and Owens tied the game at 10 apiece before Scott County took control during the last two minutes of the period.

After falling behind 12-10, the Lady Cardinals scored 11 consecutive points to take a 21-12 lead into the second quarter.

“Once we started running, we got more comfortable,” Helton said.

Helton’s squad began to take over in the second quarter after seeing Knott Central cut its deficit to 21-16 with less than six minutes remaining in the first half.

Two consecutive 3-pointers by Owens pushed her team’s lead to 27-18 at the 6:11 mark. Six straight points by DeFoor increased Scott County’s advantage to 37-23 while Owens’ fifth 3-pointer of the contest allowed the Lady Cardinals to go into the locker room at halftime ahead 47-29.

Owens scored 17 points in the first half, while hitting 4-of-7 shot attempts from 3-point range.

Scott County finished 14-of-31 from the during the first 16 minutes, including a 6-of-13 effort from behind the arc. Knott Central struggled from the floor, hitting only 9-of-33 shot attempts.

Knott Central (25-8) cut its deficit to 49-36 with 5:39 remaining in the third quarter, but the Lady Cardinals put the game away for good with a 14-1 rally to end the period while making the score 67-39 during the process.

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Scott County (87) — Owens 30, M. Williams 4, Tompkins 7, Defoor 21, Smith 14, T. Williams 1, McMath 2, Ward 6, Wise 2.

Knott Central (61) — Ashley 4, Williams 11, Mullins 13, Slone 2, Higgins 20, Noble 3, Gayheart 2, Conley 2, Fletcher 1, Mason 3.

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In a game that saw the lead change hands 10 times and tied on eight different occasions, Owensboro Catholic did just enough to slip past crowd favorite Bethlehem, 53-47, during first round action of Wednesday’s state tournament.

The Lady Aces (28-7) were facing a 37-35 deficit with 6:29 remaining before using a 11-3 run to take a 46-40 lead at the 3:58 mark that put the game away. The Banshees got as close as 51-47 with 1:16 remaining after a 3-pointer by Amelia Hodges.

Owensboro Catholic had three players score in double figures with Mackenzie Keelin leading the way with 15 points. Hannah McKay added 14 points while Sarah Beth Clemens added 10 points.

The Lady Aces hit 16-of-35 shot attempts, including a 6-of-17 shooting effort from 3-point range. Amelia Hodges and Ella Thompson each led Bethlehem in scoring with 14 points apiece. The Banshees finished with a 15-of-57 shooting effort while going 8-of-22 from 3-point range.

“They’ve got a great team,” Owensboro Catholic coach Michael Robertson said. “We had to gut it out in the fourth quarter.”

Both teams struggled shooting the ball to open the game. They combined to hit only 5-of-26 shot attempts during the period, but Owensboro Catholic still managed to build a 9-4 lead by the end of the first quarter.

“I think it was nerves,” Robertson said. “We really shot better in the third and fourth quarter. We got clean looks, we just missed some shots early.”

Bethlehem misfired on its first seven shot attempts, but took a 4-3 lead midway through the period after a basket by Thompson.The Lady Aces answered with a 6-0 run after Clemens hit a 3-pointer and followed it up with an old-fashioned 3-point play.

Both teams showed flashes of good play throughout the second quarter.

The Banshees opened the period with a 5-0 run to tie the game at nine apiece after a 3-pointer by Carly Beam and two free throws from Thompson. Owensboro Catholic answered with a 6-0 run to push their lead to 15-9 at the 5:03 mark after a 3-pointer by Mackenzie Keelin.

Bethlehem was able to close out the first half with an 11-4 run, as Carly Jones’ 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining gave the Banshees a 20-19 lead going into halftime.

The game turned into a back-and-forth affair during the third quarter with six lead changes and five ties taking place.

Owensboro Catholic quickly took a 22-20 lead to begin the period, but Bethlehem answered by reclaiming a 25-22 advantage after a layup by Mikia Livers-Bryant.

An 8-3 run saw the Lady Aces grab a 30-28 edge at the b3:43 mark after baskets by Madelyn Lyon, Isabella Henning, but the Banshees answered with 7-2 rally to take a 35-32 lead after Amelia Hodges’ 3-pointer. But a 3-pointer by Owensboro Catholic’s Keelin sent the game tied at 35 apiece going into the final period of play.

Bethlehem took a 37-35 advantage with 6:29 remaining before seeing the Lady Aces’ use a 11-3 run to take control of the game.

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Owensboro Catholic (53) — McKay 14, Lyon 7, Reid 3, Keelin 15, Henning 4, Clemens 10.

Bethlehem (47) — Sparks 2, Thompson 14, Livers-Bryant 6, Beam 5, Hodges 14, Jones 3, Young 3.

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LEXINGTON — Two heavyweights collided during the opening game of Wednesday’s second session of KHSAA Girls Sweet 16 first round action.

George Rogers Clark (GRC) held a nine-point lead with 3:21 remaining in the fourth quarter before holding off a furious rally by Mercy to win, 65-64.

The Jaguars had a chance to pull off the comeback, but Hope Sivori’s shot at the buzzer came up short allowing the Lady Cardinals to advance to Friday’s quarterfinals.

GRC (25-10) received balanced scoring with Kennedy Igo’s 14 points leading the way while Shelbi Wilson and Brianna Byars each scored 12 points apiece. The Lady Cardinals hit 24-of-63 shot attempts and outrebounded Mercy, 44-28.

Sivori led the Jaguars (16-15) with 29 points and six 3-pointers. Regan Berger scored 14 points while Taziah Jenks finished with 12 points. Mercy hit 21-of-51 shot attempts, including an 11-of-24 shooting effort from 3-point range.

GRC raced to an 8-3 advantage after Maleaha Bell and Wilson each hit 3-pointers during the first six minutes of the game. Mercy answered with a 10-5 rally which was capped off by Jenks’ buzzer-beater to send the game into a 13-all tie entering the second quarter.

The two teams continued to trade baskets until the Jaguars began to build a cushion midway through the period. Sivori’s 3-pointer gave Mercy a 22-17 lead. She added two free throws a minute later to increase the Jaguars’ advantage to 24-17.

After seeing the Lady Cardinals’ Maleaha Bell score four points, Mercy’s Jenks connected with a 3-pointer to give her team a 27-21 lead at halftime.

Sivori led the Jaguars with 15 points and three 3-pointers in the first half as Mercy hit 9-of-23 shot attempts from the floor. Igo’s seven points paced the way for the Lady Cardinals while GRC struggled to a 26.7 shooting percentage (8-of-30).

The Lady Cardinals heated up from 3-point range during the third quarter. They hit four during the period, which led to GRC outscoring Mercy 25-14, and claim a 46-41 lead entering the final quarter of play.

GRC extended its lead to as many as nine points (59-50) in the fourth quarter with 3:21 left before the Jaguars began to rally.

The Lady Cardinals’ Jasmine Flowers hit two free throws with 22 seconds remaining to push her team’s lead to 65-62, but Shorter’s layup made the score, 65-64. GRC’s Wilson followed with a miss on the front end of a one-and-one allowing Mercy’s Sivori to race downcourt, but she couldn’t connect with her shot attempt at the buzzer.

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George Rogers Clark (65) — Bell 7, T. Flowers 5, J. Flowers 6, Igo 14, Harrison 9, Wilson 12, Byars 12.

Mercy (64) — Shorter 3, Taylor 4, Jenks 12, Sivori 29, Berger 14, Shephard 2.