Cayson Conner, center, had 22 points for Marshall County Thursday while Trinity Rowe, left, had 18 points and seven assists for Pikeville. (Les Nicholson/KHSAA Photo)
After her team lost 56-52 to Marshall County in the state tournament Thursday, Pikeville coach Kristy Orem obviously had a lot she wanted to say about her team shooting eight free throws and Marshall took 34.
“I don’t think I can say what I saw out there but what I am proud of is how my girls competed and left it all on the floor and played their tails off,” Orem said. “Even with the adversity, we had to face we were able to be right there. It was very obvious nobody was going to give us anything. We had to play our butts off.”
So did Marshall because Pikeville would just not go away and that forced the Marshalls to do something they have not had to do often this year — win a close game.
“We didn’t play our best second half but played well enough to get the job done and move on,” Beth said. “It doesn’t matter how you play. Just advance.”
Senior guard Cayson Conner was 5-for-18 from the field and 12-for 15 on free throws to lead Marshall with 22 points, She also had four rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block.
“We settled in. We had some rough spots but we won,” Conner said.
The best player on the court most of the game was Pikeville freshman Trinity Rowe, who was playing in her third state tournament. She averages 15 points per game but had 18 on 7-for-12 shooting along with seven assists and four rebounds while playing the entire game.
“If I see a teammate hit shots it energizes me,” Rowe said. “I just play hard for my teammates and coach and me, I guess. I am not selfish and don’t like to talk about me a lot.”
Orem knows how special Rowe is and will continue to be.
“She is Trinity. She does what she does,” the Pikeville coach said. “She is special because of her work ethic. She never stops. Her knowledge of games, she watches basketball, she understands the game.
“I trust her. I ask her what she wants to do. I know she can handle things out there. She has been our general this year and I let her be Trinity because she is special.”
Orem said her young team wants to come back to Rupp again. For Beth, he just wants his team to keep winning. The Marshalls will play Bethlehem, a 70-65 winner over Bullitt East, today at 5 p.m. EST.
Beth had tried not to look ahead but he knows Bethlehem has been one of the state’s best teams all season. However, he also knows Marshall — unlike some schools at the state tourney — will have plenty of support from fans in Rupp Arena.
“We are very fortunate to have great crowd support,” Beth said. “It’s spring break and I cannot express my appreciation enough to the fans here. We’ve had that a long time.”
