CORBIN—All season long, coach Konnie Snyder has been waiting for Erika Burchett to have a breakout game.

The wait is over.

Monday night, the South Laurel junior recorded a double-double, scoring 12 points while pulling down 13 rebounds in the Lady Cards’ 60-42 win over Williamsburg in the opening game of the girls’ 50th District Tournament at Corbin.

“She came on late in the season last year,” Snyder said of Burchett. “We were hoping she would have a breakout game. We need that from her this year.”

The win moves South Laurel into Thursday night’s final, where it will face the winner of Tuesday night’s Corbin-Whitley County game at 7:30 p.m. Both the winner and runner-up advance to next week’s 13th Region Tournament.

“We survived, and we are very happy to be going to the region,” Snyder said.

South Laurel raced out to an early lead, using a 10-2 run to start the game, then ended the quarter with a 10-0 run to hold a 20-4 lead. Morgan Johnson, who finished with 12 points, had nine of those in the first quarter, but she also picked up two fouls and didn’t see any action in the second quarter. Still, Snyder was pleased with her performance.

“Morgan had a good game inside,” Snyder said.The hot-shooting Lady Cards cooled off in the second quarter, which allowed Williamsburg to get back into the game. South shot 53 percent in the first quarter, hitting 8-of-15, but in the second quarter, the Lady Cards were a frigid 2-of-19 for 10 percent. They also committed seven turnovers in the quarter.

Meanwhile, Williams-burg was chipping away at the lead, behind the play of Tara Rowe (seven points) and Sam Burr, who had eight of her team-high 16 points in the quarter, including two threes, as the Lady Yellowjackets cut the lead to seven (30-23) before Burchett sank two free throws to give South Laurel a 32-23 lead at the half.

“Tonight, we came out with good intensity, especially in the first quarter,” Snyder said. “And we played hard. We played hard the entire game.”

Much like the first quarter, South dominated the third, outscoring Williamsburg, 16-2, to hold a 48-25 lead going into the final quarter of play. The Lady Yellowjackets were 0-of-15 from the field in the quarter, while South Laurel, behind Jessica Dean’s six points, hit 6-of-15. Macy Clontz and Taylor Arthur also turned in some solid minutes off the bench in the quarter.

“I thought every girl that got to play tonight played well,” Snyder said.

That big lead was too much for Williamsburg to overcome, and South Laurel cruised into the finals with a 60-42 win.

Free throws also played a big role in the game, as South Laurel hit 21-of-26 from the charity stripe, while Williamsburg was 10-of-15. The South defense forced 21 turnovers.

Dean was named the National Guard Player of the Game for her 11 points.

“We were real aggressive and offense and defense tonight,” Snyder said. “We need to continue to do that to be successful.”

Denis House can be reached at sports@sentinel-echo.com.





50th District Tournament

at Corbin

South Laurel 60, Williamsburg 42

Williamsburg 4 19 2 25—42

South Laurel 20 12 16 12—60

WILLIAMSBURG (42)—Burr 16, Sears 6, Siler 4, Stohner 3, Jones 5, Haynes 1, Rowe 7.

SOUTH LAUREL (60)—Dean 11, Walker 4, Burchett 13, Johnson 12, House 6, Clontz 9, Arthur 4, Davis 1.