A big stretch for Clinton County, and its roundball fans

The past several days have certainly been big for Clinton County basketball fans – with the addition of some new hardware for the trophy case, plenty of travel, some nice wins, and of course, a disappointing loss.

Our Lady Dawgs took their game and their 4th Region Championship title to Frankfort last week where they represented our community very nicely in the Touchstone Energy All “A” Classic State Basketball Tournament.

After picking up a very impressive 47-28 opening round win over Lexington Sayre on Wednesday, they were defeated in quarter round play by a very nice Covington Holy Cross squad that went on to hand out two more defeats in route to claiming the tournament championship in the girls’ division.

Our girls were certainly disappointed in that second round loss, but they should also realize that this entire community and especially the loyal fan base that regularly follows them, couldn’t be more proud.

Nice job girls.

Watching a big game

While in Frankfort for the All “A” Classic state tournament, and going through a complete day of down time between Wednesday and Friday games, the Lady Dawgs were treated to the chance to watch another basketball game, and it was a big game to say the least.

A short bus ride through Versailles and into Lexington on Thursday night saw the Lady Bulldogs and staff enjoy the opportunity to watch our No. 10 University of Kentucky women’s Wildcat squad take on the arch rival SEC opponent, No. 6 Tennessee, in Commonwealth Stadium.

The Lady Dawgs were part of a sell-out crowd that night that saw the Wildcats lose the heartbreaker in a down to the wire loss at the hands of Tennessee, 73-72.

“It was really nice,” Coach Darrell Thompson told me on Monday night before Clinton County’s win over Wayne County, in talking about the experience our Lady Bulldogs had in watching that game.

Local fans who tuned in to watch the contest between Kentucky and Tennessee likely didn’t get to see any of the Lady Bulldogs from crowd shots shown on the SEC network, but should have recognized another face that was involved in the game.

Troy Winders, who has called many Clinton County games through the years while working as a 4th Region game official, also works on the college level and was a member of the three man team working that UK-UT contest last week.

Congrats to Kayla

Clinton County center Kayla Dicken was named to the All “A” Classic All State team during the awards ceremony at the conclusion of last week’s state tournament and on Monday night as the Lady Bulldogs prepared to play against Wayne County in a home game in the Lindle Castle Gymnasium, Coach Darrell Thompson presented her with her All-State team plaque.

Congrats Kayla.

A few schedule reminders

The All “A” stretch usually brings about some schedule changes and this year has been no different. A few changes have already occurred, but a few more are just ahead and here’s a reminder.

While the game date hasn’t changed, some of the special activities surrounding this Friday night’s lineup against Glasgow has changed.

The double-header dogfight night – Bulldogs vs. Scotties, will not only be Basketball Sweetheart night as originally planned, but will also be the annual recognition of local cancer victims and survivors.

Dubbed a “pink-out” night, fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game in observance of this special night. A few fundraiser events are also planned that will benefit cancer research.

In addition, the Pulaski County game that was originally slated for Saturday, February 7, has been cancelled and will not be rescheduled.

Finally, the Tuesday, February 10 girls game has been changed to be played at McCreary Central. Tipoff is still set for 5:30 p.m.

Folks, this season if quickly winding down and our teams are playing some fantastic basketball right now at the right time.

Get behind these players who are wearing the blue and white and let them know we’re proud of them.

See you courtside!