Lady Falcons rally past Bowling Green

Published 5:48 pm Sunday, March 1, 2026

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Bowling Green’s Maddie Davenport (24) looks to pass during Bowling Green’s 45-40 loss to Monroe County during the 4th Region Tournament at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky. (Caleb Lowndes / Daily News) (Caleb Lowndes)

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Bowling Green’s Zara Hall (44) attempts to make a steal during Bowling Green’s 45-40 loss to Monroe County during the 4th Region Tournament at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky. (Caleb Lowndes / Daily News) (Caleb Lowndes)

The Bowling Green girls’ basketball team kept up the pressure, but the Monroe County Lady Falcons stayed the course during Sunday’s Region 4 Tournament opening-round matchup at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Trailing by five points early in the fourth quarter, Monroe County was able to seize control and close strong — earning a 45-40 win over the Lady Purples. It was the first win for Monroe in the region tournament since a win over Metcalfe County in the semifinals in 2017 and the first win against Bowling Green — which happened to come in the first round of that same tournament.

“It means a lot to us as a coaching staff and these players,” Monroe County coach Clifton Hamilton said. “It represents tradition. If you do the math and go back and look at that stat … I believe it was Feb. 26, 2017, it was the last time the Bowling Green Lady Purples didn’t win their first region game. You know who the opponent was in that game? The Monroe County Lady Falcons. The coaches talked about that yesterday and we kind of felt like it was meant to be.”

Monroe County senior point guard Ansley Turner’s older sister Reagan was a part of that 2017 team.

“It’s kind of like a full circle moment for Monroe County,” Ansley Turner said.

The Lady Falcons’ first region tournament win in nine years came in a back-and-forth battle that saw four ties and 11 lead changes.

Monroe County (21-9) lead 10-6 late in the first before Bowling Green (17-14) used a 10-0 run to surge in front by six after one. A 3-pointer from Campbell Biggerstaff to open the second ended the Lady Purples’ run and Monroe County was able to stay within striking distance — trailing 21-18 at halftime.

A 6-2 spurt by Monroe County to open the second half pushed the Lady Falcons back ahead midway through the second before BG scored five straight, including a 3 from Maddie Davenport that gave the lead back to the Lady Purples 28-26.

Monroe County regained a 30-29 advantage on a layup from Sarah Thompson with 3:03 left in the third, but Bowling Green regained the momentum with six straight — capped by a three-point play from Davenport that made the score 35-30 early in the fourth.

Thompson’s bucket stopped BG’s mini-run and Turner, Monroe County’s second-leading scorer, finally got her first field goal on a transition following a steal to trim the deficit to 35-34. A layup from Tahila Sheffield gave the lead back to the Lady Falcons with 5:11 left. Turner then scored the next six points for the Lady Falcons, including a three-point play with 1:45 left that allowed Monroe County to move in front for good at 42-40.

“I know for a lot of people, and for me especially, once you see one shot go in the basket then you are good for the rest of the game,” Turner said. “I think getting that steal and getting the points really got me going. I was able to focus and push my team to the win.”

BG had a chance to tie, but missed three shots in the paint. Monroe County split a pair of free throws on the other end to give the Lady Purples one more chance to tie. Bowling Green missed a 3 at the top of the key and Thompson clinched it with two free throws in the final second.

“They made more plays than we did down the stretch,” BG coach Calvin Head said. “We made the same amount of field goals. They made one more 3 than we did. Of course, a couple of more free throws because we had to foul there at the end. I liked the looks we were getting, especially the ones around the rim. We had a couple kind of hit every part of the rim and not go in. Sometimes that is how the ball bounces. I do think their maturity kind of played a role down the stretch.”

Thompson led Monroe County with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Sheffield added 10 points. Hamilton said his team’s experience competing in the All ‘A’ State Tournament earlier in the season was a big factor down the stretch.

“It helped a ton in terms of being able to play on that floor in that kind of atmosphere,” Hamilton said. “This is the second time we’ve had the chance to do that this year. Bowling Green gets to practice on a college size floor every day. We really don’t have that. It was a great atmosphere. We were glad to be here and we knew it was going to be bright lights and all that stuff. It took us a while to settle in, but we were glad to finally do that.”

Jooniper Strow led the Lady Purples with 12 points, while Davenport added eight points.

“This team, we were left for dead a long time ago and they resurrected us to life,” Head said. “I’m excited about where we got to, how we got here. We had the opportunity to advance. It just didn’t go in our favor.”

Monroe County advances to face Barren County, a 71-44 winner over Logan County, in a semifinal matchup at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at E.A. Diddle Arena.

MCHS 10 8 12 15 — 45

BGHS 16 5 11 8 — 40

MC — Thompson 19, Sheffield 10, Turner 9, Hawkins 4, Biggerstaff 3.

BG — Strow 12, Davenport 8, Ware 7, Woods 4, Pratt 4, Brown 4, Smith 1.

About Micheal Compton

I am a sports reporter and movie critic for the Bowling Green Daily News.

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