Sneak Peak: Column on Holly Harris and Hannah Thompson
Central’s little girls grew into fan darlings
I have watched Holly Harris and Hannah Thompson grow up on the basketball floor.
It is hard to believe that it has been six years since I first met these two Pike County Central athletes.
Holly and Hannah were sixth-graders at Johns Creek Middle School when they joined the Lady Hawks on the 2004 state tournament team.
Six years later, the two little girls on the end of the bench had moved to the front of the program, leading the Lady Hawks into the 15th Region tournament finals.
Both played a big part in Pike Central’s 2007 run to the Final Four in the Girls’ Sweet Sixteen Tournament at E.A. Diddle Arena on the campus of Western Kentucky University.
Holly and Hannah have been blessed with success. Most girls never get the opportunity to play for one state championship, let alone two. Both girls even came within seconds of playing for a third.
Throughout the season, Pike Central flew under the radar. Not many people gave the school much of a chance at winning a berth in the regional finals.
Holly and Hannah made it happen. These girls have turned heads, thanks to the support cast of Reagan Clark, Taylor Murphy, Mia Coleman, Savannah Fields, and others.
Coach Gary Fields may have done his best coaching job ever. He prepared this team to make a run.
It started with a strong regular-season schedule. It ended with a heart-breaking loss to Belfry (40-39) in a game that appeared to be well in hand for the Lady Hawks.
The 15th Region championship game came down to the final seconds. Holly Harris and Hannah Thompson both missed free-throw chances in the closing seconds that could have sealed a victory.
Both were devastated by the missed free throws, and both deserved better.
“I would not have wanted it to play out any other way,” Fields said. “They (Holly and Hannah) were the main reason we had a chance to win a regional title.”
Indeed, they were.
Six years of hard work came down to the final seconds for two of the county’s most lovable and respectable players.
It will take some time for the hurt to go away. But these two ladies will be known for the success they brought this program and the everlasting memories they leave with their fans.
GIRLS NIGHT OUT: Attendance for the girls’ 15th Region tournament was at an all-time high, and fans were treated to two buzzer-beater games. Belfry’s last-second shot and win over Pike Central gave the Lady Pirates their sixth regional crown. Earlier, Shelby Valley’s Brittany Swindell converted a three-point play with no time left to beat favored Betsy Layne.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Letcher Central standout Brittany Sexton, who led the Lady Cougars to a 25-5 season, was named 14th Region Player of the Year by the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches. She will be recognized at a reception given by the KABC on March 12 at Western Kentucky University. She averaged 13 points this season and scored more than 1,300 points in her career.
See ya at the games…
— Teddy Paynter can be reached at (606) 218-4932 or by e-mail at [teddy.paynter@pikevillehospital.org].
