Owensboro Catholic, GRC keep dancing to conclude first round of Girls' Sweet 16

It feels like the 2026 Clark’s Pump-N-Shop KHSAA Girls’ Sweet 16 just started, but following Thursday night’s games, the first round comes to a close.

Owensboro Catholic surges to beat Letcher County Central 59-35

Letcher County Central was down to begin the game against Owensboro Catholic, but they stormed back in the first quarter by going on a 13-2 run over the final 4:09 of the period. The Lady Cougars made five of their first seven field goals as they boasted a 14-11 lead going into the second.

The Lady Aces, however, would open the second quarter on a 12-0 run as Letcher County Central went ice cold in the period. They didn’t even score until there was 1:54 left to go in the half, and as a result, Owensboro Catholic led 35-17 at the half.

What was once a close game with the Lady Cougars leading suddenly turned into a blowout with the Lady Aces in command.

Owensboro Catholic kept their foot on the gas, getting out to a 56-24 lead at the end of the third quarter, and by the game had ended, the Lady Aces had won 59-35. After trailing at the beginning of the game, Owensboro Catholic controlled the pace of the game the rest of the way.

There were three Lady Aces that reached double figures in the scoring column. The leading scorer for Owensboro Catholic was junior forward Katie Hagan, who had 14 points, four rebounds and four steals in the win. Sophia Newby (13) and Claudia Munsey (11) combined for 24 points along the way. Junior Layla Martin had seven steals against Letcher County Central.

Additionally, the Lady Aces forced 30 turnovers in a 32-minute game and out-rebounded the Lady Cougars 29-10 on the offensive glass — two key stats that directly correlated in the outcome of the game.

Owensboro Catholic will face a tough Simon Kenton team at 6 p.m. ET on Friday.

GRC hangs on with 55-46 victory over North Laurel

It was close early with North Laurel leading George Rogers Clark 13-12 at the end of the first quarter. GRC, the state runners up from a year ago, beat the Lady Jaguars 50-42 in the Quarterfinals of the 2025 state tournament.

This time around, it was clear that revenge was on the mind of North Laurel.

North Laurel was 10-18 (2-3 3PT) from the field in the first half, getting good looks. The Lady Cardinals, however, had missed all five of their three-point attempts through the first two quarters of the game, but it was just 25-22 Lady Jaguars at the half — certainly still within reach for GRC.

With 5:42 to go in the third quarter, the Lady Cardinals claimed a 30-29 lead and worked their way up to a four-point, 37-33 lead at the end of the period. North Laurel was still very much in it, but it felt like the momentum sided with GRC with just eight minutes to go.

Of course, GRC would come away with the win, beating North Laurel 55-46 to advance to the Quarterfinals, using a 9-0 run late to finally pull away.

Hitting threes was difficult for GRC on Thursday, going just 1-11 (9%) from behind the three-point line. However, they forced 30 turnovers and needed each of the 29 points that they got off of those turnovers. They also went 18-27 from the charity stripe.

It wasn’t pretty by any means, but the Lady Cardinals survived and advanced.

GRC will look to continue its winning ways by taking on Franklin-Simpson on Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET.