BY MIKE MARSEE

Contributing Writer

RICHMOND — A good opponent and a bad day spelled an end to the Danville girls’ run at the All “A” Classic.

The Lady Admirals were sent packing Friday after poor shooting plunged them into a deep hole early in their quarterfinal against Pikeville.

They never recovered after managing only a single field goal in the first quarter, and they saw their 19-game winning streak end with a 61-38 loss to Pikeville at Baptist Health Arena.

Danville missed its first nine shots from the field as it fell behind 16-2 and went on to post its lowest score in more than two years.

“If we can’t score with them, we can’t play our game and we’re in trouble,” Danville coach Judie Mason said.

Because they couldn’t score, the Lady Admirals couldn’t activate their press and couldn’t prevent Pikeville from hurting them in multiple ways.

“That’s a good ball club,” Mason said. “They picked us apart, they dominated us, they made us look bad. But if we hit our first shots that we had (it might have been different).”

Danville (19-2) didn’t get a basket until the 1:25 mark of the first quarter, when Alayah Quisenberry scored to stop a string of 14 unanswered points by Pikeville (19-4).

The Lady Admirals went 1 for 10 from the field and shot just 19 percent (4 for 21) in the first half.

“We just weren’t hitting,” Mason said.

Pikeville’s defense may have had something to do with that.

“I credit our defense in the halfcourt for that,” Pikeville coach Kristy Orem said. “That’s the defensive intensity that we really lock in and key on every day. That’s nothing that we don’t work on every day in practice.”

Orem said the Lady Panthers had done their homework on how to defend Danville, which had been averaging 61.3 points per game and was tied for the longest winning streak in Kentucky this season when Friday’s play began.

“They’re loaded and they have everything that you’d want: good shooters, good penetrators and good post play,” she said. “We knew that it was going to be big that we all understood personnel, and I think that was the key.”

Meanwhile, Mason said the Lady Admirals didn’t stick to their scouting report on Pikeville.

“They’ve got to follow the game plan, and if they don’t we’re not very good as a team,” she said.

Pikeville got 22 points from Kyera Thornsbury and 19 from Trinity Rowe, who combined to go 12 for 23 from the field.

And the Lady Panthers made few mistakes with Rowe, one of the top juniors in the state, running the offense. She had 10 assists and only one turnover, giving Danville little chance to make headway even after its shooting improved in the second half.

Danville trailed 40-18 after Pikeville opened the second half with a 6-2 spurt. The Lady Admirals pulled within 47-32 when Love Mays and Desiree Tandy combined to score the final seven points of the third quarter, but that was as close as they got.

Tandy, who was named to the all-tournament team, had 16 points and eight rebounds and Mays added 13 points.

Mason said the two tournament games will be a boon for the Lady Admirals, and particularly for the sophomores who have stepped up to play key roles this season.

“This is huge for us. This is the first time they’ve gotten this experience, and I’m hoping this makes them want to come back,” she said.

She also wants to make sure, however, that they stay on track toward their postseason goals this year.

“This will help us the rest of the year,” Mason said. “Right now they probably feel their season’s over, and they don’t realize we’ve still got games.

“We’ve got two big district games next week, so we’d better be ready to play. I know how to get them back, and we’ll be fine.”

DANVILLE (19-2) — Love Mays 4-17 4-5 13, Samantha Bottom 1-3 0-0 3, Jazelynn Doneghy 0-2 0-0 0, Desiree Tandy 5-12 6-6 16, Bryn Gooch 0-1 0-0 0, Alayah Quisenberry 2-6 1-2 6, Myla Turner 0-3 0-0 0, Nemaeh Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Tayvionna Caldwell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-44 11-13 38.

PIKEVILLE (19-4) — Trinity Rowe 5-13 6-6 19, Kristen Whited 2-10 2-2 6, Kyera Thornsbury 7-10 4-5 22, Leighan Jackson 4-8 0-0 8, Rylee Theiss 3-6 0-0 6, Kylie Alvin 0-1 0-0 0, Kylie Grace Hall 0-2 0-0 0, Nicole Lin 0-0 0-0 0, Sophie Woods 0-0 0-0 0, Ava Rogers 0-0 0-0 0, Shyla Kidd 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-51 12-13 61.

3-Point Goals—Danville 3-13 (Mays 1-4, Bottom 1-2, Doneghy 0-2, Tandy 0-3, Quisenberry 1-1, Turner 0-1), Pikeville 7-18 (Rowe 3-7, Whited 0-3, Thornsbury 4-5, Alvin 0-1, Hall 0-1, Kidd 0-1). Fouled Out—Mays. Rebounds—Danville 28 (Tandy 8), Pikeville 35 (Theiss 12). Assists—Danville 4 (4 tied with 1), Pikeville 14 (Rowe 10). Turnovers—Danville 12, Pikeville 8.