It was Super Saturday in Fayette County as the Washington Blue Lions and Miami Trace Panthers went toe-to-toe in a day full of rivalry basketball contests at Miami Trace High School.

A total of five games took place, beginning with the freshman boys and ending with the varsity boys.

The penultimate contest of the evening featured the varsity Lady Panthers (3-5, 1-3 in the FAC) and the Lady Lions (4-6, 2-2 in the FAC)

While Washington would trail 23-20 at the half, the Lady Lions outscored Miami Trace 33-22 in the second half to secure a 53-45 victory.

After a nearly three-minute lull with no scoring, Lady Panther freshman Lauren Guess ended the drought with a layup to give Miami Trace a 2-0 lead.

Washington sophomore Eliana Racine was fouled on the next possession while shooting and knocked down both free throws to tie the game.

Miami Trace freshman Gracie Lovett responded at the other end with a layup to make it 4-2.

Racine would later record a steal and take it all the way for a layup to tie it again at 4.

Lady Lion sophomore Peyton Hughes made a layup and the foul just moments later after a Miami Trace missed shot. The free throw was no good, making it 6-4.

Washington junior Maggi Wall recorded a steal on the ensuing possession and was fouled at the other end while shooting. She made one of two at the line to extend the lead to 7-4.

A jumper from Lady Panther junior Ellie Robinette made it 7-6 on the next possession.

Miami Trace would later commit their fifth foul of the quarter, sending Lady Lion senior Lilly Shaw to the line. Shaw made both free throws to make it 9-6.

Two free throws from Washington senior Calleigh Wead-Salmi extended the lead to 11-6 moments later.

The final basket of the opening quarter came on a layup from Lady Panther sophomore Cali Kirkpatrick, making it 11-8 in favor of Washington.

Hughes scored a layup for the first points of the second quarter, prompting a timeout from Miami Trace.

Racine hit a jumper to make it 15-8 before Robinette sunk a floater to end the run.

A driving layup from Zoey Grooms made it 15-12, and a layup from Kirkpatrick later made it 15-14.

The Lady Panthers regained their first lead since midway through the first quarter after a three from Robinette made it 17-15. A foul on Washington after the shot was made gave the ball right back to the Lady Panthers.

A Layup from Kirkpatrick extended the lead to 19-15.

Hughes responded with a layup to cut the lead to just two points.

A floater from Lovett made it 21-17, and then a three from Wall got the Lady Lions within one.

With 4.4 seconds remaining in the half, Washington fouled Jessee Stewart to send her to the line for two free throws. She connected on both, making it 23-20 which was the halftime score.

Early in the third quarter, Hughes secured an offensive rebound and found Wall in the corner for a three to tie the game. On the next possession, Racine recorded a steal and passed the ball to Wead-Salmi who was fouled while shooting.

She made both free throws to make it 25-23.

Washington senior Kaithlyn Maquiling was later fouled shooting and made one of two free throws.

After a defensive stop, Hughes recorded another offensive rebound off of a missed shot and yet again found Wall in the corner for three to extend the lead to 29-23.

Stewart recorded a three-point play at the other end to get it within one possession.

Two free throws from Wead-Salmi would get it to a two possession lead, 31-26.

Miami Trace would answer as Lovett recorded an offensive rebound and a put-back bucket, followed by a steal and layup from Robinette to get the Lady Panthers within one.

A floater from Maquiling made it 33-30, but Grooms responded with a layup at the other end to make it 33-32. A free throw from Shaw of Washington put them ahead by two, and the final basket of the third quarter was a floater from Stewart just before the buzzer to tie the game with a quarter remaining.

The Lady Lions began the fourth on a 6-0 run thanks to threes from Wall and Racine, before a free throw from Robinette ended the run.

The teams traded baskets as Hughes recorded a layup, followed by a layup from Grooms and another layup from Hughes to make it 44-37.

After a free throw from Lovett, Wead-Salmi scored a layup to make it 46-38.

Lovett responded with a three, and Hughes answered right back with a layup.

Two free throws from Lovett made it 48-43, and a layup from Stewart had the Lady Panthers within three.

With 2:34 remaining, Miami Trace recorded a steal and called a timeout to set up a play.

There was nothing doing as the Lady Lions recorded a stop out of the timeout.

The Lady Panthers would commit their fifth foul of the quarter with 56.8 seconds to go in the game, sending Wall to the line.

She would make both to make it 50-45. With 18.4 seconds left, Ellars went to the line for Washington, looking to close out the game. Washington opted not to have any players inside the lane to rebound, leaving four Lady Panthers and Ellars in the area. After making the first free throw, Ellars missed the second but somehow came away with the offensive rebound despite four Miami Trace players around the rim. She was fouled and sent to the line for two more free throws. She connected on both to make it 53-45, which was the final.

Lady Lion head coach John Denen gave comments following the victory.

“We got them in a little bit of foul trouble and I think that worked to our advantage. I thought our kids did a great job defensively in the second half. Maggi Wall had an unbelievable second half. She’s a pretty cool, calm, and collected kid. I don’t know if there is a kid in my career that I would want to go to the free throw line more than Maggi Wall. I want to give a shout out to Peyton Hughes. Peyton transferred in and lives in another school district, so tonight was her last game of the season. She’s a great kid, great family, it’s a great addition to the Blue Lion community. We are going to miss her as a basketball player the rest of the year, but she will still be practicing with us and working on her game. I’m looking forward to coaching her up and watching her play the next two years.”

Statistically for the Lady Panthers, Gracie Lovett led with 12 points, followed by Ellie Robinette with 11, Jessee Stewart with nine, Cali Kirkpatrick and Zoey Grooms with six, and Lauren Guess with two.

Statistically for the Lady Lions, Maggi Wall led all scorers with 15 points, followed by Peyton Hughes with 12, Eliana Racine with nine, Calleigh Wead-Salmi with eight, and Kaithlyn Maquiling, Calee Ellars, and Lilly Shaw with three points.

Miami Trace (3-6, 1-4 in the FAC) will play again on Wednesday, Dec. 27 at 8 p.m. at Greeneview (5-3, 4-3 in the OHC) in the Epifano Holiday Basketball Tournament.

Washington (5-6, 3-2 in the FAC) is back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 27 at home against Whiteoak (7-2, 5-0 in the SHAC) at 7 p.m.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

WCH 11 9 14 19 — 53

MT 8 15 11 11 — 45

WASHINGTON — Kaithlyn Maquiling 1-1-3; Maggi Wall 0 (4)-3-15; Calleigh Wead-Salmi 1-6-8; Eliana Racine 2 (1)-2-9; Peyton Hughes 6-0-12; Calee Ellars 0-3-3; Lilly Shaw 0-3-3; Jordyn Gray 0-0-0. TOTALS — 10 (5)-18-53. Free throw shooting: 18 of 25 for 72 percent. Three-point field goals: Wall 4, Racine. Turnovers 13. Rebounds 30 (14 offensive).

MIAMI TRACE — Ellie Robinette 3 (1)-1-10; Gracie Lovett 3 (1)-3-12; Bella Shull 0-0-0; Jessee Stewart 3-3-9; Cali Kirkpatrick 3-0-6; Lauren Guess 1-0-2; Zoey Grooms 3-0-6. TOTALS — 16 (2)-7-45. Free throw shooting: 7 of 12 for 58 percent. Three-point field goals: Robinette, Lovett. Rebounds: 21 (3 offensive). Turnovers: 13.

Miami Trace j-v girls defeat Washington

In the j-v contest, Miami Trace would win by a score of 32-25.

Statistically for the Lady Panthers, Bella Shull led all scorers with 14, followed by Karleigh Cooper with five, Allison Reeves with four, Katy Bock with three, and Elyse Day, Cali Kirkpatrick, and Olyvia Dunn each with two points.

Statistically for the Lady Lions, Jordyn Gray led with seven points, followed by Jada Ryan and Iyanna with six, and Kimber White, Khalia Smith, and Braegan Shiltz each with two.