Bethlehem has played a rugged schedule but won the All "A" Classic along with district and regional titles. (Bethlehem Athletics Photo)
Bethlehem coach Jason Clark thought he had a “pretty special group” of players this season coming off a 31-4 season, so when COVID-19 hit to disrupt the schedule he countered by putting together the toughest schedule he could.
“Let’s see what we got and play good teams on back-to-back days a lot of times. We were hopeful to get to this point and it should help us having played quality competition on back-to-back nights,” Clark said.
Bethlehem (24-5) won the Fifth Region and plays Bullitt East at 2 p.m. Thursday in the state tournament at Rupp Arena.
The Banshees have beaten Bowling Green, Manual, Sacred Heart, Elizabethtown, Marshall County, and Shelby Valley. Their losses include Anderson County and Ryle.
They easily won the All “A” Classic behind the play of Ella Thompson — 17.6 points per game and 51.7 percent shooting from the field — and Amelia Hodges — 15.4 points per game and 73 made 3-pointers. Carlie Thurmond adds 10 points per game while Emma Filiatreu (7.0) and Kasey Spalding (6.7) are solid scorers.
Thompson, who has 45 3-pointers, is one of the Miss Basketball contenders.
“She is humble and a great teammate,” Clark said. “She can play the inside and post, she can shoot the 3. In the district final, Amelia Hodges was out with a neck injury and I had Ella playing point guard. She is just super special.”
Bowling Green coach Calvin Head, who sends his team against Bishop Brossart this afternoon at Rupp, says not to doubt how good the Banshees are.
“They have multiple kids that can score and they have good length,” Head said. “They have five kids on the floor at all times who can score. They have good balance and then Thompson and Hodges to put them over the top.”
Clark is a little biased about his two seniors but certainly should be.
“I would not trade my two seniors for any seniors in the state. They are special. I have known them since they were sixth grade and was fortunate to coach them at Nelson County,” Clark said. “They feed well off each other and are great teammates on and off the court.”
The Banshees count on their defense to disrupt opponents and want to run but Clark feels his team can play and win at any pace.
It has been a busy time with a parade for the team and a community-wide pep rally. He hopes the “bright lights and media coverage” from winning the All “A” helps his team this week, too.
“We should not be timid. We should be ready to go,” he said.
Bullitt East has a “big” presence to test the Banshees in 6-6 junior Gracie Merkle, a player who can dominate a game with her size like no other player in the state.
“She has good hands, pretty good feet, and a good work ethic,” Bullitt East coach Chris Stallings said.
She is averaging 17.9 points and 11.2 rebounds per game and shooting 75.8 percent (169 of 223) from the field.
Is that shooting percentage right?
“It is good info. We don’t pad any stats here,” Stallings said. “That is what she shoots. I don’t even know how many shots she averages a game. She is a pretty good finisher down low and keeps it (the ball) up high. This year we have been able to step here out a little bit more.”
