Sacred Heart sophomore Zakiya Johnson had four blocks in Wednesday's game and kept constant pressure on Kensley Feltner, who had 14 points and seven rebounds in her final high school game. (Les Nicholson Photo)
When Lawrence County was 10 points down going into the fourth quarter against Pikeville in the 15th Region title game Sunday, it never entered Lawrence star Kensley’s Feltner mind that it might be her last high school game.
Her father had told her earlier she had played “like you are scared for it to be over” earlier in the tournament.
“If you beat Sacred Heart and win state, it will still be over in a week,” Feltner said her dad told her. “You can’t slow down time. He said there’s nothing I can do to change that. I accepted that but it was a hard pill to swallow. The past 10 years of my life have been with this program. Mom is my coach. I was the water girl. I was at every practice. It’s insane to know it will soon be ending.”
It did come to an end Wednesday at the state tournament when Lawerence County lost to two-time defending champion Sacred Heart 70-33 after the game was tied 18-18 late in the second quarter. Tourney favorite Sacred Heart just had too much of everything for Lawrence.
Feltner, a Belmont signee and leading contender for Miss Basketball, had 14 points on 4-for-14 shooting against Sacred Heart’s relentless defense led by sophomore Zakiya Johnson, one of the top five players nationally in her recruiting class. Feltner also had seven rebounds, six assists and two steals in 31 minutes.
She finished her high school career with 4,160 points — fourth best total in state history. Feltner also had 1,531 rebounds, the 18th best total in state history. Her 816 assists rank ninth on the all-time list and she also had 413 career steals.
Her 1,039 points this season was the ninth best single season mark in state history.
Even though she thought she would be prepared for the end of her career, she wasn’t. She cried as she hugged teammates and her mom, Lawerence coach Melinda Feltner, and her dad, an assistant coach. She cried again in the media interview room talking about the experience.
“Ten years ago this program opened its arms to me and mom. She started coaching when I was in third grade. I will be forever grateful for the support from Lawrence County,” Feltner said.
Lawrence County turned out in force to support the Bulldogs.
“Just looking up in the stands with all the red and black was very special,” Feltner said.
Sacred Heart coach Donna Moir said she had the “ultimate respect” for what Feltner did and everyone else should, too. She helped Lawrence win its first regional title ever this year and win a school-record 30 games. Lawrence also won four straight district championships and she led the state in scoring the last two years.
So once she wipes the tears away and has a chance to reflect back on her career, Kensley Feltner should be very proud of what she did.
