Kennedy Deener helped Taylor County reach the state tourney for the second straight year. (Rise Up Sports/Tonia Witt Photo)
West Jessamine and Taylor County meet in the final game tonight at the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Girls’ Basketball Sweet 16® in Rupp Arena and both teams have special storylines.
West Jessamine (22-12) has four seniors — Isabella Lewis, Katie Mastin, Ariana Maloney and Kimberly Johnson — in the starting lineup who have been together since about third grade and have all scored over 1,000 points in their career along with junior Claire Marshall who has over 1,800 points and 1,500 rebounds in her career.
“Our goal four years ago was to get this group of seniors a trip to Rupp Arena, and I am extremely thankful we did,” said West Jessamine coach Matt Hilkens. “It has taken a lot of resilience with the injuries we have had the last couple of years. The last two weeks everybody has been able to fully practice, and we have put our best foot forward.
“Stats don’t matter. They all move the ball and don’t force stuff up. As the seniors approached 1,000 points, you could see how much love they had (for each other).”
However, West Jessamine was only 11-10 after a 62-57 loss to Boyle County — the team it beat in the 12th Region title game — on Jan. 20.
“We knew there was the pressure of the last dance to make this happen with this team, but we also played an extremely tough schedule. We played a large chunk of teams (North Laurel, George Rogers Clark, Frederick Douglass, Notre Dame, Assumption and Simon Kenton) in the state tournament,” the West Jessamine coach said. “We felt we did a good job of competing. Everything was built to win the regional championship.”
Taylor County (27-6) won the 5th Region last year and was favored to do so again. However, just before the season started Matt Turner resigned for personal reasons. That led to Donnie Swiney, a longtime assistant and later head coach at Elizabethtown, being named interim coach and becoming the third head coach in three years. He was an assistant coach on Elizabethtown’s state title team and head coach when E-town won regional titles in 2018 and 2020.
“They (Taylor’s players) have been through an emotional roller coaster all year long. It was kind of like somebody dumping an unwanted animal on the side of the road,” Swiney said. “They played a scrimmage game and then were without a head coach. They had no warning and went about a week without a coach.
“They are tough kids. I started in the middle of November and for them to have done what they have done this year, they deserve every bit of credit they can get. They just keep fighting. They were dealt a bad hand, played it and are headed back to the state tourney.
“It’s a lot to deal with losing a head coach. I had been out of coaching for a couple of years. I remember hearing a little bit about some of them (the players) a few years ago. I coached at E-town but they didn’t know me.”
Freshman Kennedy Deener is well known and had a brilliant state tourney in 2025. She is averaging 23.4 points per game and shooting 50 percent from the field with 58 3-pointers. She has a knack for drawing fouls and is 219 of 260 — 84.2 percent — at the foul line in 33 games.
Sophomore Greta Bradstreet adds 11.2 points per game, junior Kayley Benningfield 9.4, junior Avery Rakes 8.2 and junior Kallie Vaughn 7.2. Bradstreet leads Taylor with 52 3-pointers.
Both teams love to shoot the 3. Taylor is 267 of 757 — 35 percent — from 3 and West Jessamine is 246 of 794 — 31 percent. McLoney leads the Colts with 69 3’s while Mastin has 50 and Lewis 46.
“I think it is no secret one of my philosophies is if it is in your hands and your feet are set let them fly. The girls have the ultimate green light. If they are open and it is a good look, fire away,” the West Jessamine coach said.
However, Swiney knows Marshall can be a force inside. She averaged 13.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.
“The Marshall kid is really good. They have got some shooters, got some size,” Swinney said. “They play a little matchup zone. The record does not reflect the kind of team they are. They are 16-6 since Jan. 1. They have been on a hot streak lately like we have. If you are at the state tournament, you are a good opponent.”
