Lafayette girls basketball secures top seed in unpredictable 43rd District

Girls basketball in the 43rd District has a history of being unpredictable and this season has proved no different.

But Friday, Lafayette took control of its postseason destiny with a convincing 55-32 win at Lexington Christian to lock up the top seed in the 43rd District Tournament later this month.

“I told them to play it like a district championship game,” Lafayette coach Allison Tate Denton said. “I said, ‘You’re going to be there (at the tournament) in a few weeks and your mind has to be there.’”

The Generals (14-10, 6-2) and Eagles (15-4, 2-4) are the only teams in the 43rd District with overall winning records, but LCA is mired in fourth place in the district standings with two games left to play. Seeding in the district tournament is important because both the district tournament champion and runner-up advance to the 11th Region Tournament.

Lafayette had lost four of its last six games, including district losses to Lexington Catholic and Tates Creek, teams who have struggled this season outside the division. Lexington Catholic had only won three games all year until it embarked on a three-game win streak over rivals Lafayette, Tates Creek and Paul Laurence Dunbar in mid-January.

The lesson: Don’t take any team for granted.

“You just don’t know what you’re going to get,” Denton said. “But we had a good day today after talking about what it meant. It was probably the best game that we have played this year with a flow. We have not been in a flow all year.”

Lafayette secured its win over LCA with a 15-2 run to start the second half. Belle Combs led the Generals with 17 points. Tess Nelson and Anna Clay Denton added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

“It was important for us to win it and fight for it,” said Combs, the team’s leading scorer at 12.9 points per game. “I’m really proud of my team and proud of the JV girls and varsity. We had our ups and downs, but we learned how to work through it and talk to each other.”

LCA can still secure a top-three seed if it can win its remaining district games against Tates Creek and Lexington Catholic. The Eagles host the Commodores on Wednesday. Claire Roberts led LCA against Lafayette with 13 points.

Lafayette’s win over LCA came a night after a 63-41 loss to Madison Southern, a team that will likely be in the mix at the 11th Region Tournament in March. On Wednesday, the Generals face Frederick Douglass, the defending 11th Region champions who will be one of the postseason favorites as well. Douglass secured the top seed in the 42nd District with a 66-37 win over Bryan Station on Friday.

But Denton said she’s not worried about how good her team’s opponents are.

“We can’t worry about them. We have too much to worry about about ourselves,” Denton said. “… If we can do what we’re supposed to do, what anybody else does shouldn’t be a factor.

“We have to start doing the things that I’ve been asking all year … If we can do those things, win or lose, I can sleep. It’s when we give the ball to the other team, we don’t execute, we act out of fear that I don’t sleep well.”

43rd District standings

Through Feb. 2’s results

1. Lafayette*, 14-10, 6-2

2. Tates Creek, 10-12, 4-3

3. Lexington Catholic, 6-16, 3-3

4. Lexington Christian, 15-4, 2-4

5. Paul Laurence Dunbar, 8-12, 2-5.

District games remaining

Wednesday: Tates Creek at Lexington Christian, 6 p.m.

Friday: Lexington Catholic at Dunbar, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 16: Lexington Catholic at Lexington Christian, 6 p.m.

42nd District standings

Through Feb. 2’s results

1. Frederick Douglass*, 15-7, 7-1

2. Bryan Station, 12-10, 4-2

3. Henry Clay, 14-7, 4-3

4. Scott County, 8-10. 3-4

5. Sayre, 4-18, 0-8

District games remaining

Wednesday: Scott County at Bryan Station, 6 p.m.

Friday: Bryan Station at Henry Clay, 6 p.m.

*Clinched top seed in district tournament, which begins Feb. 26.