LEXINGTON – The potent offense of the Dixie Heights girls basketball team couldn’t win its matchup with the tough defense of the Russell Red Devils Thursday night.
Dixie Heights fell 58-44 to 16th Region champion Russell in the first round of the Mingua Beef Jerky Girls Sweet 16 state basketball tournament at Rupp Arena.
Dixie finishes 27-3, snapping a 22-game winning streak. Russell picked up its first state tournament win since 1976, improving to 20-5 and advancing to Friday night’s quarterfinals against Henderson County.
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“The game didn’t end the way we wanted it to but I’m really proud of our team and everything they’ve accomplished this season,” Dixie head coach Joel Steczynski said. “They’ve resurrected the program.”
The Colonels were making their third appearance all-time in the Sweet 16, and first since 1992. Dixie’s only win in the tourney remains in the 1980 state tournament.
Dixie, averaging more than 63 points on offense, was held to its lowest point total since Jan. 29 against a Russell team allowing under 43 points per game for the season.
Dixie had little answer for Russell’s top two scorers: Senior post player Aubrey Hill and freshman point guard Shaelyn Steele.
Hill, a 6-foot forward, scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting with eight rebounds and Dixie didn’t have a good size matchup for her. She helped Russell get 10 second-chance points to three for the Colonels in the first half.
Hill finished the game with 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting with nine rebounds
Steele, one of the state’s top freshmen who is getting major college looks, had eight points, four rebounds, four blocks and two steals in the first half. She finished with 18 points, six rebounds, six blocks and two steals.
“We struggled to protect the paint and that gave them a big advantage,” Steczynski said. “We turned the ball over more than we wanted to the first half. When you’re playing from behind against a team like that, it’s really difficult. Russell played really good defense.
"Steele is a really good point guard and she knows how to control the game and make the right reads. Hill did everything she wanted to do. She was super aggressive. From the last time we saw her, she improved her footwork inside."
Hill and Steele took over during a key 8-0 run that put Russell up 30-20 late in the first half.
Leading 22-20, Steele hit a 3-pointer, and Hill scored off an offensive rebound. Those shots followed a pair of rushed, pull-up threes by the Colonels.
Russell added a free throw, then Steele blocked a shot in the lane and started a fast break that resulted in a layup for Hill.
“(Hill) has become one of the best posts in the state,” Russell head coach Mandy Layne said. “(Steele), the bigger the game, the better she is. We’ve been saying the last couple of years that she’s the best point guard in the state and I’m glad everyone gets to see her again tomorrow.”
Dixie and Russell were tied at 15 late in the first quarter. The two teams combined to shoot 13-for-19 from the floor at that point.
Junior Madelyn Lawson had three of Dixie’s first five baskets. Senior guard Sydney Lockard tied the game at 15 with a basket.
Steele scored on a jumper, and Jenna Adkins scored on a putback, and Russell led 19-15 after one period.
Russell shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half, and Dixie 41.7 percent (10-of-24).
The Colonel troubles continued out of the locker room. Miscommunication between two Dixie players resulted in a turnover out of bounds. Steele and Hill scored early in the third quarter in transition off of steals.
Dixie pulled within seven points at 36-29 in the third quarter on a basket by Madelyn Lawson. The Colonels had the ball with the chance to cut into that lead but turned it over. Russell came right back with a 7-0 on baskets by Steele and Hill, and a 3-pointer by senior Kaeli Ross, and led by 14 at 43-29.
Dixie started the second half making only two of its first 10 shots. Dixie hit five of its next eight but couldn’t keep Hill and Steele from scoring.
Dixie Heights junior Madelyn Lawson and sophomore Reese Smith led the Colonels with 11 points each. Smith was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor.
Sophomore Samantha Berman had nine points and four rebounds off the bench. Sophomore Ella Steczynski had six points and four assists with two steals. Senior point guard Sydney Lockard finished with four points and five rebounds. Senior guard Laci Reinhart had three points and three assists.
The Colonels will say goodbye to three seniors: Starting guards Lockard and Reinhart, and key bench player Makenna Teeters. Lockard is playing for Kentucky Wesleyan next season and Reinhart for Georgetown College.
“These were some of the best memories of my life. I’m proud of our kids,” coach Steczynski said. “They’ve done such an amazing job leading the program.
DIXIE HEIGHTS 15 8 6 15-44
RUSSELL 19 13 11 15-58
DIXIE HEIGHTS: Steczynski 2 0 6, Reinhart 1 0 3, Lockard 2 0 4, Lawson 4 3 11, Smith 4 2 11, Berman 4 1 9.
RUSSELL: Steele 7 3 18, Adkins 4 2 11, Ross 2 1 7, Hill 10 2 22.
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