News and notes

Here are some local sports news and notes:

• Former Mason County basketball and football standout Jordan Gilbert has joined the boys' basketball coaching staff at Clark County. Gilbert played college basketball at Transylvania University and Asbury University. He was the freshman coach at Mercer County last season. 
• Mason County senior Whitney O'Mara started and scored four points for the Kentucky All-Stars in an 82-74 victory in the 26th Annual Holloway Ohio-Kentucky All-Star Game Sunday.
• The Mason County football team began spring practice Monday. The spring game is scheduled on April 27.
• The KHSAA State Archery Championship is Thursday, April 20 at Kentucky Basketball Academy in Lexington. Mason County archers competing in the state championship include Landen Bowling, Joshua Brown, DeAnna Roberts and Anthony Ventura. Gates open to the public at 8:30 a.m.
• May 30th-June 1st are the dates for the St. Patrick Saints Basketball Camp. The camp is for girls and boys in grades 2 through 8 in the 2017-18 school year. The fee is $35 per child if enrolled by May 19th or $40 after May 19th.
• The 5th Annual Darius Miller and Chris Lofton Skills Camp is set for June 21st-23rd at the Tom Browning Boys and Girls Club. The early bid fee is $100 until May 1st. The fee after May 1st is $125.Check out the camp website for more information.

(Updated to correct the date for the State Archery Championship)

Lady Royals lose to Clark County 56-53 in OT in region final

The Mason County Lady Royals suffered a heartbreaking 56-53 overtime loss in to the Clark County Lady Cardinals in the championship game of the 10th Region Tournament Saturday night at Harrison County.

Briana McNutt's potential game-winning layup just before the fourth quarter buzzer was waved off by by an official who called McNutt for traveling 

Clark County led by 10 points at halftime and took its biggest lead at 39-26 with 6:16 left in the third quarter.

Mason County closed the gap to five points at 43-38 at the end of the third quarter.

A.J. Reed hit two free throws to tie the score at 48-48 with 3:31 left.

Jordan Frodge made a reverse a layup to give the Lady Royals their first and only lead at 50-48 with 2:19 to play.

Clark County guard Kennedy Igo hit two free throws to tie the game with 1:33 left.

After the traveling call, one second was put back on the clock. Clark County, inbounded the ball, but did not attempt a shot.

Igo opened the overtime period with a three-pointer.

Whitney O'Mara made one of two free throws with 2:42 to play.

A basket in the low post from Malena Bell gave the Lady Cardinals a 55-51 lead two minutes left.

O'Mara hit a jumper off the dribble with 1:35 to go.

Shemaya Behanan pushed the lead back out to three by making one of two free throws with 18 seconds left.

Mason County missed three shots in the lane in the closing seconds.

Clark County will play 13th Region champion Harlan in the first round of the St. Elizabeth Healthcare/KHSAA Girls Sweet Sixteen Basketball Tournament Wednesday at 8 p.m. at BB&T Arena at Northern Kentucky University.

Igo scored a game-high 22 points.

Behanan added 13 points.

Frodge led Mason County in scoring with 15 points.

O'Mara followed with 13 points and Reed tossed in 11 points.

CC (29-4) J. Flowers 8, Igo 22, Bell 8, Behanan 13, T. Flowers 3, Hardiman 5

MC (23-9) O'Mara 13, Reed 11, McNutt 8, Frodge 15, Boone 6

CC  13 22 08 07 06- 56

MC 09 16 13 12 03- 53

Lady Royals beat Campbell Co. 51-47, face Clark Co. in championship game

After trailing for most of the first three quarters, the Mason County Lady Royals used a 20-4 run to defeat the Campbell County Lady Camels 51-47 in the 10th Region Tournament semifinals tonight at Harrison County.

Mason County will play Clark County in the championship game Saturday night at 7 o'clock.

Campbell County led 10-4 at the end of the first quarter, 24-22 at the half and 33-29 with 2:12 remaining in the third quarter.

Whitney O'Mara started the 20-4 run with a putback. A.J. Reed hit a three-pointer and Briana McNutt had an old fashioned three-point play to give the Lady Royals a 37-33 lead with 12 seconds left in the third quarter.

Alexis Keeton hit a shot for Campbell County with six-tenths of a second left in the third quarter.

Jordan Frodge opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer.

After Keeton scored again, the Lady Royals reeled off nine straight points on a basket by Frodge, a floater by O'Mara, a Frodge three-pointer and basket by McNutt to lead 49-37 with 3:49 to play.

Makenzie Schwarber scored five straight points for Campbell County to cut the Lady Royals' lead to seven.

Reed scored Mason County's final basket with 2:13 to play.

Taylor Clos scored to cut the lead back down to seven with 1:58 remaining.

Chloe Seckman banked in a three-pointer for the final basket of the game with eight seconds left.

Mason County committed a turnover, but the Lady Camels passed the ball around before missing a 30-footer at the buzzer.

The Lady Royals shot 60 percent from the field in the second half and 51.3 percent for the game.

Mason County outrebounded Campbell County 34-25.

O'Mara led Mason County in scoring with 16 points.

McNutt added 11 points.

Clos led Campbell County with 17 points.

Schwarber tossed in 12 points.

Clark County defeated Nicholas County 71-41 in the upper bracket semifinal.

The Lady Cardinals outscored the Lady Jackets 21-6 in the second quarter.

Mason County beat Clark County 54-51 in Winchester on January 25.

MC (23-8) O'Mara 16, Reed 5, Moran 6, McNutt 11, Frodge 8, Boone 5

CC (20-13) Clos 17, Schwarber 12, Keeton 6, Seckman 3, Holbrook 9

MC 04 18 15 14- 51

CC  10 14 11 12- 47

Lady Royals advance to region semifinals with a 72-26 rout of Harrison County

The Mason County Lady Royals advanced to the semifinals of the 10th Region Tournament by cruising past the overmatched Harrison County Fillies 72-26 tonight at Harrison County.

The Fillies hit two three-pointers and led 6-2, but the Lady Royals reeled off 11 straight points.

After Harrison County ended an almost five-minute scoring drought with a basket in the final minute of the first quarter, Mason County went on a 19-0 run to lead 32-8.

The Lady Royals only had two turnovers and shot 46 percent from the field. 

Briana McNutt scored a game-high 14 points.

Whitney O'Mara added 12 points.

Mason County will play the Campbell County Lady Camels in the semifinals Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Campbell County edged upset-minded Bourbon County 48-46.

MC (22-8) McNutt 14, O'Mara 12, Boone 8, Frodge 8, Simms 8, Reed 6, Littleton 4, White 3, Butler 1

HC (13-20) Kellione 12, Eckler 6, Allison 5, Hatterick 2, Roberts 1

MC 15 21 19 17- 72
HC  08 04 10 04- 26


(Updated to correct the time for Friday's game)

Lady Royals rout Bracken Co. 77-32 for district title

The Mason County Lady Royals shared the ball in a 77-32 rout of the Bracken County Lady Bears tonight in the championship game of the 39th District Tournament at the Fieldhouse.

Mason County had 21 assists on 29 field goals and shot 49.2 percent.

The Lady Royals made nine three-pointers.

Mason County went on a 19-4 run to take a 33-13 lead with 4:51 left in the second quarter.

The Lady Royals led 56-20 with 4:33 to go in the third quarter and the rest of the game was played with a running clock

Whitney O'Mara led Mason County in scoring with 13 points.

A.J. Reed followed with 11 points.

Maddie Boone had 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

MC (21-8) Brooks 4, O'Mara 13, Reed 11, Littleton 8, Moran 5, McNutt 6, Butler 7, May 2, Frodge 9, Simms 2, Boone 10

BC (11-14) Myrick 1, Ruf 4, Florer 2, Hamilton 1, Jefferson 8, Carl 5, Goecke 2 Kalb 9

MC 18 26 17 16- 77

BC  09 09 08 06- 32

Lady Royals end regular season with a 58-50 loss to Franklin County

The Mason County Lady Royals closed out the regular season with a 58-50 loss to the Franklin County Lady Flyers tonight in Frankfort.

Mason County led 19-16 at the end of the first quarter but only scored eight points in each of the next two quarters.

Franklin County is 25-5 and has won 10 straight games.

11th Region Player of the Year and Xavier University signee Princess Stewart scored a game-high 18 points for the Lady Flyers.

Briana McNutt led the Lady Royals in scoring with 13 points.

Whitney O'Mara added 10 points.

Mason County plays Augusta Monday night in the semifinals of the 39th District Tournament at the Fieldhouse.

FC (25-5) Stewart 18, Cook 17, Courtney 11, Talley 10, Morton 2

MC (19-8) McNutt 13, O'Mara 10 Littleton 8, Frodge 7, Reed 5, Moran 4, Boone 3

FC  16 14 13 15- 58

MC 19 08 08 15- 50

O'Mara is the KABC 10th Region Player of the Year

Mason County senior Whitney O'Mara is the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches 10th Region Player of the Year and is a candidate for Miss Kentucky Basketball.

O'Mara is averaging 13.5 points a game for the Lady Royals this season. She scored her 1,000th career point last season and has more than 400 career rebounds.

O'Mara has signed to play basketball at Bellarmine University in Louisville.

Scott senior Jake O'Mara is the boys' KABC 10th Region Player of the Year and is a candidate for Mr. Kentucky Basketball.

The regional players of the year are candidates for the 2017 Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball awards.

A final ballot will determine the winners who will be announced at an awards ceremony Tuesday, March 14 at 6 p.m. in the Lexington Center's Bluegrass Ballroom.

Tickets are on sale at mrandmisskybasketball.com.

Lady Royals rout Bourbon Co. 83-18

The Mason County Lady Royals celebrated Senior Night with an 83-18 rout of the Bourbon County Lady Colonels Wednesday night at the Fieldhouse.

Mason County led 22-7 at the end of the first quarter and 46-11 at the halftime.

The Lady Royals outscored the Lady Colonels 19-1 in the fourth quarter.

Mason County shot 53.2 percent from field and 47.6 percent (10-of-21) from three-point range.

Bourbon County had just five field goals in the game.

The Lady Royals scored 43 points off the Lady Colonels' 24 turnovers.

Brianna Littleton was 5-of-5 on three-point shots and scored a game-high 17 points.

A.J. Reed followed with 15 points and Whitney O'Mara added 11 points.

Mason County closes out the regular season Friday night at Franklin County.

MC (19-7) Highfield 2, O'Mara 11, Reed 15, Littleton 17, Moran 6, McNutt 9, Butler 4, May 2, Frodge 8, Simms 2, Boone 7

BC 15-14)  Bentley 1, Curtis 1, Hardy 3, Evans 2, Wilson 10, Kelly 1

MC 22 24 18 19- 83

BC  07 04 06 01- 18

Lady Royals fall to Scott Co. 78-70

The Mason County Lady Royals suffered their first home loss of the season tonight, falling to the Scott County Lady Cardinals 78-70 at the Fieldhouse.

The Lady Cardinals shot 51.7 percent from the field in the first half and led 39-25 at halftime. 

Mason County senior Whitney O'Mara scored a game-high 24 points.

Three other Lady Royals scored in double figures: Briana McNutt with 12 points, Jordan Frodge 11 and A.J. Reed 10.

Mason County plays Simon Kenton in Independence Saturday afternoon.

SC (16-9) DeFoor 14, Ward 3, Owens 23, Holt 3, Riddle 17, Boehm 12

MC (18-6) O'Mara 24, Reed 10, Littleton 2, McNutt 12, Butler 2, Frodge 11, Boone 9

SC  16  23 20 19-78

MC 11 14  24 21-70

Lady Royals overcome shooting woes in 43-35 win over Nicholas County

The Mason County Lady Royals overcame of a cold shooting first half  beat the Nicholas County Lady Jackets 43-35 tonight in Carlisle.

Nicholas County led 10-4 at the end of the first quarter and 18-16 at halftime despite taking only 10 shots in the first half.

Mason County was 6-of-26 (23.1) percent from the field in the first half. 

The Lady Royals shot 47.6 percent from the field in the second half and outscored he Lady Jackets 13-7 in the third quarter and 14-10 in the fourth quarter.

Whitney O'Mara and Briana McNutt both scored 13 points.

Mason County hosts Scott County on February 10th.

MC (17-5) O'Mara 13, Reed 2, Littleton 7, McNutt 13, Butler 2, Frodge 4, Boone 2

NC (15-9) Sowell 4, Allison 6, Martin 10, Kiskaden 6, Hughes 9

MC 04 12 13 14- 43

NC 10 08 07 10- 35

Lady Royals edge Clark Co. 54-51 in 10th Region showdown

The Mason County Lady Royals made clutch free throws and edged the Clark County (GRC) Lady Cardinals 54-51 tonight in Winchester in a showdown between Top 25 teams and 10th Region rivals.

There were three ties and 13 lead changes in the game.

Mason County built an eight-point in the second quarter and was up 32-26 at halftime.

Clark County rallied to lead 41-40 at the end of the third quarter.

There were three lead changes early in the fourth quarter.

Jordan Frodge hit both ends of the one-and-one to give the Lady Royals a 52-49 lead with 29 seconds to play.

Clark County scored with 4.5 seconds left to cut Mason County's lead to one.

Whitney O'Mara made both ends of the one-and-one with 3.4 seconds to play.

Clark County missed a three-point shot at the buzzer.

O'Mara scored a game-high 18 points and Briana McNutt added 10 points.

The Lady Royals host Campbell County Saturday afternoon.

MC   (15-4) O'Mara 18, McNutt 10, Boone 8, Littleton 4, Moran 4, Frodge 2
GRC (17-3) Behanan 12, Bell 8, Hardiman 6, Murray 5, Igo 4, Flowers 3, Harrison 13

MC   15 17 08 14- 54
GRC 13 13 15 10- 51

Lady Royals let nine-point lead slip away in a 50-47 loss to Bullitt East

The Mason County Lady Royals led most of the way and were up by nine points in the fourth quarter, but lost to the Bullitt East Lady Chargers 50-47 today in the Raatz Fence/O'Shea's Basketball Classic at Mercy Academy in Louisville.

Mason County led 43-34, but Bullitt East ended the game on a 16-4 run for its 10th straight win.

Bullitt East senior Lindsey Duvall made 13 of 13 free throws and scored a game-high 30 points.

Mason County was led in scoring by Briana McNutt with 21 points and Whitney O'Mara with 12 points.

Mason County hosts Montgomery County Monday night at the Lady Royals Gym.

BE (18-4) Duvall 30, Scott 5, Peak 5, Higdon 4, Henn 4, Masden 2
MC (13-4) McNutt 21, O'Mara 12, Boone 6, Frodge 6, Reed 2

BE  09 11 11 19- 50
MC 10 11 11 15- 47

Another big second half propels Lady Royals to a 79-49 win over Russell

For the second straight game, the Mason County Lady Royals used a big second half to pull away for a lopsided victory.

The Lady Royals defeated Russell 79-49 tonight at the Fieldhouse after outscoring the Lady Red Devils 43-19 in the second half.

Mason County outrebounded Russell 46-31 and scored 20 points off the Lady Red Devils. 20 turnovers.

Whitney O'Mara had a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Briana McNutt scored 13 points and Jordan Frodge added 12 points.

Russell junior Madison Darnell scored a game-high 29 points.

The Lady Royals play Bullitt East Saturday at 1:15 p.m. in the Raatz Fence/O'Shea's Classic at Mercy Academy in Louisville.

MC (13-3) Brooks 2, O'Mara 18, Reed 6, Littleton 4, Moran 6, McNutt 13, Butler 7, Frodge 12, Schumacher 2, Boone 9
R (11-7) Mitchell 3, Darnell 29, Maynard 3, Michael 8, Sanders 4, Hill 2

MC 16 20 20 23- 79
R     11 19 12 07- 49

Big 3rd quarter propels Lady Royals to a 64-40 win over Boyd Co.

The Mason County Lady Royals outscored the Boyd County Lady Lions 22-4 in the third quarter on their way to a 64-40 victory in the Holbrook Drug MLK Classic at Rowan County Monday night.

The Lady Royals shot 71.4 percent from the field in the second half and 57.1 percent for the game.

Mason County outrebounded Boyd County 37-14.

Whitney O'Mara scored 15 of her team-high 19 points in the second half.

Briana McNutt scored 16 points. She was 5 of 5 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free throw line.

The Lady Royals host Russell tonight in the second game of a boys and girls doubleheader at the Fieldhouse. The Royals host Greenup County in the first game at 6:30 p.m.

MC (12-3) Littleton 3, O'Mara 19, Boone 6, McNutt 16, Frodge 4, Butler 7, Reed 2, Moran 5, Schumacher 2

BC (12-5) Reeves 6, C. Shears 5, Wheeler 23, Lunsford 2, P. Shears 4

MC 12 11 22 19- 64

BC  18 08 04 10- 40 

Lady Royals' winning streak with loss to Highlands

The Mason County Lady Royals' nine-game losing streak was snapped Thursday night with a 46-43 loss to the Highlands Lady Bluebirds at Highlands.

Mason County led 30-29 at the half, but the Lady Bluebirds outscored the Lady Royals 13-8 in the third quarter.

Neither team had a field goal in the fourth quarter.

Mason County hit five free throws fourth quarter, Highlands made four free throws in the final period to hang on for the win.

Both teams struggled from the field in the second half- Highlands was 5 of 17 (29.4%) and Mason County was 4 of 14 (28.6%).

Highlands scored 21 points off Mason County's 20 turnovers.

Whitney O'Mara led Mason County in scoring with 14 points.

The Lady Royals play the Boyd County Lady Lions Monday at 6 p.m. in the Martin Luther King Classic at Rowan County.

MC (11-3) Littleton 3, Frodge 4, Boone 8, O'Mara 14, McNutt 8, Moran 4, Reed 2

Lady Royals rout Fleming County 72-30

The Mason County Lady Royals jumped out to a 12-0 lead and never looked back in a 72-30 rout of the Fleming County Lady Panthers tonight at Fleming County.

Mason County led 30-8 at the end of the first quarter and 43-16 at halftime.

The Lady Royals scored 38 points off the Lady Panthers' 35 turnovers and ran their winning streak to nine games.

Whitney O'Mara had a game-high 15 points.

Briana McNutt scored 11 points and A. J. Reed added 10 points.

MC (11-2) Brooks 9, Highfield 2, O'Mara 15, Reed 10, Littleton 6, Moran 8, McNutt 11, Frodge 5, Boone 6

FC (9-5) Fern 1, Pfeffer 2, Argo 6, A. Jackson 4, K. Jackson 4, Steward 11, Mitchell 2

MC 30 13 16 13- 72

FC   08 08 09 05- 30 

Lady Royals run win streak to 8 games with a 64-48 victory over Greenfield-Central

The Mason County Lady Royals ran their winning streak to eight games with a 64-48 victory over Greenfield-Central today in the Indiana-Kentucky Challenge Cup in New Castle, Indiana.

Greenfield-Central jumped out to an 8-0 lead and was up 19-13 at the end of the first quarter.

Mason County opened the second quarter with a 9-0 run and led the rest of the game.

Three Lady Royals scored in double figures with Maddie Boone leading the way with 16 points.

Whitney O'Mara followed with 14 points and Briana McNutt scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Iowa State signee Madison Wise had a double-double for Greenfield-Central with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

Mason County plays at Fleming County Monday night.

MC (10-2) Boone 16, Frodge 6, Littleton 7, O'Mara 14, McNutt 12, Reed 7, Butler 2

MC 13 20 17 14- 64 

GC 19 11 12 06-  48

Lady Royals win Island Division of Carolina Invitational

Whitney O'Mara scored a game-high 19 points and Briana McNutt added 12 points to lead the Mason County Lady Royals to a 50-44 victory this afternoon in the championship game of the Island Division of the Carolina Invitational.

The Lady Royals ran their winning streak to seven games.

The loss snapped Carrollton's season-opening 11-game winning streak. 

O'Mara was named the Most Valuable Player. 

O'Mara and McNutt were named to the All-Tournament Team.

The Lady Royals are back in action January 7 vs. Greenfield-Central in the Indiana vs. Kentucky Hall of Fame Challenge in New Castle, Indiana.

MC (9-2) O'Mara 19, McNutt 12, Boone 7, Butler 3, Frodge 2, Moran 2, Reed 3, Simms 2

C (11-1) Brown 13, McKinney 10, Bell 8, Barge 6, Daniel 4, Black-Bey 3

MC 13 05 18 14- 50

C    11 05 14 14- 44

Lady Royals top Wando, S.C. 62-32 in Carolina Invitational

The Mason County Lady Royals' defense forced 36 turnovers in a 62-32 rout of Wando, S.C. Thursday night in the semifinals of the Island Division of the Carolina Invitational.

The Lady Royals scored 29 points off turnovers and had 21 field goals on 16 assists.

Whitney O'Mara led Mason County in scoring with 12 points.

The Lady Royals play Carrollton, Ga. in the championship game today at 2 p.m.

MC (8-2) Littleton 8, Frodge 9, Boone 4, O'Mara 12, McNutt 9, Moran 5, Reed 7, Butler 6, Simms 2
W (7-2) McTighe 9, Shweta 5, Blackstock 12, Wisely 2, Marraccini 3, Willis 1

MC 13 11 24 14- 62
W   00 13 09 10- 32

Lady Royals Rout South Pointe 66-29 in Carolina Invitational

The Mason County Lady Royals routed South Pointe, S.C. 66-29 in the quarterfinal round of the Island Division of the Carolina Invitational Wednesday night in Charleston, S.C.

Mason County led 38-11 at halftime and 54-16 at the end of the third quarter.

Whitney O'Mara, Briana McNutt and Madison Butler scored 10 point apiece.

The Lady Royals play Wando, S.C. tonight at 8 p.m. in the semifinals.

MC (7-2) Brooks 1, Highfield 3, O'Mara 10, Reed 7, Littleton 8, Moran 5, McNutt 10, Butler 10, Frodge 6, Simms 2, Poe 1, Boone 3

SP Blake 18, Gilmore 5, Mobley 2, Roberson 4

MC 11 27 16 12- 66

SP   08 03 05 13- 29