Region 1 Sports 3rd District basketball preview

3rd District Boys
Mayfield (2024 3rd District Champion)
Coach: Payton Croft
Last Season's Record: Overall 19-9, in region 10-7, in district 4-2

Last season's team:  The Cardinals shot 47.1% from the floor, 38.1% from three and 62.9% from the foul line while averaging 61.1 points a game. The Cardinals were led by a trio of double figure scorers including senior Braydon Pate at 12.6 a game, senior Braden Morris at 10.5 a game and junior Owen Webb at 10.1 a game. 

This year's outlook:  Mayfield graduated a lot of production, losing four of their top five scorers. They do return sharp shooters Webb, third in scoring, and Owen Byrd, sixth in scoring. Webb shot 37% from three and Webb 36.2% respectively.


3rd District Girls
Graves County (2024 3rd District Runner-up)
Coach: Jason Holland
Last Season's Record: Overall 20-11, in region 11-8, in district 4-1

Last season's team:  The Eagles shot 47.6% from the floor, 33.5% from three and 67.2% from the foul line while averaging 55.4 points a game. They were led by a trio of double figure scorers in senior Lukas Pigg at 12.5 points a game, senior Briley VeuCasovic at 10.9 points a game and junior Braden Waller at 10.4 points a game. 

This year's outlook:  Like district rival Mayfield, Graves County also graduated a lot or their production from last year's team. The Eagles will be looking to replace four of their top five players in scoring, but have a strong group of underclassmen returning who got plenty of run at the varsity level last year. 



Ballard Memorial
Coach: Kevin Estes
Last Season's Record: Overall 20-11, in region 10-8, in district 4-4 

Last season's team:  The Bombers shot 41.7% from the floor, 28.7% from three and 67.3% from the foul line while averaging 58.2 points a game. The Bombers had just one player average double figures, but it was the top scorer in the region in junior Jace Birney's 25.9 points a game. 

This year's outlook:  The Bombers haven't won a game in the district since 2015, but seem to be much more of a threat this year with some new faces on the roster and the return Birney for his senior season. First year Bomber coach Kevin Estes' roster appears to be more of a return to the Bombers' 20-win team from two years ago. 




3rd District Girls
Graves County (3rd District Champion)
Coach: Lyndon Dunning
Last Season's Record: Overall 22-10, in region 15-3, in district 5-0.

Last season's team:  The Lady Eagles shot 39.1% from the floor, 34.0% from three and 71.9% from the foul line while averaging 52 points a game. They were led senior Morgan Alexander's 14 points a game and junior Hannah Glisson's 12.9 points a game. 

This year's outlook:  The Lady Eagles lost just one senior in Alexander. Those are big shoes to fill, but depth will be their strength to getting back to the regional championship. They also are not nearly as thin with their senior class as the feature four seniors this year, led by all-region performer Glisson, who was also voted as one of the top 30 players in the state. 



Ballard Memorial (3rd District Runner-up)
Coach: Barry W. Phillips, Jr.
Last Season's Record: Overall 16-16, in region 10-10, in district 1-6

Last season's team:  The Lady Bombers shot 35.9% from the floor, 27.0% from three and 50.6% from the foul line while averaging 45.8 points a game. They featured just one player in double figures in senior Nevaeh Yates who scored 12.5 a game. 

This year's outlook:  The Lady Bombers made it back to the regional tournament last year, for the first time since 2018 in Barry Phillips first year at the helm. The challenge to repeat will be a little tougher this season as they will be looking to replace 



Mayfield
Coach: Bradley Nanney
Last Season's Record: Overall 16-14, in region 11-6, in district 3-3

Last season's team:  The Lady Cardinals shot 31.7% from the floor, 23.8%    from three and 66.0%    from the foul line while averaging 43.4 points a game. Last year's team was led by sophomore Lay Mayes at 17.6 points a game and senior Skylar Mandry at 11.8 a game. 

This year's outlook:  The Lady Cardinals won the 1st Region All "A" and had an 11-3 record through that point of the season. However, they struggled to close out the year, losing eight of their last nine games and falling short of reaching the regional tournament. Things look good for Mayfield this season as they return four of their top five scorers, including Mayes for her junior season. 



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