Published: January 06, 2009 12:20 am      

Poll leader Rowan roars out of gate

A terrific start puts defending 16th Region champion Rowan County above the crowd in The Independent’s first girls basketball poll of the season.

The Lady Vikings entered the week with an 8-0 record, capped by a 67-57 home victory over highly regarded and previously unbeaten DuPont Manual last Tuesday.

DuPont Manual was ranked No. 1 in Kentucky by Maxpreps.com and Bluegrasspreps.com.

Senior guard Jennifer Brockman paved the way for Rowan County with 22 points, seven assists, six rebounds and six steals. Katie Martin supplied 19 points and seven rebounds, while Amber Riddle had 12 points and six rebounds.

Rowan County trailed 47-44 after three quarters before making a strong finish. DuPont Manual, coming off a championship in the Lexington Catholic tournament, committed 22 turnovers against the Lady Vikings.

Before Christmas, Rowan County won the Northern Exposure Classic at Boone County. Brockman was named tournament MVP and Best Defensive Player for the Lady Vikings, who defeated Lafayette 47-42, Boone County 65-45, Bishop Brossart 69-35 and Notre Dame Academy 65-60 in overtime.

This week, Rowan County plays four games. Along with Monday’s trip to Lewis County, the Lady Vikings will meet Tates Creek (tonight), Elliott County (Thursday) and Breathitt County (Friday).

Elliott County, third in the 16th Region poll behind Ashland, posted early season wins over Morgan County and East Carter. All five of the Lady Lions’ losses have come against strong competition outside the region.

Ashland, 3-0 in the region so far, also made appearances in the Republic Bank Holiday Classic at Lexington Catholic and Lady of the South Invitational at Allen County-Scottsville.

Most recently, Ashland rolled past Belfry 86-41 in the Kitten Shootout.

Morgan County and East Carter occupy the fourth and fifth spots, respectively.

Morgan County beat East Carter and West Carter during a three-game winning streak in December.

East Carter entered the week with a 7-3 record and five consecutive wins. Four of them came in the Lady Raiders’ Queen of the Bluegrass tournament.

The poll’s second five consists of Boyd County, West Carter, Lewis County, Raceland and Fleming County.