LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The last time Woodford Countians celebrated a win this late in the boy's state basketball tournament was 1937. So, the fact that the Yellow Jackets of Woodford County High School needed an extra four minutes to pull this off today mattered little.
“They stepped up big time in overtime and everybody pitched in today. Huge effort all around,” said Woodford County fan, Kyle Johnson, on his way to the arena exit.
The Yellow Jackets trailed Jeffersontown by one point entering the fourth quarter. The game went into overtime after they couldn’t convert a couple of free throws late in regulation. Then, they did make a few from the stripe in overtime to win by three and advance to the quarterfinals.
“I’ve taught a couple of them. Good kids, good students. They deserved to win,” said teacher, Allison Absar.
The school district gave the kids a day off to attend this morning’s game. Now, they will do so again this Friday. This is now a historic run for this program.
Rupp Arena was packed with black and gold, and it meant everything for our high school students! It was such a fun, exciting atmosphere!
— Woodford County Public Schools (@WoodfordCoPS) March 15, 2023
As this is a major moment in Woodford County history, we will not have school in the district on Friday, March 17.
“This is an experience that is a lifetime of memories. So win or lose we’ve accomplished a lot this year,” said Ryan Asher, whose son Nolan is a sophomore on the team.
The win sets up a quarterfinal round match-up with Elizabethtown (a winner over McCracken County) at 11 a.m. Friday.
