[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5044-5045]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  ROCKCASTLE HIGH SCHOOL LADY ROCKETS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise to recognize the remarkable 
accomplishments of one of Kentucky's most impressive athletic teams, 
the Rockcastle High School Lady Rockets basketball team. This March 12, 
the Lady Rockets triumphed over the DuPont Manual Lady Crimsons in 
overtime, 62 to 60, to win the school's first Kentucky High School 
Athletic Association Sweet 16 girls basketball championship.
  It has been an unforgettable season for the Lady Rockets, who 
finished the year 36-1, on a 27-game winning streak, and undefeated by 
any fellow Kentucky team. They entered the final tournament game 
knowing they faced an experienced and competitive opponent, but that 
their raw talent and determination would show the people of the 
Bluegrass State that they had something to prove. Well, prove something 
they did: After clawing their way back from a nine-point deficit to tie 
it and send the game into overtime, the Lady Rockets never trailed 
during the extra minutes.
  Senior Sara Hammond, named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, the 
State's first McDonald's All American, and Kentucky's Miss Basketball 
2011, posted 26 points and 11 rebounds during the game. It all came 
down to the final seconds of overtime when Lady Rockets head coach 
Chrysti Noble decided not to call a time out and trusted her players to 
finish the game with the right shot. Senior Angie Lawrence took a 
buzzer-beating jumper to give the Lady Rockets the title. Streamers and 
confetti hailed from the rafters, blanketing the team and the record 
number of 5,122 screaming spectators at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling 
Green, KY.
  Their victory was the first championship title for coach Chrysti 
Noble in her 21 seasons at Rockcastle High School. It also made the 
Lady Rockets the first team not from Lexington or Louisville to win the 
girls' basketball State championship in more than a decade.
  The students and faculty of Rockcastle High School, the community of 
Mount Vernon and the entire Commonwealth couldn't be more proud of this 
talented, winning team. The Sunday after winning the championship, the 
equivalent of one-fifth of the population of Mount Vernon turned out to 
wish the Lady Rockets well as the team members rode through town atop 
three fire engines, a convoy of honking vehicles and jubilant fans 
following behind. Their hard work, dedication and respect for one 
another undoubtedly makes them a team that will be remembered for years 
to come.
  Mr. President, the Louisville Courier-Journal recently published an 
article about the Rockcastle High School Lady Rockets' history-making 
season and what the championship meant to the team, the school and the 
Commonwealth. I ask unanimous consent that the full article be printed 
in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               [From the Courier-Journal, Mar. 13, 2011]

Girls' Sweet 16 Rockcastle County Beats Manual 62-60 for Title on Last-
                              Second Shot

                           (By Jason Frakes)

       Bowling Green, KY--The knock all season on the Rockcastle 
     County High School girls' basketball team was that it's a 
     one-woman squad, led by McDonald's All American Sara Hammond.
       The Lady Rockets now have a state championship trophy to 
     prove that never was the case.
       Angie Lawrence nailed a jumper in the lane with 1 second 
     left in overtime to give Rockcastle County a 62-60 victory 
     over Manual in the final of the Houchens/KHSAA Sweet 16.
       A state final-record crowd of 5,122 at E.A. Diddle Arena 
     saw Rockcastle County capture its first state championship 
     and end a 10-year reign of title winners from either 
     Louisville or Lexington. West Carter (2000) was the last 
     school not from either of Kentucky's largest cities to win 
     the crown.
       ``This is the best feeling ever,'' said Hammond, a 
     University of Louisville signee who was named the Sweet 16 
     MVP. ``I knew we were going to get it done tonight.''
       The 6-foot-2 Hammond posted 26 points and 11 rebounds to 
     lead the Lady Rockets (36-1), who finished the season with a 
     27-game winning streak and lost only to Mount Juliet (Tenn.) 
     60-47 on Dec. 30.
       Lawrence, a 5-5 senior who has signed with Georgetown 
     College, added 18 points.
       LeAsia Wright had 19 points and Kara Wright 12 for Manual 
     (33-5), which was No. 1 in the state in The Courier-Journal's 
     Litkenhous Ratings all season.
       ``Our best wasn't good enough to win the game, but it's 
     good enough for me,'' Lady Crimsons coach Stacy Pendleton 
     said. ``They just beat us. We played as hard as we could.''
       Manual led 37-28 early in the third quarter, but Rockcastle 
     County charged back and eventually tied it at 47 on a 
     Lawrence three-pointer with 5:07 left in the fourth.
       Hammond scored 19 points in the first half, but it was 
     Lawrence who carried the Lady Rockets late with 15 points 
     after the break.
       ``Their other kids really stepped up in the second half,'' 
     Pendleton said. ``But if it wasn't for (Hammond) in the first 
     half, I think we could have blown them out.''
       Lawrence sank two free throws with 27.5 seconds left for a 
     55-53 lead, but Kayla Styles' basket with 2 seconds left tied 
     it and forced overtime.
       The Lady Rockets never trailed in the extra period and led 
     60-58 after Michaela Hunter's free throw with 1:22 left. Kara 
     Wright tied it at 60 on a jumper with 56 seconds left, and 
     Rockcastle County held for the final shot.
       Lady Rockets coach Chrysti Noble chose not to call a 
     timeout.
       ``They're experienced, and they've been here,'' she said. 
     ``I was like, `No, let them go. Let them determine the 
     outcome of the ballgame.' They did.''
       Lawrence drove to the lane and nailed her jumper from the 
     right elbow.
       ``I was feeling it,'' Lawrence said. ``It was a terrible-
     looking shot, but I had faith in myself. I knew I would hit 
     it.''
       Hammond said there was a bit of confusion in the final 
     minute.

[[Page 5045]]

       ``I kept asking, `What offense are you running? What 
     offense are you running?''' Hammond said. ``(Lawrence) had 
     that look in her eye that she was taking it to the hole. 
     She's done that over and over again. We knew it was in her 
     heart, and we trusted her for that shot.''
       Manual called a timeout with 0.5 second left but couldn't 
     get a final shot.
       Pendleton was left to wonder what might have been with 
     junior guard April Wilson out since the regional final with a 
     broken hand. He also had two seniors foul out in the final--
     Raven Hester with 1:29 left in regulation and Mechael Guess 
     at the 2:49 mark of overtime.
       ``To do all of this without April is amazing,'' Pendleton 
     said. ``That shows you how great this team is. . . . Mechael 
     fouling out was a huge problem, huge. You take away our No. 1 
     scoring punch and rebounding. That was a huge blow.''
       For Rockcastle County it was a huge win and gave the 12th 
     Region its first state champion since Laurel County in 1991.
       Noble, in her 21st season at Rockcastle County, said the 
     victory was important for the school of 910 students and the 
     community of Mount Vernon.
       ``It's so good to know there's something good from 
     Rockcastle County instead of hearing all the bad stuff,'' she 
     said. ``There are a lot of good things that happen in our 
     community. . . .
       ``When you come through Rockcastle you'll get to see a sign 
     up, I hope, that says, `Welcome to Rockcastle County, 2011 
     state champions of girls' basketball.'''

                          ____________________