Dynamic duo look to finish basketball careers strong at Metcalfe County

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Metcalfe County Lady Hornets are wrapping up an impressive year on the hardwood, finishing the year in the top five in the fourth region.

The team has a first-year head coach and Greg Stevens and 10 underclassmen on their 13-player roster. How have they been so good? The answer is seniors Braelyn Davis and Jaycie Harper.

“I think we have a good program here where we all feel like, no matter how old you are, you’re all a part of the team,” Harper said. “So I think we do a good job of just making sure everybody feels the same no matter if you’re if you’re in eighth grade or if you’re a senior.”

“We started in seventh grade, so I think we were in those shoes at one point,” Davis, “You really have to put things into perspective.”

The two top Hornets have been playing with each other for years and are constantly in competition mode.

“We almost expect so much out of each other that when she makes a mistake, or I make a mistake, it’s almost heartbreaking for the other person because we’ve been together for so long,” Davis said.

And their leadership has helped set the program up for success under new head coach Greg Stevens.

“They make it worth coming in here every day, “the Lady Hornets head coach said. “You get a bad team and you only win one or two games and practices get old and sometimes you don’t even want come in and see the kids. But with this group, if we hadn’t won a game yet, I’d still enjoy coming in and being around them. And it’s led by those two seniors.”

With district play and regionals just around the corner of Braelyn and Jaycie are excited for the tough competition. But in a few weeks, a big transition approaches.

“I’ve never not had to play sports,” Harper said. “Like that’s always been my go to like, just playing sports playing sports all the time. And I think that it hadn’t really set in on me that this is literally like the last two weeks or three weeks. And I think right now I don’t really know what to say about it, because I can’t really process it. But I think it’s gonna be really hard.”

“Yeah, it’s gonna be different,” Davis said. “I’ve played sports all my life. So I don’t know how I’m going to react, going off to college, not playing sports, not doing anything but I’m very thankful for all the memories and all the things I’ve learned from sports has been very difficult. And you learn how to face adversity through sports.”

Wherever their paths may lead at the end of the day, they set up the Lady Hornets basketball program for years to come.