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The George Rogers Clark Lady Cardinals played a Sweet 16 game at Rupp Arena for the fourth straight year.

Looking to put last year’s first-round exit behind them, a strong start and finish propelled them forward.

George Rogers Clark (26-7) outscored 4th Region Champion Franklin-Simpson 29-15 in the first half and 28-10 in the fourth quarter to gain a 64-42 victory and move on to the KHSAA Girls’ Basketball Elite Eight.

They will play 13th Region Champion North Laurel (31-2) on Friday, March 14, at 11:00 a.m.

“[I’m] proud of our kids,” said GRC Head Coach Robbie Graham. “We came out [in] the fourth quarter…[and] finished the game out strong.”

After falling behind 3-2 early following a 3-point shot by Franklin-Simpson’s Jasmine Savage, the Lady Cards took control with a barrage of strong offensive and defensive play.

Going on a 10-0 run, GRC ended the opening period with a 16-7 lead.

Sophomore Kennedy Stamper – playing in her fourth consecutive Sweet 16 – contributed three steals and six points in the opening quarter.

“It’s a privilege to be here, so I definitely was [going to] take advantage of it. I just came out ready to play,” she said. “I knew [Franklin-Simpson] would be a tough team, so I…just gave it my all.”

With senior Jailenn Green contributing a game-high 22 points, the Lady Cards took a 29-15 halftime lead.

“I just did whatever it takes to help my team out,” she said.

The Lady Wildcats, not one to go away without a fight, came back strong in the third quarter and – cutting their deficit to only three points – outscored GRC 17-7.

However, junior Teigh Yeast helped expand the Lady Cards’ lead with the first four points of the fourth quarter – the last two following a steal.

“Defense has always been one of my biggest things,” Yeast said. “Just getting up there in the passing lane and scoring [is good].”

The Lady Cards outscored the Lady Wildcats 28-10 in the fourth quarter en route to victory.

Senior Ciara Byars – who finished with nine points – spoke after the game.

“The past two seasons, our team has fought adversity,” she said. “We had a really good start, and then we had that lull. Franklin Simpson is a good team, so they’re always [going to] fight back…[but ]just being able to….compose ourselves and come back…we’re used to it.”

Forcing 21 total turnovers and holding the Lady Cats to 29.4% shooting, Franklin-Simpson Head Coach Ashley Taylor noted that the Lady Cards’ defensive pressure presented challenges.

“Their press [defense]…is one of their big components,” she said. “It’s hard to prepare for it the way that they do it.”

The Lady Cards’ offense shot 58.5% from the field.

“We [were] just trying to attack the basket and throw it inside to Ciara and Khania [Jones] as much as we could,” said Coach Graham. “We wanted to attack the basket and shoot a high percentage for sure.”