Ledford leads the way late: Murray gets hot at the right time, beats Union County to return to Elite 8

Published 9:15 pm Friday, February 23, 2024

CHATSWORTH — Murray County High School sophomore Callan Ledford made plenty of big shots in the Lady Indians’ Class 2A Sweet 16 game against Union County Friday night.

But it was after two of her misses that Ledford made two of the most crucial plays that led Murray County to a 46-41 victory and launched them into the state quarterfinals for a second consecutive year.

Ledford drilled a 3-pointer with two minutes left that finished erasing a 7-point fourth-quarter Union County lead and tied the game at 39. With 1:05 to go, Ledford tried again.

Her 3-pointer missed this time, but Ledford charged after the rebound to seize it, made a move around a defender and scooped in the go-ahead shot that put Murray County ahead 41-39.

After teammate Miley McClure made a free throw and Union County added two, Ledford went to the line with 29.4 left and Murray leading by a point.

Ledford made the first, missed the second and immediately made amends.

Again, she charged after the rebound. She grabbed it, was fouled again, and hit both this time.

Union (17-12) never scored again, and Murray (23-6) hung on 46-41.

This Murray team seems to be using the accomplishments of last year’s squad as a checklist.

20-plus wins? Check. Region champs? Checked off last week.

On Friday night, the Lady Indians checked two more boxes.

Just like last year, Murray beat Union County in the playoffs, and Murray advanced to the state’s Elite 8.

Murray’s win over Union last year came in the first round, but this year’s victory comes in the second and punches a ticket to the state quarterfinals. The trip to the Elite 8 matches last season’s, but, before then, Murray had waited since 1978 between state quarterfinal appearances. This year’s quarterfinal appearance will come at Butler High in Augusta. Butler is a region champion and No. 1 seed like Murray, but the GHSA’s universal coin toss determined that teams on the bottom side of the bracket — like Butler — will host quarterfinal games in situations where like-seeded teams meet.

Murray battled through scoring droughts — the result of tight, physical defense from Union — to get hot at the right time and grab the win.

After an 11-11 tie at the end of a quarter, Union County scored the final seven points of the first half to take a 23-18 lead into half.

Union made it 10-0 in the third quarter, getting an 8-point lead, before McClure punctured the run with a jumper halfway through the third.

Ledford forced foul-line trips to boost the Murray offense, Emma Blaylock hit a late quarter 3-pointer, and McClure made a sliding layup with the last shot of the third to tie the game at 30 entering the final frame.

Just when it seemed Murray had solved its offensive issues, the Lady Indians went cold again to start the fourth.

Murray didn’t score in the first four minutes of the quarter, and Union County took a 37-30 advantage.

Unlike the methodical climb back into the game to end the third, Murray quickly snapped out of a lull this time.

Bayleigh Winkler hit a layup through a foul, then knocked down the free throw. A Skyler Mahoney transition layup the next time down made it 37-35 Union.

Ledford’s triple later tied the game at 39, and her putback put Murray up for good.

After going scoreless for four minutes and falling into a 37-30 hole to start the fourth, Murray outscored Union County 16-4 the rest of the way for the win.

Ledford led the way with 16 Murray County points, with nine of those coming from the free throw line. McClure scored 11, Mahoney scored six and Winkler had six.

Murray, despite a sizable roster turnover, has matched last year’s team with a run to the Elite 8. But that’s where the 2023 squad stopped.

The Lady Indians hope to surpass that hurdle this time.