The Russellville High School girls’ basketball team was extremely close to making its first ever trip to the state All ‘A’ Classic Tournament.

The Lady Panthers played district rival Todd County Central on Friday at Clinton County High School, but came up just one point short in the game.

Russellville lost 41-40 in one of the team’s lowest scoring games of the season.

This was the third loss to the Lady Rebels this season for Russellville, with the last two being one-point losses.

Russellville beat Clinton County and Metcalfe County, both on their own floors, to make the finals of the Fourth Region All ‘A’ Classic.

The Lady Panthers have made huge strides this season and even though Friday’s game was a loss, it still just goes to show that Russellville – which is playing with a roster filled with underclassmen – will be a force to be reckoned with in the region.

This time a year ago, the Lady Panthers were struggling through a tough year – in which they won just two games.

Now, Russellville has a winning record and a realistic shot at winning a game in the District 13 Tournament to qualify for the Fourth Region Tournament.

The Lady Panthers return to the court Friday night with a road game at University Heights in Hopkinsville.

The Russellville boys’ basketball team was upset early in the Fourth Region All ‘A’ Classic and added a game against Pickett County, Tenn., on Saturday. The Panthers won that contest 58-19.

Russellville will be back in action this Saturday at home against Glasgow, with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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The two teams from Logan County also showed some marked signs of improvement on Friday night.

The Lady Cougars fell by just nine points to defending region champ and state runner-up Franklin-Simpson.

Earlier in the season, the Lady Cougars lost 69-34 to the Lady Cats from Franklin.

Junior forward Sarah Speck continued her fine play for Logan County. She finished with a team-high 18 points with 10 coming in the fourth quarter. LCHS outscored Franklin-Simpson 15-10 in the final period.

Chastity Gooch paced Franklin-Simpson with 19 points and Tradesha Lunsford had 11 points – including important back-to-back 3-pointers at the end of the third quarter.

Weather permitting, Logan County will play tonight at one of the other top teams in the Fourth Region. The Lady Cougars are scheduled to play at Bowling Green High School beginning at 6 p.m. The game will be the first half of a girl-boy doubleheader with the Cougars taking on the Purples at 7:30 p.m.

The Logan County boys’ squad also had a very respectable showing against Franklin-Simpson on Friday.

The Cougars trailed by just four points heading into the fourth quarter, before eventually losing 64-49.

Franklin-Simpson outscored Logan County 22-11 in the final period.

Earlier in the season, Franklin-Simpson beat Logan County 66-44 at Cougar Gym.

If tonight’s game at BGHS is canceled due to the weather, Logan County’s next contest will be on Tuesday, Feb. 3, at Metcalfe County.

— OJ Stapleton is the editor for the News-Democrat & Leader. Contact him at edit_ndl@bellsouth.net or 726-8394.