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With pre-holiday and post-holiday tournaments and school being out for winter break, the period just before and after Christmas is a busy time for high school basketball teams. 

The George Rogers Clark Cardinals and Lady Cardinals thus found themselves busy in the last week with mixed results. 

The Cards entered the annual White, Greer, & Maggard Holiday Classic – beginning Friday, December 27, at Lexington Catholic High School. 

In their first matchup, GRC (9-2) battled a strong LaRue County Hawks team. 

Though the Cards struggled at times, and LaRue County made the most of several opportunities, GRC clung to a one-point lead in the final seconds. 

Controversially, a foul was called on an attempted shot – allowing the Hawks two free throws with .3 seconds remaining. 

Making one of two, the Hawks sent the game to overtime – where they narrowly outscored GRC to hand the Cards their first loss of the season. 

One day later, GRC took on Trinity High School out of Louisville, who took home the 7th Region Championship and finished in the Elite Eight last season. 

Breaking out in the second and third quarter following an improbable buzzer beater – from near full-court length – by senior Eli Craig at the end of the opening period, the Cards built a lead as large as 23 points in the second half. 

However, the Shamrocks rallied. 

Having cut the lead to as little as three points late in the contest, Trinity had an opportunity to tie the contest. 

Yet a three-point basket at the end of regulation came up short, enabling the Cards to come away with a 67-64 victory. 

“[There was] a lot of emotion…[It was] a good bounce-back win against a quality program,” said GRC head coach Josh Cook. “I thought we played very [well] at times…it’s good for character building. It’s good for adversity. It’s good for toughness [and] to see some guys step up.” 

One day later, the Cards faced another formidable foe in fellow Top 25-ranked Woodford 

County. 

Although the Cards took a 3-point lead early on a basket by Sam Spillman, they struggled overall at the 3-point line; connecting on 2 of 19 attempts. 

Despite a strong effort, they fell to the Yellow Jackets 57-46.            

“I’m proud of our effort. It was a tough game,” Cook added. “It’s Christmas break basketball. You’re [going to] have highs and lows with that. There’s a lot of things you can learn and grow from.” 

Among other players, sophomore Maddox Hager stood out by scoring 32 points in the three games.

With the 2024 portion of their schedule complete, GRC returns to competition on Saturday, January 4, with a 7:00 p.m. home matchup against Cooper in the Tim Short Automotive Classic. 

On the Lady Cards’ side, after winning one of four contests during the highly-competitive Nike Tournament of Champions tournament in Arizona prior to Christmas break, the Lady Cards returned to action in Ohio. 

Facing Princeton (OH) in a rematch, having beaten them in overtime before the holiday break, the Lady Cards fell by a 58-45 score after falling into a 12-point deficit early on. 

Just twenty-four hours later, the team saw some redemption. 

Outsourcing their opponent 18-5 in the fourth quarter, the Lady Cards moved on to a convincing 66-42 victory over Waynesville (OH). 

The Lady Cards’ Kennedy Stamper, a sophomore, led the way with 17 points while senior Jailenn Green added 14 of her own. 

Having faced some tough competition nationwide, the Lady Cards (4-5) remain highly ranked in the state of Kentucky.