What we learned as Bullitt East girls head to Sixth Region championship

The Bullitt East Chargers played a thorough game on Thursday night, as they defeated the Bullitt Central Cougars 60-28 to advance to Saturday's Sixth Region title game.

The Chargers will take on Mercy in the finals.

Here's what we learned from the win:

Defensive intensity at full volume

Lilly Reid set the tone early for the Chargers defense with three steals, including one that she converted in points on a fast break opportunity. Bullitt East as a whole turned up their defense to the next level, as they looked to turnover and thwart Bullitt Central every time they tried to get into their offense. Chargers head coach Chris Stallings couldn’t have been prouder of the results.

“We were ready to play. It showed early, especially defensively,” he said. “We wanted the ball picked up full court and then apply as much pressure as we can. (It) kind of pushed them out of what they wanted to do.”

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Gracie Merkle finds other ways to affect the game’s outcome

Chargers senior center Gracie Merkle only scored 11 points on Thursday to lead Bullitt East, but she also affected game with blocks, deflections and using her presence to disrupt Bullitt Central at every turn. She also led the Chargers with eight rebounds on Thursday night.

“It’s really important,” said Merkle, as she spoke on the significance of having an effect on the game beyond just scoring. “Me just going to the boards (and) getting our rebounds, getting the other teams rebounds, being able to pass it out and have my other teammates shoot the ball (and) coming out with a win like that, coming out with a win like that is amazing.”

Bench players share some glory

Jada Hughes led all bench players with 10 points on Thursday night, but others like Madeline Curtsinger (4 points), Anna Tinelli (3 points) and Samantha Lyons (4 points) stepped up with good minutes when Stallings sat down his starters in the fourth quarter as they led Bullitt Central by 30 points.

“This late in the postseason, that’s good,” said Stallings. “All of our kids work hard, so it was good to see them. Another good thing was to see them engaged. They knew what the game plan was as well and carried it out while they were in. All it does is build confidence for Saturday.”

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Reach Jonathan Saxon at JSaxon@gannett.com or 502-715-1393 and follow him on Twitter at @TheSleepyScribe.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Bullitt East tops Bullitt Central in Sixth Region basketball semifinal