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‘We gave the crowd a game.’ Indiana All-Stars, Kentucky set girls single-game scoring record in 2OT nail-biter

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‘We gave the crowd a game.’ Indiana All-Stars, Kentucky set girls single-game scoring record in 2OT nail-biter


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  • Indiana Miss Basketball Maya Makalusky lead the All-Stars with 29 points, but Kentucky got finished off the series sweep Saturday night.

INDIANAPOLIS – After the marathon double-overtime battle between the girls Indiana All-Stars and Kentucky ended Saturday night inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Hamilton Southeastern’s Maya Makalusky sat near the scorer’s table to decompress.

Exhausted after Indiana’s 106-103 loss to rival Kentucky in the finale of the two-game series’ 49th running, Makalusky didn’t absorb her team’s sweeping defeat as much as the overall experience.

On Friday night at Lexington Catholic High School, the Indiana All-Stars girls lost 84-73 to Kentucky by the series’ largest single-game margin since 2022.

The next evening back in the Hoosier State, Indiana attempted to stave off Kentucky’s first series sweep since 2012 and 10th all-time since 1977.

Following a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Laila Abdurraqib (Lawrence Central/New Mexico) at the end of regulation to tie the score 76-76, it seemed Indiana had the momentum on its side.

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Indiana’s 11-4 run to deadlock the game countered Kentucky’s 17-5 run that erased an earlier five-point deficit.

However, two five-minute bonus quarters proved enough time for Kentucky Miss Basketball’s ZaKiyah Johnson (Louisville Sacred Heart/Louisiana State) to secure the sweep.

Johnson tied the score in overtime by sinking 3-of-3 free throws in the final seven seconds after drawing contact on a desperation 3-point heave at the top of the key, and she dropped in eight of her game-high 34 points in the double overtime to lock down the win.

Johnson set a new single-game series record for points scored by besting both Kentucky’s Amiya Jenkins (31 in 2022) and Indiana’s Tiffany Gooden (1994) while establishing a two-game record with 62 points to again beat Gooden’s mark of 55.

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Makalusky, the 2025 IndyStar Indiana Miss Basketball honoree, had a team-high 29 points. The Indiana University commit finished with 47 points for both games before fouling out with 27.4 seconds remaining in the final bonus period. She was named the Hoosier Shooting Academy MVP.

“Obviously, we have nothing to hang our heads about,” said Makalusky, who posted a team-high 14 rebounds with two assists and three steals. “I mean, we got double overtime. We played hard, and we should be proud of what we gave.”

What the Indiana and Kentucky All-Stars gave the downtown Indianapolis crowd was a historic show.

Marking the series’ first double-overtime game and third overtime contest in history.

Saturday’s game set a new single-game record for combined points scored at 209, while adding new standards for most combined field goals (72) that broke the record of 68 in 1994. Kentucky’s 106 points were the most scored by the neighboring All-Stars in a single game. The previous high was 101 in 2008 and 2022.

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“We gave the crowd a game, and it’s all you could ask for,” Makalusky said. “It’s super exciting, and it’s great to see girls sports having their moment and the amount of support. Obviously, we want to go out winning, but at the end of the day, we have nothing to hand our heads about. The energy was up, and we were ready.”

Indiana led 16-15 after the first quarter and carried a 35-32 lead into halftime. Indiana took a 45-42 advantage in the third quarter on an and-1 layup by Makalusky and were up 53-48 entering the fourth.

In the game’s final five minutes of regulation Kentucky’s run created a whirlwind 15 minutes of tug-of-war with 13 ties and 13 lead changes.

Peyton Bradley (Meade County/Louisville) had 26 points, eight assists, five steals and seven rebounds for Kentucky as one of four players in double figures.

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Abdurraqib finished with 11 points, four assists and eight rebounds. Indiana had five players with 10 or more points, including Jaylah Lampley (Lawrence Central/Mississippi State) and Addison Baxter (Columbia City/Butler) with 17 each. Monique Mitchell (South Bend Washington/Akron) had 10, while Brooke Winchester (Warsaw/Ball State) had 11 rebounds and eight points.

Kya Hurt (Lawrence North/Illinois State) dished out a team-high seven assists with eight points and three steals.

“I’m just glad I finally got to play on this team with everybody and enjoy this moment,” Hurt said. “We wanted this one really bad, especially because it went to double overtime. I was excited because we got a chance to play again and try to win the game.”

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Kentucky among Southeastern states receiving FEMA disaster recovery funding

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Kentucky among Southeastern states receiving FEMA disaster recovery funding


LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced the approval of nearly $23 million in funding to support natural disaster recovery throughout the Southeast.

Kentucky is among several states receiving funds for state-managed recovery programs after Hurricane Helene and other past disasters hit the Southeast, a news release from FEMA said.

According to FEMA, Kentucky, Florida and Tennessee will administer more than $2.1 million for disaster unemployment assistance to help those who may not be able to work as a direct result of a disaster.

Kentucky, alongside Georgia and Tennessee, was also awarded $2.4 million to fund crisis counseling and mental health support.

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The funds will help pay for counselors and other services to help people with disaster-related stress and trauma, according to FEMA.

More information about state-managed recovery programs funded by FEMA can be found on the agency’s website.



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Kentucky mother, daughter turn down $26 million offer for their land: “It’s priceless”

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Kentucky mother, daughter turn down  million offer for their land: “It’s priceless”




Kentucky mother, daughter turn down $26 million offer for their land: “It’s priceless” – CBS News

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A mother and daughter in Kentucky have turned down a $26 million offer for their land. The offer came from an unnamed tech company wanting to build a data center. CBS News’ Jared Ochacher spoke with the family.

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Key dates and a possible sneak peek for Kentucky Basketball fans

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Key dates and a possible sneak peek for Kentucky Basketball fans


During his recent radio show, Pope offered a sobering reality check regarding the timeline for the rest of his staff overhaul.

“We’re going through a little bit of a hiring process that will be ongoing—probably for the next six weeks,” Pope explained. “We could have some closure on some things quickly, but I can’t really talk in detail about anything until it gets through the whole HR process.”

In a vacuum, a six-week HR timeline is standard corporate procedure. But in the modern landscape of college basketball, that timeline is a massive hurdle because of the newly accelerated Transfer Portal window instituted by the NCAA.

The 15-Day Transfer Portal window

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Players cannot officially enter their names into the Transfer Portal until April 7th. However, anyone paying attention knows that backdoor deals are already being orchestrated, and agents are prematurely announcing their clients’ intentions to leave. It is an unregulated mess, but it is the reality of the sport.

That April 7th opening is the first major date to circle on your calendar.

Once the portal opens, it remains active for exactly 15 days. When that window slams shut, no new names can enter. There are no graduate exemptions or special loopholes for late decisions. If a player plans on transferring, they must formally notify their current school before that 15-day window expires on April 21st at 11:59 PM. If they miss the deadline, they are stuck.

Mark Pope has to have his staff aligned, his evaluations complete, and his recruiting pitches perfected before that window opens. It is indeed a very short clock as the coaching staff looks to change drastically.

Once the dust from the transfer portal finally settles, the new-look Wildcats will quickly hit the floor.

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Official mid-June practices will tip off the summer schedule, but Pope recently hinted that an international offseason trip is currently in the works. Per NCAA rules, college basketball programs are only allowed to take these foreign exhibition tours once every four years.

If the trip gets finalized, BBN will get a highly anticipated, early look at this brand-new roster competing against actual opponents long before Big Blue Madness in the fall.

Needless to say, it is going to be an incredibly busy, high-stakes few months in Lexington.

Any guesses on where Pope and company plan on going? And do you like the new Transfer Portal window?



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