Sister VS Sister

By Erin Keeton Evans

In the first round of the 15th Regional girls basketball tournament, Lawrence County faced Paintsville in what turned out to be a very close game with the Lady Bulldogs coming out on top, 67-64.

Both teams had exceptional play by their stars, Sophie Adkins of Lawrence County and Kylie Kinner of Paintsville, but there was another story to this game.

Paintsville’s lone senior, Emma Keeton, is the sister to Lawrence County’s assistant coach, Anna Keeton Allen.

This story reminded me of the Kelce brothers playing against each other in the Super Bowl and the feelings they must have had about the game and each other.

Both of these girls went to elementary school in Louisa and finished high school at Paintsville, so they have so many close ties to both schools.

This was tough because one sister was possibly playing her final game of basketball and one sister was in her first year as assistant coach at Lawrence County.

“We have both spend our lives either playing or coaching basketball, and to see Emma shine as a senior was truly special. It was an emotional and unforgettable experience to be on opposite sides of the court,” said old sister, Anna Allen.

“Though we were competitors in that moment, our shared love for the game and the bond we’ve built through basketball made it all the more meaningful. It’s a memory I will cherish forever,” Anna added.

Even though this was the end of the road for the senior Keeton sister and Paintsville, it was the first step for the older Keeton sister and Lawrence County to advance to the semi-final game in the 15th region.

Coach Anna Allen also added that she was also happy for her LC girls who played their hearts out and worked hard for this moment.

“I am excited to see what we do in the rest of the tournament and hopefulyy reach our goal of winning it all,” she said.

On a side note, I am the oldest sister of both of these ladies and I am so proud of them both. We definitely got our love of basketball and sports from our dad, Coach Randy Keeton.

I played and coached for Lawrence County, but never had to got against a sister, so I felt for them both. I also wore a Tiger shirt and a Lady Bulldog sweatshirt. Good luck to Lawrence County on Thursday, March 6.