Turnovers leading to quick Henderson County baskets were the undoing for the Caldwell County Lady Tigers Tuesday night. Henderson’s pressure defense, and the resulting easy baskets sparked the Lady Colonels to the 74-39 win at Webster County High School.
Henderson County opened the game hot, jumping out to a 7-0 lead. The Lady Tigers did not get into the scoring column until 4:38 to go in the first quarter, when Maja Hollowell got a rebound basket to cut the lead to 7-2. The Lady Colonels pushed the lead out to 11-2, before Caldwell County went on a 7-2 run to cut the lead to 13-9.
Then, the wheels came off the wagon for the Lady Tigers. Over the last two minutes of the first quarter Caldwell County committed six turnovers, and Henderson County made them pay dearly for the mistakes, as the Lady Colonels went on an 11-0 run to close out the quarter with a 24-9 lead.
Henderson County scored the first five points of the second quarter as the lead grew to 20 points at 29-9. Caldwell County was able to battle the Lady Colonels toe-to-toe for the rest of the first half. Henderson County went to the locker room holding a 22 point lead at 44-22. Sophomore Emilee Hope had a monster first half for Henderson County, scoring 17 points before the break, several of those coming off the fast break after a Caldwell County turnover.
The Lady Colonels defense continued to create Caldwell County turnovers in the 3rd quarter and Henderson County continued to convert on those turnovers. With Katie Rideout and Alyssa Dickson having big quarters, Henderson County continued to expand the lead. The margin grew to 30 points with a basket from Rideout to make it 60-30. Emilee Hope hit a three in the waning seconds of the quarter to make it 68-33 and activate the running clock for the rest of the contest.
Both teams spent most of the 4th quarter with younger players on the floor, getting an opportunity to play in the regional tournament.
Henderson County got a big game from Emilee Hope with 22 points. Alyssa Dixon added 17 points. Jacey Jaggers led Caldwell County with 13 points. Bella McConnell added 9, while Maja Hollowell chipped in with 8.
With the win, Henderson County improves to 14-12 and advances to the region semifinals, where they will take on the Lady Colonels from Christian County, who advanced by eliminating Livingston Central in the first game of the night. Caldwell County sees their season come to an end at 16-13.
