The Christian County Lady Colonels used 29 points from Aaliyah Hampton to top Hopkinsville 61-51 in double overtime Thursday night, claiming their second-straight 8th District title.
It was the first overtime title game in the 8th District since 2000, and the first-ever to go to double OT.
Hampton scored all but 1 of her points in the second half and overtime, and the Lady Colonels took advantage of a 5-21 night at the foul line by the Lady Tigers. Both teams advance to next week’s 2nd Region tournament to be held at Crittenden County.
Kinara Phillips and Bianna Snorton started the game with back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Lady Colonels an early lead, but Breon Oldham scored 9 first-quarter points for the Lady Tigers, and the County lead was 1 after the first 8 minutes.
Jayla Rose came up with a steal and layup to give Hoptown its first lead at 13-12 with 5:10 left in the half, and the Lady Colonels only managed 1 point the rest of the way for a 20-14 Lady Tiger halftime advantage.
Hoptown built its first double-digit lead at 28-18 with 2:52 left in the third, but the Lady Colonels scored the final 5 points to trim the margin to 5 going into the fourth quarter.
The Hoptown lead was 5 when Oldham fouled out with 4:48 left, and the Lady Colonels began to turn up the defensive pressure. After Hampton had a basket waved off for a charge, she converted 2 free throws on the next possession to tie the game at 39-39. After a bucket by Hoptown’s JaKiyah Hinton, Hampton hit 2 more free throws for the last of her 15 fourth-quarter points.
Donisha Flowers put the Lady Tigers back on top 43-41 with :30 left to play, but Trinity McGee responded with a putback to tie the game once again. Hoptown had the ball out of a timeout with :7.6 left, but Yogi McKnight’s runner rolled off, and Hampton’s half-court heave missed to send the game to overtime.
Neither team could nose ahead in the first overtime, with both scoring 6 points for a 49-49 tie. Hampton had another look from mid-court at the buzzer, with this one bouncing off.
The Lady Colonels sealed the title by scoring the first 10 points of the second overtime. Flowers got the Lady Tigers’ only bucket on a reverse layup with :30 left, before Hampton knocked down 2 free throws for the final margin.
Hampton’s 29 led all scorers, with a 17-21 effort from the free throw line, 6-6 in overtime. Snorton and Trinity McGee also reached double figures, with 11 and 13, respectively.
Oldham finished with 15 to lead the Lady Tigers, followed by Hinton, McKnight, and Rose with 10 each.
Both teams will play in the region tournament that begins Wednesday at Crittenden County High School.
