It very nearly got away from the Caldwell County Lady Tigers Thursday night. A 16 point second quarter lead disappeared, and the Lady Tigers fell behind in the 4th quarter against the Crittenden County Lady Rockets. However, thanks to some timely defense and clutch free throw shooting, Caldwell County was able to fight their way through to a 49-46 win over the Lady Rockets in the semifinal round of the Girls 2nd Region All A Classic at Dawson Springs High School.
Early on the game was all Caldwell County. Bella McConnell and Karsyn Parker combined to score the first seven points of the game, as the Lady Tigers jumped out to a 7-0 lead. With McConnell scoring seven points in the opening quarter, Caldwell County would lead 13-4 at quarter’s end.
The Lady Tigers then opened the second quarter with another 7-0 run, and the game looked like it might be over early, as Caldwell County extended the lead to 20-4.
But, Crittenden County, which could not get a shot to fall early, began to find the basket. A quick 7-0 spurt cut the lead to 20-11. Jaelyn Duncan got things jump started for the Lady Rockets as they cut the lead to 23-16 by the half. Duncan would finish the quarter with six points as Crittenden County took the momentum into the locker room at the break.
After being held to just two points in the first half, Taylor Guess began to get things going for the Lady Rockets in the second half. With Guess and Duncan picking up the pace, the Lady Rockets cut the lead to 33-31 headed into the final quarter.
Baskets by Jada Boyd and Majah Hollowell to open the 4th quarter put Caldwell County up 38-31, and it looked like the Lady Tigers might be about to pull back out. The Lady Rockets responded with six straight to cut the lead to 38-37, setting up a down to the wire finish.
Jaelyn Duncan would give the Lady Rockets their only lead of the night at 41-40. Crittenden County would miss several scoring chances in the final moments of the game, missing free throws and shots in the lane. Meanwhile, the Lady Tigers got a strong finish from Bella McConnell in the final moments. McConnell would hit 5 of 7 free throws to help secure the win.
After McConnell made two free throws with 1.9 seconds to go in the game, Crittenden County had one final chance to tie the game but Natalie Boone’s 35-foot shot attempt, which was online, came up short at the buzzer.
Bella McConnell had 20 points to lead the way for Caldwell County. Majah Hollowell finished with 9 points, Jada Boyd added 8. Karsyn Parker scored six in the contest, and was a big factor on the boards for the Lady Tigers.
Jaelyn Duncan tallied 16 for Crittenden County. Taylor Guess finished with 14 points, 12 of which came in the second half. Nahla Woodward also reached double figures with 10.
Caldwell County improves to 9-6 on the season, and advances to the 2nd Region All A Classic championship game against Lyon County. Crittenden County drops to 10-5.
