With a chance to defend their 2nd Region All “A” championship on the line Thursday night, Lyon County’s Rose Smith hit the second of two free throws with :1.5 to play to knock off Caldwell County 41-40 and send the Lady Lyons to Saturday’s title game against Crittenden County.
The Lady Lyons led 5-0 after a corner 3-pointer by Gracen Wynn, while Caldwell County managed only 3 points over the first seven and a half minutes. Jacey Jaggers scored on a drive with :35 left for the Lady Tigers, but Lyon County led 10-5 after one.
Lyon County’s Hadlie Butler hit one of two free throws to stretch the lead to 13-5, but Caldwell closed the half on a 6-0 run for a 13-11 halftime score.
The Lady Lyons opened the second half with 6 straight, and Caldwell called a timeout after Rose Smith scored on a drive to build the lead to eight. Coach Chuck Mitchell’s message during the timeout did the trick, with the Lady Tigers answering with 8-straight points to tie the game at 19-19 with 2:33 left in the third quarter. With three seconds left, Jaggers drilled a 3-pointer to give Caldwell its first lead of the night at 26-25 with a quarter to play.
Jaggers scored and drew a foul to give the Lady Tigers a 3-point edge with 6:53 to play, but the Lady Lyons were back in front a short time later after Collins scored down low for a 33-31 score.
Collins converted on an and-1 to push the margin to 5 with 3:21 left, but Caldwell once again had the answer with 5-straight points after a corner 3 by A.J. Hollowell tied it up at 36-36.
Majah Hollowell scored on back-to-back trips to put the Lady Tigers in front 40-37 with just :51 left, but those would be Caldwell’s last points of the game. Caldwell missed the front end of a 1-and-1 up 2, and Smith made them pay on the other end with a runner to tie it at 40-40 with :10.9 on the clock.
The Lady Tigers turned it over on their next possession and Smith was fouled on a layup at the other end with only :1.5 left. Smith missed the first free throw attempt but knocked down the second for a 1-point edge. Caldwell’s inbounds pass was intercepted by the Lady Lyons at midcourt to end the game.
Caldwell County 5 6 15 14 — 40
Lyon County 10 3 12 16 — 41
Caldwell County (1-2) — Jaggers 13, M. Hollowell 8, Gray 7, Smiley 6, A. Hollowell 3, McDaniels 3
Lyon County (3-1) — Collins 17, Smith 10, Butler 9, Wynn 3, Perry 2
