Held to just 11 made field goals, the South Warren High School girls’ basketball team took full advantage of its time at the free throw line Thursday and pulled away to earn a 58-49 win at Hopkinsville.
Brooke Stevenson (20 points) and Taylor Enlow (13) combined for 33 of the Spartans’ points, and the duo set the tone from the charity stripe. Stevenson and Enlow hit 13 of their 20 total free throws, helping SWHS finish 24-of-36 as a squad.
The Lady Tigers, who made just eight free throws in defeat, used the deep ball to stay within single digits for most of the affair. After an early 5-0 lead was erased by a 15-2 SWHS run, Hoptown found itself ahead 24-23 on a 3-pointer by Shatera Bellamy with 2:20 left in the first half.
But the visiting Spartans would answer with a 5-0 run to end the second quarter, staking the Bowling Green-based team to a 28-24 lead at the break. South Warren would lead by as much as 10 points in the second half and never trailed after intermission.
The loss for Hopkinsville came in its 2019-20 regular-season and home finale. The Tigers were trying to enter the postseason on a high note; instead, HHS will enter Monday’s 8th District Tournament semifinal against Fort Campbell having lost four of its last five games.
Hoptown had some bright spots Thursday, as Bellamy hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 points before fouling out, Donnisha Flowers registered a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds and Jakiyah Hinton contributed 14 boards. Jakayla Epps also reached double digits in scoring with 12 points.
South Warren (14-16) missed their first ten 3-point shots of the contest, but ended the drought on a trey by Stevenson that gave the Spartans a 38-28 with 3:45 left in the third quarter. SWHS proceeded to bury their next two 3-pointers, keeping HHS at bay.
The rebounding of Hinton and Flowers paid dividends during a particular fourth-quarter possession, as the pair each grabbed an offensive board to set up Bellamy’s third 3-pointer to cut the Lady Spartans’ lead 55-47 at the 3:29 mark of the fourth quarter, but Hopkinsville would get no closer.
HHS (13-15) defeated Fort Campbell by counts of 75-11 (Dec. 7) and 57-12 (Jan. 3) during the regular season. A third victory over the Lady Falcons on Monday at district tournament host Christian County will put Hoptown in Wednesday’s in 8th District final and back in the 2nd Region Tournament.
— Chris Jung
SCORE BY QUARTER
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
SWHS (14-16) 15 13 19 11 – 58
HHS (13-15) 7 17 14 11 – 49
INDIVIDUAL SCORING
SWHS: Gracie Hodges 4, Jess Bush 8, Karson Deaton 3, Carrie Enlow 3, Emily Reynolds 7, Taylor Enlow 13, Brooke Stevenson 20; HHS: Shatera Bellamy 11, Lashanti Wilson 3, DaShiya Radford 4, Jakayla Epps 12, Faith Dansbury 2, Jakiyah Hinton 4, Donnisha Flowers 13
3-POINTERS
SWHS: 3 (Bush, C. Enlow, Stevenson); HHS: 5 (Bellamy 3, Wilson, Epps)
