The Caldwell County girls’ basketball team held on for a 49-45 win over hosts Livingston Central on Friday night, wrapping up the regular season. Caldwell completes the season sweep of the Lady Cardinals, and heads into the postseason after winning three of the last four. The win takes the Lady Tigers record to 14-12 overall, while Livingston Central slips to 13-14.
Both teams struggled to score in the first quarter, with the Lady Tigers pitching a shutout for the first five and a half minutes. Sophomore guard Lucy Goffinet knocked down a jumper to give Caldwell a 6-0 lead, but Livingston Central answered with a 6-0 run to tie the game at the end of the first quarter.
The Lady Cardinals took their first lead less than a minute into the second frame, before a three-point play by freshman Jacey Jaggers put Caldwell back in front at 11-8. Livingston regained the lead at 14-13 with 2:16 to play until halftime, extending it to 3 points with two free throws a short time later. Jaggers nailed a three pointer to tie the game again, and sophomore guard Jada Boyd scored in the lane with 3 seconds left to give the Lady Tigers an 18-16 lead at the break.
Hollowell scored 7 to lead Caldwell, followed by Boyd with 6. For the Lady Cardinals, senior forward Tabby Padon, honored before the game for scoring her 2000th career point, poured in all 16 of her team’s points. Padon is the first Livingston Central basketball player to collect 2000 points.
The teams went back and forth after halftime, until sophomore forward Bella McConnell hit one of two free throws, the first point of a Caldwell 11-3 run. Jaggers capped the run with a three-point play, and Caldwell took the first double-digit lead of the game at 33-23 with 1:06 left in the third quarter. Twice within the last minute the Lady Tigers stepped to the line with a chance to stretch the lead, but four missed free throws left the door open for the Lady Cardinals. With :7 left, Livingston connected on a three, trimming the lead to 33-26 with eight minutes to play.
Caldwell kicked off the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run, with Boyd scoring off an assist from Hollowell to build a 38-26 lead. Boyd hit one of two free throws with 1:49 to play to maintain the double-digit lead at 46-36, but the Lady Cardinals rallied for a 7-1 spree to cut the lead to 4 at 47-43 with less than a minute left. Boyd stepped to the line with :18.9 on the clock, calmly converting both attempts to push the lead to 6. Livingston scored the last basket of the game, but Caldwell ran out the clock to claim the 49-45 win.
Jaggers led the Lady Tigers with 19, including 10 in the third quarter, and 16 in the second half. Hollowell and Boyd both finished with 13, with Boyd dropping 7 in the final period. Goffinet and McConnell had a basket each. Padon led all scorers with 28 for Livingston Central, followed by junior center Payton Dudley and senior guard Hailey Stafford with 6 each.
Caldwell opens the postseason on Monday, hosting Madisonville-North Hopkins (8-17) in the first round of the 7th District tournament. The teams split their two regular-season meetings, with the Lady Maroons taking the second seed and the Lady Tigers the third.
