The Hopkinsville girls’ basketball team was made to work to keep its perfect start intact on Monday night, beating a game Todd County Central team 70-57. The Lady Tigers improve to 4-0, while the Lady Rebels are 1-3.
Todd County enjoyed a strong start, taking a 9-0 lead with just 2 minutes played after Kinley Reding scored and drew a foul. Yogianah McKnight bookended a Lady Tiger run with 3-pointers to close to 9-8. From there, Hoptown ended the quarter on a 10-2 run capped by a Breon Oldham 3-pointer to lead 19-11.
The Lady Tiger defense tightened in the second quarter, holding Todd County to 9 points. A layup by Paige Rager with 2:11 left would be the last points of the half for the Lady Rebels, as Hoptown closed on a 7-0 spurt. McKnight scored all 7 on back-to-back buckets and a 3-pointer from the corner to give the Lady Tigers a 36-20 halftime advantage.
Jayla Rose led Hoptown with 15 first-half points, followed by McKnight with 11 and Oldham with 10. Rager paced the Lady Rebels with 6, while Reding and Amy Brumfield each scored 4.
The Lady Rebels made their move in the third quarter, led by Brumfield and Jasmine Mimms with 7 points each. Reding and Brumfield began the half with back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the margin to 10. This time it was Todd County that closed with a flurry, scoring 7-straight over the the final minute to trail 50-42.
McKnight drained a 3 to open the quarter and stretch the lead back to 13, but the Lady Rebels made one last run. A Brumfield 3 with 3:26 to play got them back within 7 at 61-54, but Oldham closed the show for the Lady Tigers with 3 layups in the last 80 seconds to seal the 13-point victory.
Rose’s 25 led all scorers, followed by Oldham with 23 and McKnight with 21. No other Lady Tiger got on the score sheet. Brumfield finished with 14, Rager had 11, and Reding and Mimms 10 each. Eliza Simons and Jordan Weathers each added 5 points for the Lady Rebels.
Both teams return to the court on Tuesday, with Todd County Central hosting East Robertson, TN and the Lady Tigers going on the road to face Murray High. Murray beat Hoptown 85-65 at Tiger Gym last season.
