Caldwell County tried to throw a scare into Madisonville-North Hopkins late, but the top-seeded Lady Maroons turned away the Lady Tigers’ late comeback bid for a 62-58 victory and the 7th District championship Friday night in Mortons Gap.
Freshman Camryn LaGrange scored a game-high 23 points for Madisonville (22-7) while junior Courtney Peyton had 16 points and seven rebounds as the Lady Maroons remained unbeaten against district foes this season. Kara Franklin added 11 points and Lindsey Peyton had five points points and 10 rebounds for Madisonville, which defeated Caldwell for the third time in the 2018-19 campaign.
The first quarter was competitive, with Caldwell (13-15) leading 8-5 early before Madisonville edged ahead 18-16 after 8 minutes.
But the second period was an offensive struggle for the Lady Tigers, who netted just one field goal in the frame — and that came on a short jumper by Lucy Goffinet with 1:22 left in the half.
Madisonville took full advantage, opening the stanza with a 9-1 run to build a double-digit margin at 27-17.
A LaGrange 3-pointer gave Madisonville its biggest lead at 32-20 before the Lady Maroons headed to halftime with a 33-22 advantage.
Caldwell got as close as five points, 45-40, following a three-point play by Jacey Jaggers with 58 seconds left in the third quarter.
But two LaGrange free throws sent Madisonville to the fourth quarter with a 49-42 edge.
The Lady Tigers continued to chip away at the lead, getting as close as 56-52 on a layup by Jada Boyd with 3:36 remaining in the game.
But Caldwell missed two chances to close the gap even further.
Madisonville’s final six points of the night came at the free throw line to hold off the Lady Tigers.
A Jaggers 3 finally pulled Caldwell within 61-58, but just 3.4 seconds still showed on the clock.
LaGrange made the first of two free throws with 1.3 seconds left to finish off the four-point Madisonville win.
Jaggers led Caldwell, which won the 2018 district title, with 22 points and 10 rebounds. McConnell had 19 points and five boards before fouling out with 2:06 remaining in the game. Boyd finished with eight points and five rebounds.
Both Madisonville and Caldwell now advance to 2nd Region tournament play next week. First-round action is set for Wednesday and Thursday at Crittenden County.
