The 2019-20 girls’ basketball season ended in a familiar place for the Henderson County Lady Colonels, at the top of the 2nd Region. The rest of the region’s teams have grown accustomed to looking up at coach Jeff Haile’s teams, with the Lady Colonels claiming six of the last seven titles and thirteen in the last sixteen seasons.
Prior to this season, Henderson had never ended its year with a victory, falling each time in the state tournement, but due to the COVID-19 shutdown, the Lady Colonels and the fifteen other region winners will enter the offseason on the heels of a win.
The Lady Colonels started the season 2-2, before reeling off a three-game win streak that included a 56-51 victory over eventual 4th Region champion Bowling Green. However, a four-game skid followed, culminating with losses to Marshall County and Elizabethtown, leaving the Lady Colonels below .500 at 5-6 on January 11.
A second win of the season over Apollo stopped the slide and evened their record, while also jumpstarting a winning tear that would last the rest of the regular season. The Lady Colonels won their next fourteen games by an average of 36 points, with the smallest winning margin being a 10-point victory at Muhlenberg County on February 3. Henderson handed Madisonville-North Hopkins what would be its only regular season loss, while also knocking off Webster County twice, and Christian County and Hopkinsville on back-to-back nights.
After dispatching Webster County by an average of 21 points over two games in the regular season, the Lady Colonels and Lady Trojans resumed their rivalry in the 6th District title game. Henderson topped Webster to win four of its last five regional championships, but the Lady Trojans have had their way at the district level, sinking the Lady Colonels 58-51 to claim their fourth-straight district championship.
Instead of derailing the Lady Colonels season, the loss seemed to focus senior Emilee Hope and her teammates, with their region opponents paying the price. Four Lady Colonels reached double figures in a 48-point demolition of Hopkinsville, led by Sadie Wurth’s 17. Wurth followed with 20 points in a 69-28 victory over Trigg County in the semifinals, setting up a rematch with Madisonville-North Hopkins in the final.
The Lady Maroons were out to avenge a 14-point mid-January loss to Henderson, but Hope and Wurth combined for 36 points to lead the Lady Colonels to a 66-49 title win. In addition to earning Player of the Year honors, Hope capped her career with All-District, All-Region and All-Tournament team nods.
Henderson shot 42.9% from the field as a team, while also drilling 42.7% of its 3-point attempts on its way to a 22-7 record. The Lady Colonels outscored their opponents 1734 to 1190, second in the region only to Madisonville in both categories.
Hope led the team in scoring at 19.4 per game, while also leading with just under 5 rebounds per outing. Her 108 3-point makes were tops on the team, while her 44.4% shooting from behind the arc was second. Fellow senior Jocelyn Spaulding also earned All-District, while posting 4.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
Wurth leads a strong group of returnees that will look to maintain the Lady Colonels stranglehold on the region next season. She will take the court for her senior campaign after posting 10.9 points and 4.6 rebounds a game, second and third on the team, respectively, while draining 50 3-pointers at a team-high 45.9% clip, and garnering All-District, All-Region and All-Region Tourney team honors.
Freshmen Graci Risley and Jarie Thomas were each named to the All-Region Tourney team as well, with Risley averaging 9 points and connecting on 66 3-pointers during the year. Thomas averaged 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds a game, while sophomore Kaytlan Kemp will be expected to improve on her averages of 5.6 points and 2.4 rebounds.
