Despite a double-digit lead early in Tuesday’s Murray Bank Lady Tiger Classic championship matchup with Muhlenberg County, the Trigg County girls’ basketball team needed a last-second 3-pointer to force overtime of an eventual 59-55 loss to the Lady Mustangs.
The Lady Wildcats raced out to a 10-1 advantage with four points each from Olivia Noffsinger and Marleigh Reynolds and led 11-4 after the 1st quarter.
Kara Hyde opened and closed the 2nd quarter with 3-pointers on the way to 10 points, matching the lady Mustangs’ output and helping Trigg to a 23-14 halftime lead.
Muhlenberg’s Aven Proffitt came out of the locker room on fire, drilling three consecutive 3-pointers to cut the margin to a point and force a Trigg timeout.
Sarah-Cate Boggess came up with a steal and layup to give the Lady Mustangs their first lead of the game at 25-24 with 5:18 left in the quarter. The teams battled back and forth until Aubrey Alexander’s banked-in 3 pushed the Lady Wildcats back in front 33-29.
Neither team could find any breathing room until an 8-0 run gave Muhlenberg a 43-37 edge with 2:45 to go. Trigg trailed by eight with 1:20 left to play, but a Hyde layup and another 3 off the glass by Noffsinger cut it to three inside the last minute.
After Muhlenberg missed a pair of free throws, Trigg called a timeout to set up a play to get a look at a 3-pointer. The Lady Wildcats struggled to find a shot off the inbounds, and after almost turning it over the ball reached Hyde on the wing. Her shot from behind the arc touched nothing but net to extend the game.
The overtime was decided at the free-throw line, with Muhlenberg going 6/11 and Trigg only managing two makes in six attempts. The Lady Wildcats will rue their performance at the line, finishing 8/23 in a four-point loss.
Muhlenberg County 4 10 15 20 10 — 59
Trigg County 11 12 10 16 6 — 55
Muhlenberg County (4-5) — Boggess 18, Stewart 15, Proffitt 14, Joines 5, Fields 3, Duvall 1
Trigg County (6-5) — Noffsinger 17, Hyde 16, Reynolds 12, Rogers 4, Alexander 3, Grubbs 3
