The littlest player on the court came up with the biggest plays of overtime.
Five-foot-tall seventh grader Piper Cotham scored six of her seven points in the extra period as Lyon County’s girls upset Crittenden County 65-55 Thursday night in the semifinals of the 2nd Region All A Classic in Eddyville.
Lyon (7-7) got the game to overtime when Calista Collins made the second of two free throws after being fouled with 0.9 seconds remaining in regulation. That tied things at 55-55.
Overtime was then all-Lyon.
Cotham’s steal and layup put the Lady Lyons up 57-55 just nine seconds into OT.
Cotham twice grabbed offensive rebounds in the final 4 minutes. The first led to a bucket by Calista Collins that made it 59-55 with 2:36 to play.
A layup down the middle by Cotham pushed the margin to six with 2:01 to go.
Another basket inside by Collins made it 63-55 at the 1:35 mark.
A defensive rebound by Cotham eventually led to two free throws by the seventh grader, making it 65-55 as Lyon shut out Crittenden (12-3) in the overtime.
The contest was close all the way, with the teams rarely being separated by more than one basket.
Lyon took a 54-53 lead with 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter when Ella Defew scored on a stickback.
But Anna Boone made two free throws at the 0:06 mark to push the Lady Rockets back in front 55-54.
With Lyon looking to get up a last-second shot, Collins was fouled at the top of the key. She missed her first charity toss, but converted the second to send the game to overtime.
Crittenden led 24-22 at halftime and 42-40 after three quarters.
Taylor Guess had 24 points for the Lady Rockets, but fouled out with 1:53 left in regulation. By the time the game was over, four of Crittenden’s five starters had been disqualified with five fouls.
Natalie Boone added 17 for Crittenden, which not only won the regional All A title last season, but made it all the way to the state semifinals. Grace Driskill had 14 rebounds to go with seven points.
Collins and Lilly Perry had 18 points each for Lyon, which had three players foul out in the contest. Rose Smith added eight points for the Lady Lyons, who won the 2nd Region All A championship two years ago.
Lyon will face Livingston Central in the championship game, which is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday in Eddyville.
The Lady Cardinals advanced to the final with a 50-38 victory over Caldwell County in Thursday’s first semifinal contest.
Crittenden County 9 15 18 13 0—55
Lyon County 9 13 18 15 10—65
Crittenden County (12-3) — Taylor Guess 24, Natalie Boone 17, Grace Driskill 7, Anna Boone 5, Elliot Evans 2.
Lyon County (7-7) — Calista Collins 18, Lilly Perry 18, Rose Smith 8, Piper Cotham 7, Hadlie Butler 6, Ella Defew 4, Lexi Holland 3, Trinity Taylor 1.
