In 24 hours, the Caldwell County Lady Tigers went from one of their worst losses of the year to their best win of the season.
Katy Smiley scored on an 8-foot turnaround in the lane at the final buzzer to lift Caldwell’s girls to a 52-50 victory over Crittenden County Tuesday night at the CAB gym in Princeton.
The victory avenged a 54-39 loss Dec. 7 at Crittenden, and came on the heels of a 67-28 setback Monday night at Madisonville-North Hopkins.
The Lady Tigers (8-11) were more competitive right away Tuesday, although Crittenden (14-4) did go up by nine points in the second period. However, Caldwell crept back to within 26-23 at halftime.
Crittenden, which had won six of its last seven games, took a 38-34 lead to the fourth quarter. The Lady Rockets went up by seven on a 3-pointer by Anna Boone to begin the final frame.
Another 3 by Boone with 2:22 to go gave Crittenden a 49-45 advantage.
The Lady Rockets were still up 3 with a minute to go, with a 3-pointer by Parris Gray knotted things at 50-50 with 55 seconds remaining.
Following a Crittenden miss, Caldwell rebounded and called timeout with 25 seconds to play.
With the clock winding down, Smiley got a mismatch inside and took a pass in the paint from Gray. Smiley, a freshman, turned and released her shot with about 2 seconds to go. The ball nestled through the net just ahead of the final horn to set off a celebration at the Caldwell end of the floor.
Gray finished with 16 points and seven rebounds to lead the Lady Tigers. Smiley had 13 points.
Anna Boone, an eighth grader, had 24 points to pace Crittenden. Caldwell held leading scorer Taylor Guess to 11. Guess, one of the 2nd Region’s top players, entered the game averaging 21.6 points a game.
It was the 103rd meeting between the two programs. Caldwell leads 78-25 all-time. The Lady Rockets had taken the last two matchups.
Crittenden’s girls will go to Madisonville on Thursday.
Caldwell next hosts 7th District rival Hopkins County Central Friday night for Homecoming.
Crittenden County 17 9 12 12—50
Caldwell County 14 9 11 18—52
Crittenden County (14-4) — Anna Boone 24, Taylor Guess 11, Natalie Boone 7, Grace Driskill 4, Addie Hatfield 2, Elliot Evans 2.
Caldwell County (8-11) — Parris Gray 16, Katy Smiley 13, Brylee Butts 7, A.J. Hollowell 6, Presley McKinney 6, Jakhia Copeland 4.
