The difference between the Lyon County Lady Lyons and Covington Holy Cross in their match Friday in the quarterfinals of the All A Classic was 74 inches. Specifically, it was the 6′-2” frame, or 74 inches, of Lady Indians sophomore Julia Hunt. Hunt scored 22 points, pulled down 12 rebounds, blocked 7 shots, and changed the trajectory of numerous others as Holy Cross turned back a second-half Lady Lyon rally and advanced to the semifinals with a 50-33 win at McBrayer Arena.
It became evident early in the game, that Hunt’s size would be a significant issue for the Lady Lyons to deal with. In addition to her height, Hunt has long arms, which enable her to simply reach over and above most players on the court. While they had trouble with Hunt’s size, the Lady Lyons did not let the Holy Cross shooters end the game before it got started Friday.
In their game against Paris on Wednesday, Holy Cross hit five three-pointers in the first 3:15 of the game as they jumped out on Paris 20-0 and effectively ended the game before many fans had found their seats, Holy Cross would finish that game with nine made shots from behind the arc.
Friday, Lyon County limited Holy Cross to just 2 of 20 from behind the line, but just could not find a way to consistently limit the opportunities for Hunt.
The Lady Lyons held their own through the first eight minutes of the game. With both teams trying to hit their stride, the Lady Indians would hold an 11-9 lead after the first quarter. Early shooting woes would keep the Lady Lyons from taking the lead in the game. Lyon County would shoot just 18.8-percent in the first, an indication of an issue that would plague them for the game.
Calista Collins went to war on the inside for Lyon County battling against Hunt and pulled down seven rebounds early in the game. Still, in a foretelling of things to come, Hunt had six points, four rebounds, and a block in the quarter.
The turning point in the game came in the second quarter. With the score at 17-13, Holy Cross finished the quarter on 14-4 spurt and took a 31-17 lead into the locker room at the half. Hunt added 8 points, 5 rebounds, and a block to her totals in the second as Holy Cross built a lead they would never surrender.
Lyon County’s cold shooting continued in the second as the Lady Lyons connected on just 4 of 15 from the field.
But give the Lady Lyons a whole bunch of credit. It would have been easy to back it up at the half and say it was a nice trip with a win at the All A state tournament. They did not. Coming out in the third quarter, Lyon County fought and made their push to try and get back in the game.
Calista Collins and Lilly Perry combined to score 12 points in the third as Lyon County chewed into the 14 point lead. By the end of the quarter, the Lady Lyons had cut the 14 point lead in half to 38-31 and the Lyon County faithful roared their approval with visions of a comeback in their mind.
However, Julia Hunt would not allow that to happen. Hunt scored back-to-back baskets for Holy Cross to push the lead back out to double figures and settle the issue once and for all.
Lyon County’s cold shooting woes got even chillier in the final quarter as the Lady Lyons shot just 7.7 percent over the final eight minutes. For the game, they ended up shooting just 22 percent. Holy Cross would hold them scoreless for the final five minutes of the game in cruising on out to the 17 point final margin.
In her final All A Classic appearance, Calista Collins had a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Rose Smith and Lilly Perry added 8 points each. Smith would finish with 9 rebounds for the Lady Lyons.
In addition to Julia Hunt’s 22 points, Hanna Robinson had 8 for Holy Cross. The Lady Lyons limited the Holy Cross sharpshooter to 3 of 16 from the field.
Lyon County now drops to 12-10 on the year. The Lady Lyons are set to host Madisonville-North Hopkins Tuesday evening.
TO SEE THE BOXSCORE FROM THE GAME, CLICK HERE
