Lyon County’s girls had lost 10 straight games to Hopkinsville – a winless string dating back 15 years.
When Hoptown erased a 12-point deficit and took a four-point lead with just over 2 minutes to play, it looked like that streak might continue.
But the Lady Lyons battled back to force overtime, then dealt Hopkinsville a 72-70 setback Friday night in Eddyville.
It was Lyon’s first win over the Lady Tigers since Feb. 6, 2007.
Ella Defew tied the game with a pair of free throws with 1:47 left in regulation. A bucket from in close by Lilly Perry then gave Lyon a 61-59 lead with 57 seconds left.
A putback by Hoptown’s Jachia Pendleton knotted the game again at 61-61 with 43 seconds to play.
Lyon had a chance to win it at the end of the fourth quarter after a Hoptown turnover gave the Lady Lyons the ball with 1.7 seconds left. However, a 3-pointer at the buzzer came up short.
Lyon won the game without making a field goal in overtime. However, the Lady Lyons went 11 of 16 at the free throw stripe.
Hoptown (10-11) held leads at 63-61 and 64-62, but Lyon took the lead for good when Rose Smith hit two free throws at the 1:42 mark. That put Lyon up 66-64.
Perry connected on two free throws with 25 seconds to go to give Lyon a 71-67 lead. Calista Collins later made one of two charity tosses to make it 72-67.
Pendleton hit a 3 to pull Hoptown back to within 72-70 with 4 seconds remaining, but Lyon was able to inbound the ball and run out the clock to secure the win.
Smith had a game-high 22 points for Lyon while Collins added 17. Defew and Perry each finished with 10.
Danisha Flowers led Hoptown with 18 points while Shiya Forte had 14. Pendleton added 13 and Lataijha Cherry had 12.
Lyon’s girls have an early tip time on Saturday. They will face Daviess County at 10 a.m. in the Akridge Farm Supply Ace Jam at Jason White Gymnasium in Eddyville.
Hopkinsville’s girls will go to Owensboro Saturday afternoon.
Hopkinsville 8 19 20 14 9—70
Lyon County 20 13 14 14 11—72
Hopkinsville (10-11) — Flowers 18, Forte 14, Pendleton 13, Cherry 12, Dansbury 9, Fleming 4.
Lyon County (14-11) — Smith 22, Collins 17, Defew 10, Perry 10, Butler 8, Holland 5.
