Despite a spirited effort by the short-handed Christian County Lady Colonels, Hopkins County Central broke a late tie to pull out a 44-39 victory in Colonel Gym on Saturday.
The Lady Storm stopped a two-game skid to improve to 17-6. Christian County’s two-game winning run comes to an end to leave the Lady Colonels at 10-15 overall.
Mercy Sutton scored six 1st-quarter points and the Lady Storm led 10-5, but Christian County, playing without injured guard Anaysia Bagwell, was back within a point after a steal and layup by Destinee Catlett-Watkins. However, Briana Fitz drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put Hopkins Central in front 15-11.
Mikayah Killebrew scored five in the 2nd, and her layup gave the Lady Colonels a one-point edge with 1:13 left in the half. The Lady Storm again closed the quarter with a bucket as Sutton scored in the lane for a 24-23 halftime advantage.
With the Lady Storm trailing by a point midway through the 3rd, Sutton went on a personal 6-1 spurt to put Hopkins Central in front 31-28. Destinee Catlett-Watkins answered with four straight, including a pair of free throws in the final seconds, for a 32-31 Christian County led with a quarter to play.
Neither team led by more than a basket, and the game was tied at 39-39 after Christian County’s Caitlin Steele sank a pair of free throws with 1:14 left to play. But those would be the last points for the Lady Colonels, with Fritz completing a 3-point play and Emile Jones knocking down a pair from the charity stripe for the final margin.
The Lady Colonels go to Hopkinsville on Monday before completing their district slate with a visit from UHA on Thursday.
In its next game, Hopkins Central also faces district competition, looking to avenge a lopsided loss to Madisonville-North Hopkins when the Lady Maroons come to Morgan’s Gap on Monday.
Hopkins Central 15 9 7 13 — 44
Christian County 11 12 9 7 — 39
Hopkins Central (17-6) — Sutton 15, Fritz 11, Jones 9, White 4, Peyton 3, Clark 2
Christian County (10-15) — Catlett-Watkins 11, Steele 9, Killebrew 8, Harris 5, Day 4 Bridges 2
