The Crittenden County Lady Rockets are trying to snap a streak that has befallen the last five number one seeds in the 5th District Tournament. Lyon County in 2016 is the last top seed to cut down the nets and take home the district hardware.
The Trigg County Lady Wildcats enter Monday’s semifinals as the three-time district champion but none of those have come as the top seed. The Lady Wildcats are trying to become the first school since Caldwell County win four straight girls’ district titles. Caldwell won 15 straight from 1991 to 2005 and was relocated to the 7th District.
Top seed Crittenden County will play No. 4 seed Livingston Central Monday at 6pm in the first semifinal. The Lady Rockets come into this year‘s tournaments as the top seed for a second straight year. However, they were not able to try and snap the top seed jinx last year because a bout of Covid hit the team right before the postseason and caused their season to be shut down with a record of 16-5.
The Lady Rockets have a record of 20-7 and were a perfect 6-0 in district play this year. However, they lost to district rival Lyon County in the championship game of the All A Classic Region Tournament. Junior Taylor Guess is the top-scoring player in the region at 21.3 points per game. Her ability to get into the paint has her averaging nine free throw attempts per game where she is a 74-percent shooter.
But she’s gotten more offensive help this year than the past two. Eighth graders Anna Boone [8 points] and Elliot Evans [5 points] have given Coach Shannon Hodge a boost. The Lady Rockets also have the services of Natalie Boone, who is scoring nearly 10 points a game after missing nearly all of last season with an Achilles.
Crittenden County‘s ability to get to the free throw line is its biggest strength, and their pressure defense helps them score in transition. The Lady Rockets average 19 free throw attempts and have knocked down 67-percent of them.
Crittenden will open play Monday night against Livingston Central [10-16]. The Lady Cardinals dropped a pair of games to Crittenden County, 56-36 and 57-31. Livingston does not have a player on its roster older than a freshman, and there have been some growing pains for first-year Coach Lisa Corley.
On the other hand, the Lady Cardinals have improved greatly since the first week of the season. Freshman Victoria Joiner leads the Lady Cardinals in both scoring [12.2] and rebounding [8.8]. It will be crucial for her to stay on the floor against the Lady Rockets and out of foul trouble.
Emersyn Ramage has developed into a solid post player with eight rebounds a game. Her scoring has also come along and is now at six points a game.
Turnovers will decide this semifinal match-up. If Livingston is continually bothered by Crittenden’s press and turns the ball over frequently, the game could get ugly quickly.
The 7:30 semifinal between Trigg County and Lyon County is a rematch of last year’s semi-final contest won by the Lady Wildcats on Olivia Noffsinger’s three-pointer at the final buzzer.
The teams split their regular-season games with the home team getting the victory in both. Since playing in the All-A Classic State Tournament, the Lady Lyons have been up and down [3-3] but have maintained the ability to score [54 ppg.].
Rose Smith and Calista Collins have been a solid 1-2 scoring punch for the Lady Lyons, but Lilly Perry and Hadlie Butler have been scoring more since Christmas. The Lady Lyons are also workhorses on the glass averaging 35 rebounds a game.
Trigg County is 16-12 and has beaten the teams they should have during the year but struggled against the region’s best. Marleigh Reynolds became just the fourth Lady Wildcat to top 500 points in a season last week. She leads the Lady Wildcats in both scoring and rebounding [18-11].
Junior Olivia Noffsinger passed the 1,000 career point mark last week and is scoring 15 points a game. However, the Lady Wildcats have struggled to find scoring balance with Reynolds and Noffsinger accounting for 34 of the team’s 47 points per game.
An early measuring stick for Trigg’s success will be its three-point shooting. If they hit some shots from deep early, it should give them the chance to play with the lead. But if they aren’t hitting from outside and giving Lyon County two and three shots on every possession, Trigg County may see its district title streak title end at three.
Monday’s winners will play in the Thursday night championship at 7 o’clock at Rocket Arena at Crittenden County High School.
