The Hopkinsville Lady Tigers are headed back to the 8th District championship game. Hoptown advanced Monday night by rolling past Fort Campbell 57-12 in the first semifinal game of the tournament at Tiger Gym.
The win marks the seventh straight year that the Lady Tigers will have played for the 8th District girls’ title. The last time Hoptown did not reach the title game was 2015 when they were beaten 79-55 by University Heights.
Hopkinsville came out and cranked up the heat early and it took a quick toll on the Lady Falcons. Fort Campbell did not get an established possession in the frontcourt until 2 ½ minutes into the game. The Lady Falcons did not get a shot until Hope Balzeski made a baseline jumper 3 ½ minutes into the game.
In the meantime, Hopkinsville scored the first 14 points of the game, most of them coming directly off Lady Falcon turnovers. By the time the opening quarter ended, the Hopkinsville lead was at 26-4 after Rosella Rajj beat the buzzer with the Lady Falcons’ second goal of the quarter.
Things got no better for Fort Campbell in the second quarter. Hopkinsville scored 17 unanswered to take a 43-4 lead into the locker room at the break. By agreement of the coaches, the running clock was allowed to begin with just under six minutes left in the half when the score reached 39-4.
Five Hopkinsville Lady Tiger players outscored the Falcons on their own during the opening half. Donisha Flowers reached double figures in the opening half with 12 while Faith Dansbury added nine.
After a lengthy discussion at the end of the half, it was decided that the second half would be played out with two six-minute quarters and the running clock. With that decision, the second half played out pretty quickly.
Hopkinsville would lead 53-8 at the end of the third quarter and then ride it on out to the final 45 point margin.
Donisha Flowers would lead Hopkinsville with her 12 points, all coming in the first half. Shiyah Forte also reached double figures with 10. Faith Dansbury added nine points in the first half.
Rosella Rajj was the leading scorer for the Lady Falcons with 5 points. Hope Balzeski added 4, and Marlie Fanning finished with 3.
With the win, the Lady Tigers improve to 14-12 on the year. They move on to play in Thursday night’s championship game at 6:00 at Tiger Gym.
Fort Campbell sees their season end at 1-19 after not being allowed to play in the 2020-2021 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
FCHS — 4 0 4 4 – 12
HHS — 26 17 10 4 – 57
Fort Campbell (1-19) – Rajj 5, Balzeski 4, Fanning 3
Hopkinsville (14-12) – Flowers 12, Forte 10, Dansbury 9, Bellamy 6, Fleming 5, Pendleton 4, Green 4, Manson 2, Sharber 2, 2, Cherry 1
