On paper, Monday’s 2nd-Region girls’ quarterfinal matchup between hosts Madisonville-North Hopkins and visiting Lyon County might have appeared to be a formality. After all, the Lady Maroons blasted the Lady Lyons by 30 points in the teams’ regular-season matchup on February 1.
However, the Lady Lyons had no intention of following that script in the rematch, taking a 10-point lead into the halftime break before falling victim to a 3rd-quarter comeback in Madisonville’s 60-46 victory.
Foul trouble played a big part in the surprising 1st-half score, with Madisonville’s Camryn LaGrange and Amari Lovan glued to the bench with two fouls each.
Lyon County’s Calista Collins scored six points in the 1st quarter and kept the hot hand with eight more in the 2nd. After Madisonville’s Jaycee Noffsinger opened the 2nd frame with a 3-pointer, the Lady Lyons answered with an 18-3 run to take a 26-14 lead after a jumper by Trinity Taylor in the final seconds of the half.
The Lady Lyons undoubtedly expected a 2nd-half response from the 7th-District champion Lady Maroons, particularly with LaGrange and Lovan back on the floor.
LaGrange scored the first six points of the 3rd quarter to cut the margin to four, and the Lady Maroons surged in front at 34-33 after a bucket in the paint from Lovan.
With the Lady Lyons going scoreless over nearly the last four minutes of the frame, Madisonville closed on a 16-0 run to lead 47-33 with a quarter to play.
Madisonville led by as many as 16 in the 4th, but the Lady Lyons battled back behind six points each for Collins and Rose Smith. Smith’s jumper with 1:20 left cut it to nine at 55-46, but Lovan scored four of the Lady Maroons’ last five points to finish the game.
Collins led all scorers with 20, joined in double figures by Smith with 11.
For Madisonville, LaGrange finished with 16, Destiny Whitsell had 14, and Lovan scored 10.
The Lady Lyons end the season with a 16-15 record, while the Lady Maroons improve to 25-5 ahead of a semifinal matchup with Henderson County on Wednesday.
Madisonville 8 8 31 13 — 60
Lyon County 8 18 7 13 — 46
Madisonville (25-5) — LaGrange 16, Whitsell 14, Lovan 10, Noffsinger 9, Hallum 3, Prow 3, Sword 3, Barber 2
Lyon County (16-15) — Collins 20, Smith 11, DeFew 6, Butler 3, Holland 2, Perry 2, Taylor 2
