Over the past four seasons, the Christian County Lady Colonels and the Hopkinsville Lady Tigers have alternated winning the 8th District championship. With the Lady Tigers winning last season’s district title, if the pattern holds, 2023 would be the Lady Colonels’ turn to cut down the nets.
Looking at what returns for Coach Kiki Radford, Christian County would appear to be well positioned to claim that title and make a run in the 2nd Region, if one area of their game can make improvement over last season, and that area is an important one as it has to do with getting the ball to go into the basket.
The Lady Colonels finished last season at 12-19. Christian County was the 8th District runner-up and saw their season end with a regional quarterfinal loss to Henderson County.
Defensively, the Lady Colonels could crank it up and cause any team in the area problems. The problem for Christian County in 2021-2022 came at the other end of the court, as the Lady Colonels struggled all season long getting shots to fall. For the year, Christian County shot 31.1-percent from the field and 16.9-percent from behind the arc.
Things did not go much better when the Lady Colonels made it to the free throw line, where they connected on 44.1-percent of their tries. If Christian County is going to contend in the 2nd Region, those numbers will need to move northward.
The Lady Colonels return significant experience at the point. That feels weird to say about a freshman, but it is the case for Christian County. Anaysia Bagwell has run the show for the Lady Colonels since her seventh-grade year and should be among the top point guards in the area this season. Bagwell averaged 11.2 points per game last season and pulled down 4-rebounds per contest. She is also among the best in the area at setting up her teammates with opportunities to be successful.
NeVaeh Day was Christian County’s defensive wrecking ball last season. When she was on the front of the press, opponents had difficulty working the ball past her in trying to get up court. Day is long and athletic and knows exactly what to do when she comes up with the steal. She averaged 8-points and 8.3-rebounds per game and could easily average a double-double this season.
Outside of those two, Coach Kiki Radford says they will need Evanna McGregor and Sarah Harris “to not only lead vocally but also lead by their actions, not only on the court but in the classroom.”
As for a new face to watch out for, Radford notes “Lazarie Daniel is a sophomore that played limited minutes on the varsity level last year. We are looking at her to have a breakout season this year. She can post up, but also step out and knock down the shot.”
Other names to watch for this season will be Jayda Johnson and Amari Northington.
As for how she wants her team to play, “On defense, we have to be aggressive and defend. We can’t give any easy buckets up to any team. We have to play in your face, hard nose defense and cause some turnovers. Offensively, we have to execute and be able to score both inside and outside. We have to be able to knock some shots down on the outside.”
Coach Radford was also asked to compare this year’s team, at this early date in the season, to last year’s squad. “The biggest differences I have noticed are the players being more comfortable on the court and also with each other. Our chemistry at practice has been good which shows when we go live 5-on-5.”
The Lady Colonels will be looking to replace the scoring punch of Mikayah Killebrew and Destinee Catlett-Watkins, who took almost 20 points a game with them when they graduated last spring.
In addition to their district games, Christian County will be tested this season with matchups against Owensboro, Madisonville-North Hopkins, Bowling Green, Henderson County, Webster County, Lyon County, Crittenden County, and Daviess County.
The Lady Colonels are set to tip off the season November 29 when they host Muhlenberg County.
