It was a nice first half for Caldwell County.
It was an overwhelming second half for Hopkinsville.
Hoptown’s girls quickly erased a 31-24 halftime deficit Tuesday night and went on to rout Caldwell County 69-43 at Hopkinsville High School’s Tiger Gym.
Hoptown (2-4) picked up the intensity on both ends of the floor after the break, and its full-court pressure took Caldwell completely out of the contest.
Caldwell (3-5) still clung to a 34-30 lead after a Med Thomas 3-pointer at the 5:59 mark of the third period.
But that would not only be Caldwell’s last points of the stanza, it would be the team’s last field goal of the night.
By the time Thomas hit two free throws with 5:20 left in the game, Caldwell had gone over 8 minutes without scoring.
Meanwhile, Hopkinsville was riding a 26-0 run during that time.
Freshman MaKaya Payton had 13 of her game-high 29 points for Hoptown in the third period. She connected on seven 3-pointers in the contest.
Shiyah Forte scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half for Hopkinsville.
Caldwell had played well in the second quarter while building its seven-point halftime edge.
Thomas drilled a pair of 3s as CCHS turned a 15-11 deficit into a 31-23 lead late in the half.
Ka’Myiah “Tink” Clark led Caldwell with 13 points. Thomas added 12 and A.J. Hollowell had 10.
Hopkinsville will next host Union County on Saturday afternoon.
Caldwell visits Christian County on Thursday.
Caldwell County 11 20 3 9 — 43
Hopkinsville 13 11 27 18— 69
Caldwell County (3-5)—Clark 13, Thomas 12, Hollowell 10, McKinney 5, Sykes 3.
Hopkinsville (2-4)—Payton 29, Forte 14, Fleming 9, Dansbury 6, Sharber 4, McGee 2, Sheffield 2, Murray 2, Earthman 1.
