Late baskets from Mercy Sutton and Emile Jones turned out to be the difference for Hopkins County Central Thursday night as the Lady Storm picked up their sixth straight win with a grind it out 40-37 win over the Lyon County Lady Lyons in Eddyville. The game was tied at 36-36 going into the final couple of minutes. Jones would put the Lady Storm up on a baseline move and Sutton would score on a putback to extend the lead out to four.
Lexi Holland would make one of two at the line to cut the lead to 40-37. After a missed free throw from Hopkins Central, the Lady Lyons would grab the rebound and call time out, but by the time they had established possession of the ball, there was only .4-seconds left. Lyon would get the ball inbounds to Lexi Holland, but she could not get a shot off before the horn expired.
The Lady Lyons got the tempo where they wanted from the opening tip, as they set up in a 3-2 zone defensively and forced the Lady Storm to work around the perimeter, looking for an open three or a seam to penetrate against the zone. For the most part, the Lyon zone did its job.
Lyon scored the first three points of the game but then the Lady Lyons struggled to get the ball to find the basket for the rest of the opening quarter. Central went on a 10-2 run to take a 10-5 lead going into the second.
The lead was still at five points at 14-9 when the Lyon County offense started getting into a rhythm. Three-pointers from Gracen Wynn and Lilly Perry ignited a 10-2 to end the half as the Lady Lyons pulled in front 19-16.
The zone appeared to affect Hopkins Central more in the second quarter as the Lady Storm could not get outside shots to fall and had a more difficult time getting the ball down inside. Central tried throughout the first half to force the tempo, but the Lady Lyons were able to get back on defense and force either a tough shot or force the Lady Storm to set up in the half-court offense.
Central came out to start the second half and cranked up their man-to-man defense, trapping near the mid-court line. The pressure worked as the Lady Lyons got bit by the turnover bug and had trouble getting good looks at the basket. The quarter ended with the Lady Storm up 30-27.
Central opened the final quarter extending the lead out to seven at 34-27. Three-pointers from Gracen Wynn and Lilly Perry kick-started a run that would tie the game at 36-36, but the Lady Lyons could not find their way back to the lead.
Gracen Wynn led Lyon County with 12 points, all on three-pointers. Lexi Holland had 9 while Lilly Perry added 7.
Central was paced by Emile Jones with 14. Mercy Sutton also hit double-figures with 10.
Lyon County drops to 2-5 with the loss, which was the Lady Lyons 4th straight. They return to action next Thursday against Christian County at the West Kentucky Hoops Classic.
Hopkins Central goes to 6-1 with the win. They are now off until after Christmas when they will head to Daytona Beach.
HCCHS – 10 6 14 10 — 40
LCHS – 5 14 8 10 — 37
Hopkins Central – Jones 14, Sutton 10, Clark 7, Whitaker-Greer 4, White 2
Lyon County – Wynn 12, Holland 9, Perry 7, Collins 5, Taylor 4
