Reduced to eight players on Saturday and missing three of their top-five scorers, the Hopkinsville Lady Tigers nevertheless raced out to a 20-point first-quarter lead and never looked back in a 51-16 victory over visiting Clarksville Northeast.
The Lady Tigers earned their second win of the season against Northeast to move to 4-10 ahead of a trip to Trigg County on Tuesday.
Leading 7-3 after four minutes played, Hoptown closed the first quarter on a 16-0 run capped by a three-pointer and a floater just before the buzzer by Ma’Kaya Payton.
A 14-0 spurt to start the second put the Lady Tigers up 37-3 with just over four minutes left in the half. Northeast’s Tayana Harris hit a pair of three-pointers to close the second quarter, two of only six made shots for the Eagles.
Payton’s baseline floater triggered a running clock with 3:34 left in the third quarter. The Lady Tigers overcame an 8/22 effort from the free throw line to win their second game in a row.
Payton finished with a game-high 19, followed by Kahtahvia Fleming with 12.
Northeast 3 8 2 3 — 16
Hopkinsville 23 16 9 3 — 51
Northeast (2-14) — Harris 6, Hagins 4, Johnson 3, Brandon 2, Merriweather 1
Hopkinsville (4-10) — Payton 19, Fleming 12, Tullis 8, McGee 7, Earthman 2, Sheffield 2, Murray 1
