The Crittenden County Lady Rockets got off to about as good a start as they could have hoped for in their All A Classic opening-round matchup against 5th Region champion Bethlehem. The Lady Rockets were getting good offensive looks and their defensive was limiting what the Banshees were looking to do at the other end.
But Bethlehem was able to battle back, taking advantage of foul trouble for the Lady Rockets, and used a big, big run to open the second half and take control of the game on their way to a 71-55 win over Crittenden County, eliminating the Lady Rockets from the tournament for the second time in three seasons.
The first-quarter scoreboard was reflective of what the Lady Rockets were able to accomplish in the early going as Crittenden County took a 17-9 lead after the first eight minutes of the game. The Lady Rockets shot 53.8 percent in the quarter and forced the Banshees into seven turnovers.
Anna Boone and Taylor Guess each had seven points in the first quarter and Lady Rocket fans were feelin’ fine.
The only thing that had gone wrong for the Lady Rockets in the opening quarter was that leading scorer Taylor Guess had picked up two fouls. One in the first couple of minutes and one in the final 30 seconds of the quarter. That problem got bigger in the second quarter and it changed the whole flow of the game.
With the score at 17-13 early in the second quarter, Guess was whistled for her third foul with 6:15 to go in the half. Coach Shannon Hodge made the move to take Guess out of the game at that point, but she would not be able to keep her on the sidelines until the second half.
In just two minutes, Crittenden County turned the ball over four times against the Banshee pressure and Bethlehem battled back to tie the game at 19-19. At that point, Coach Shannon Hodge made the decision that the Lady Rockets had to have Guess on the court and brought her back into the game.
Crittenden County went on a quick 7-2 spurt to take a 26-21 lead but, with Guess now having to overprotect herself from another foul, the momentum of the game changed towards the Banshees. A 7-2 run of their own, capped off by a three from Tessa Miles tied the game at 28-28 with 1:30 go to in the half. Miles hit another 3 with 33 seconds left in the half that put Bethlehem up for good. The lead would be 33-32 at the break.
Bethlehem shot over 60 percent in the quarter and more importantly only turned the ball over two times.
Crittenden County fans were hopeful after surviving the end of the half without Taylor Guess picking up her fourth foul. Guess had 13 points and seven rebounds at the break, but the impact of the three fouls would continue to be felt as the second half got underway.
The Banshees opened the second half with a devastating 14-0 run to open the lead up to 47-32. The run was keyed by the Bethlehem defense which forced the Lady Rockets into several miscues. Crittenden County would end the quarter with nine turnovers.
Keyed by Anna Boone and Taylor Guess, the Lady Rockets closed the margin to nine points at 51-42 by the end of the quarter. But that would be as close as Crittenden County would get as Bethlehem pulled away in the final quarter out to the final 16-point margin.
Anna Boone led the Lady Rockets with 20 points, including four made three-pointers. Taylor Guess scored 17 and had 8 rebounds before fouling out late in the final quarter. Natalie Boone just missed double figures with nine.
Bethlehem was led by Carlie Thurmond with 24 points. Tessa Miles added 17, while Ashlyn Miles had 14 points and 13 rebounds.
In addition to the foul problems for Taylor Guess, the Lady Rockets were hampered by turnovers as they had 25 miscues for the game.
Crittenden County drops to 15-4 with the loss.
Bethlehem advances to take on Bishop Brossart Friday in the quarterfinals.
