As Heritage Christian Academy winds down its time in the Kentucky Christian Athletic Association, they are looking to bring some final hardware back to Hopkinsville before becoming a full-time KHSAA member in 2023-24.
In order to do that, they will have to get through top-seed Oak Ridge Christian Academy at this weekend’s KCAA State Tournament.
The Lady Warriors took that first step Thursday night with a 52-24 win over Community Christian Academy of Independence at West Jessamine High School.
As they did in Saturday’s Super Region loss to AIE, the Lady Warriors began slow, falling behind 8-4. However, Hallie Zieg had a big second quarter to spark a 21-5 run. Zieg scored 10 of her game-high 22 points in the quarter to help the Lady Warriors grab a 25-13 at halftime.
Bailey Craft scored seven of her 13 points in the second half as HCA put the defense clamps on their opponents, outscoring them 27-11 over the final 16 minutes. Craft also added 12 rebounds to join Zieg (10 rebounds) with a double-double.
Up next for HCA is Oak Ridge, a team they have dropped 12 straight games to dating back to 2018. The Lady Warriors dropped three games to ORCA this season but the margins got smaller each time.
Oak Ridge beat Heritage 46-26 in the KCAA Holiday Classic on Dec. 3. The Lady Warriors dropped a road contest to ORCA 49-33 on Feb. 6 and a 37-29 decision on Feb. 11.
Saturday’s semifinal game will be at 9 am Saturday morning.
Community Christian 8 5 3 8– 24
Heritage Christian 4 21 14 13– 52
Community Christian (4-7) – Elmore 13, Cobb 6, Bailey 3, Kinninger 2
Heritage Christian (11-10) – Zieg 22, B. Craft 13, A. Craft 6, Robson 4, Carr 4, St. Martin 3
