The game between the Hopkinsville Lady Tigers and the Christian County Lady Colonels in Lyle Dunbar Gym ended nothing like it started Friday night. After seeing Hopkinsville jump out to a first quarter lead, the Lady Colonels were doing their best Secretariat impression, pulling away at the finish line as they took a 73-54 win over their 8th District rivals.
The win was the 4th straight in the series for Christian County.
Both teams opened the night with the defensive pressure turned up and both struggled to find an offensive flow in the opening moments of the contest. And, with physical play, fouls were in abundance early. Three minutes into the game there were six points, five fouls, and eight attempted free throws.
As the middle of the opening quarter approached, both teams began to settle in after the initial adrenaline rush of a rivalry game began to wear off. Hopkinsville’s guard combination of Alicia Davis and Kahtahvia Fleming had the better of things early as their efforts helped push the Lady Tigers to an eight point lead at 16-8. Hopkinsville also got a strong early rebounding push from TaRia Sharber and Shiyah Forte.
Christian County was able to stay within shouting distance early thanks to the defensive and rebounding effort of NeVaeh Day. Day had the defensive sequence of the night when she rejected two consecutive Lady Tiger shots with 1:04 to go in the opening quarter.
The first quarter ended with Hopkinsville holding a 19-13 lead.
As fouls and free throw line trips continued to mount in the 2nd quarter, so did the foul problems for the Hopkinsville Lady Tigers, and with that opportunities to cut into the lead for the Christian County Lady Colonels. Shiyah Forte picked up her second foul less than 30 seconds into the second quarter. Her teammate MaKaya Payton joined her less than two minutes later.
While Hopkinsville was dealing with foul problems, the Lady Colonels began to work their way back into the game. Anaysia Bagwell started to light it up on offense and Christian County scored ten straight points to go from 21-13 down to up 23-21. Bagwell would finish the first half with 16 points.
The foul situation continued to be an issue for the Lady Tigers as Hopkinsville’s TaRia Sharber became the third Lady Tiger to pick up her second foul with 3:56 to go in the half.
Christian County appear to take the momentum going into the break when Genesis McGee came up with a steal and a layup just ahead of the horn to give the Lady Colonels a 33-28 halftime lead.
That momentum was short-lived, however. Hopkinsville came out fast to start the third quarter, scoring the first eight points to take the lead back at 36-33.
But the Lady Colonels had their response ready to go. Back-to-back baskets from Anaysia Bagwell and then a long three from Lazarie Daniel put Christian County quickly back in front at 40-36 with 4:20 left in the third and prompting a timeout from Hopkinsville coach Keith Leslie.
Foul problems were again a problem for Hopkinsville. Kahtahvia Fleming picked up her third with 6:23 to go in the third and then TaRia Sharber got tagged with her fourth with 4:57 left. Shiyah Forte would add her third with 2:12 to go in the quarter.
With a strong push from their big three of Anaysia Bagwell, NeVaeh Day, and Lazarie Daniel, the Lady Colonels would push the lead out to double-digits at 51-40 going into the final quarter of the contest.
As the fourth quarter got started, it began to appear as if the game-long pressure from the Christian County Lady Colonels might be having some impact, in terms of fatigue, on the Lady Tigers. Taking advantage of missed Hopkinsville shots and some untimely Lady Tiger miscues, the Lady Colonels began to slowly pull away, extending the lead to 19 points inside the final four minutes at 64-45. That nineteen would end up being the final margin.
A big night for Christian County’s Anaysia Bagwell, who finished with 31 points. She was 13 of 14 at the free throw line. NeVaeh Day was not just a force on defense and the boards, she added 13 points for the Lady Colonels. Lazarie Daniel had 12 and Carliah Hobson finished with 11.
For Hopkinsville, Shiyah Forte was at the top of the scoring column with 18 points. Alicia Davis and Kahtahvia Fleming added 10 points each.
Christian County (3-3) is back in action Monday when they host Logan County.
The Hopkinsville Lady Tigers (3-2) travel to Elkton Monday night to take on Todd County Central.
HHS — 19 9 12 14 – 54
CCHS — 13 20 18 22 – 73
Hopkinsville – Forte 18, Davis 10, Fleming 10, Sharber 8, Wilson 6, Mason 2
Christian County – Bagwell 31, Day 13, Daniel 12, Carliah Hobson 11, Bradley 2, McGee 2, Reid 2
