Looking for a signature victory on Thursday at the City of Hopkinsville Holiday Classic, the Hopkinsville Lady Tigers instead saw a halftime lead disappear in a 56-43 loss to visiting Owensboro.
The Lady Tigers dropped their third straight after starting the season with three wins in four outings. Owensboro avenged a loss to Hoptown last season to improve to 8-5.
Hopkinsville controlled the paint in the opening quarter with six points from Shiyah Forte, including a bucket in the lane to give the Lady Tigers a 12-11 advantage late in the frame. The Lady Devils countered with seven points from Shalyn Sprinkles and four for Unique Carter-Swanagan to stay within a basket to start the second quarter.
A short jumper and a bucket in the lane by Alicia Davis gave Hopkinsville a five-point edge, but a Sprinkles drive and a three-point play by Carter-Swanagan tied the game at 20-20. The Lady Tigers had the last look before the halftime break, with TaRia Sharber’s putback sending them to the locker room with a two-point edge.
After Hoptown’s Davis opened the second half with a basket in the lane, the Lady Tigers were outscored 16-3 over a decisive four-and-a-half-minute stretch. LaShanti Wilson’s layup stopped the bleeding with 3:35 left in the third, but the Lady Devils closed the quarter on an 8-2 spurt to lead 44-31.
Carter-Swanagan powered the surge with seven points to finish with a team-high 19 for Owensboro, and Alyrica Hughes and Lizy Phillips combined for ten.
Forte hit eight of ten free throws in the fourth to try to lead the Lady Tigers back, but Owensboro led by as many as 19 and was never really threatened.
Forte led the Lady Tigers with 19 points and Davis finished with 11. Sprinkles scored 14 to join Carter-Swanagan in double figures for the Lady Devils.
Hopkinsville will look to get back to winning ways on Saturday with a trip to Hopkins County Central. The Lady Tigers have won five of the last six in the series with the Lady Storm.
Owensboro 11 9 24 12 — 56
Hopkinsville 13 9 9 12 — 43
Owensboro (8-5) — Carter-Swanagan 19, Sprinkles 14, Phillips 9, Hughes 5, Harris 2, John 2
Hopkinsville (3-4) — Forte 19, Davis 11, Wilson 4, Allensworth 2, Fleming 2, Murray 2, Sharber 2
