Lady Lyons Ride Hot Shooting to District Title

To borrow from an overused and oxymoronic sports metaphor, Lyon County’s 77-74 win over Crittenden County in Thursday’s girls’ 5^th District championship game was an instant classic.

The contest featured 10 ties, 13 lead changes, a second-quarter fire alarm, scoreboard hiccups, and a record for the most points scored in the district championship.

In the end, Piper Cotham hit six free throws in the final 52 seconds to give Lyon County its 10^th district title and first in eight years.

The freshman scored nine of her 28 points in the fourth quarter and finished the game a perfect 9 of 9 at the free throw line.

Lyon needed every point to overcome Crittenden’s Anna Boone. The District Player of the Year scored 10 points in the final frame, including a deep 3-pointer with seven seconds left to bring the Lady Rockets to within 75-74. Cotham was fouled with two seconds left and hit a pair of free throws. Boone’s last-second 3-pointer was off the mark.

The teams scorched the nets in the first half with Crittenden building a 37-22 second quarter lead thanks to a 10-0 run sparked by five points each from Boone and Jordyn Hodge.

Lyon answered with a 14-2 run, forcing three Lady Rocket turnovers and getting 3-pointers from Cotham and Gracen Wynn.

The game never strayed past a four-point margin in the second half. While Lyon was just 2 of 7 from the field in the final quarter, they knocked down 10 of 13 free throws.

Crittenden County hit 5 of 11 shots in the fourth quarter, but six Lady Rocket turnovers led to five Lady Lyon points.

The Lady Rockets hit 57 percent from the field in the first half and finished the game at 50 percent.

Lyon County, meanwhile, shot 60 percent in the first half and 55 percent for the game. They also connected on 10 of 17 behind the arc.

Two Lady Lyons joined Cotham in double figures. Trinity Taylor scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Wynn hit four 3-pointers and contributed six rebounds and four assists.

Lyon also got a solid stat line from Lilly Perry with eight points and seven rebounds.

While Crittenden County’s guard play has been its strength throughout the season, the inside play of Andrea Federico and Bristyn Rushing consistently made big plays throughout the game. Rushing had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Federico added 16 points and three assists.

The 148 points scored in the championship eclipsed the previous high of 136 scored in Livingston Central’s 86-50 win over Crittenden County in the 1986 title game.

In addition, Crittenden’s 74 points are the most points scored by a losing team in 5^th District Tournament history. The Lady Rockets (19-13) were denied their first district championship three-peat in school history. They will enter next week’s Second Region Tournament at Trigg County with a game against Henderson County, Madisonville, Christian County, or Hopkinsville.

Lyon County (21-9) hasn’t won a region tournament game in 13 years. They will look to snap that streak in the region tournament with their opponent to be one of four teams – Union County, Hopkins County Central, Christian County, or Hopkinsville. The latter two teams play for the 8^th District championship on Friday night.

The draw for the region tournament will be held on Saturday morning.