Kenzleigh Harrison blocked Jenna Coursey’s desperation shot near mid-court after a Lyon County steal with 3.3 seconds to go as Hopkins County Central took a heart-stopping 61-59 win over the Lady Lyons in the final quarterfinal round game of the girls’ 2nd Region tournament Tuesday night at Trigg County High School.
The block capped off a furious final 30 seconds of a game that had been close from the very beginning.
Lyon County’s Trinity Taylor made two free throws with 30.6 seconds left to tie the game at 59-59. On the ensuing possession, after nearly turning the ball over twice, Hopkins Central got Calajia Mason open running the baseline for a layup to put the Lady Storm in front 61-59.
After a timeout, Piper Cotham drove the lane but was tied up trying to get off a game-tying shot. The arrow gave the ball to Hopkins Central with 6.4 seconds left. Lyon County had the additional problem of having been called for just one foul in the quarter. After a quick foul with 3.3 seconds left, Hopkins Central inbounded on the sideline near the scorer’s table. Tyah White slipped and Jenna Coursey came up with the steal but Harrison saved the Lady Storm from a last-second loss with her defensive play, avoiding the foul while rejecting the shot.
Behind the play of Tyah White and Calajia Mason, the Lady Storm got off to a good start in the contest, jumping out to a quick 7-2 lead. The Lady Lyons hung around in the first eight minutes by attacking the basket and drawing the contact. The Lady Lyons would go to the line eight time in the first quarter and made seven as they trailed just 16-13 going into the second quarter.
Piper Cotham shot six of the Lady Lyons’ free throws in the opening quarter, making five.
Lyon County opened the second with a Lexi Holland three to even things up and the battle was on for the rest of the quarter. With Jenna Coursey getting involved in the second, the Lady Lyons were able to work their way out to a 25-20 lead. But Hopkins Central was not going to go away just quite that easy.
Tyah White and Calajia Mason brought the Lady Storm back to even at 28-28. The duo combined to score every point for Hopkins Central in the second. A late three from Gracen Wynn and a steal and layup by Piper Cotham sent the Lady Lyons into the locker room with a 33-28 halftime lead.
Turnovers became an issue for the Lady Storm as they coughed the ball up seven times in the second quarter. They finished the half with 10 turnovers while the Lady Lyons finished with just two.
Lyon County was not able to carry over the momentum from late in the second quarter to the beginning of the second half. Tyah White and Kenzleigh Harrison led a 9-0 run to open the third quarter for Hopkins Central as the Lady Storm came thundering out of the locker room to take a 37-33 lead.
The Lady Lyons were able to stop the run with a three from Lilly Perry and a three-point play from Gracen Wynn to go back in front 39-37. The game would be tied at 39-39 and 41-41 and then Lexi Holland and Calajia Mason traded threes in the final seconds of the quarter to send the game into the fourth locked up at 44-44.
The Lady Storm would have found themselves in even better shape had they been able to convert at the line in the third quarter. Central spent a big chunk of the quarter at the free-throw line but made only 5 of 13 shots.
Hopkins Central opened the 4th quarter with an 11-5 spurt to go up 55-49. The Lady Lyons then spent the rest of the quarter trying to catch back up, finally doing so on Taylor’s free throws that made it 59-59, setting up the wild finish to the game.
Calajia Mason and Tyah White were the difference in the game for the Lady Storm. Mason finished with 25 points, including five made 3-pointers, and 8 rebounds. White, who the Lady Lyons could find no answer for down in the lane, ended up with 22 points and 7 rebounds.
Piper Cotham was the leading scorer for Lyon County with 24 points. Trinity Taylor added 11 points and 9 rebounds.
The Lady Lyons, who won the 5th District championship, see their season end at 21-10.
Hopkins County Central improves to 19-14 and moves on to the second regional semifinal Friday night where they will take on the Hopkinsville Lady Tigers.
HCCHS — 16 12 16 17 – 61
LCHS — 13 20 11 15 – 59
Hopkins County Central – Mason 25, White 22, Harrison 10, Menser 2, Marsh 2
Lyon County – Cotham 24, Taylor 11, Wynn 8, Holland 6, Perry 5, Coursey 5
