After getting on a late season roll in 2023-2024, the Hopkinsville Lady Tigers picked up the 8th District championship and advanced to the 2nd Region semifinals before falling to Hopkins County Central. Despite losing a couple of key players from that team, the Hopkinsville Lady Tigers appear positioned to take even more steps forward in 2024-2025 as the season gets underway for them Tuesday night at home against Warren Central.
Coach Keith Leslie is back for his fourth season at the helm of the Lady Tiger program. His teams have won two district titles in those three seasons.
One of the challenges faced by the Lady Tigers as the new season gets underway will be replacing the 2024 2nd Region Player of the Year Shiyah Forte. Forte averaged 13.1 points and 11.5 rebounds per game last year for Hopkinsville.
Another important slot to fill will be that left by Kahtahvia Fleming. Fleming averaged 11.3 points a game and was second on the team in rebounding last season.
However, there is a solid core of talent for Hopkinsville to build around this season. Senior guard Alicia Davis is back at the helm of the offense for the Lady Tigers. Davis averaged 12.3 points per contest and was the team’s best free-throw shooter.
Lashanti Wilson is also back for the Lady Tigers this season. Wilson hit for 8.3 points a game last season and that number should increase this year.
Watch for TaRia Sharber to become even more of a force down in the lane for Hopkinsville in 2024-2025. Sharber is a strong rebounder and can finish strong at the basket in traffic. Her average of 4.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game last season should see a big increase this year.
Player Under the Radar – Several candidates for this position for the Hopkinsville Lady Tigers. MaKaya Payton appears set to make big strides this season. With the graduation of Fleming, Payton will have the opportunity and will need to be a bigger part of both the offense and defense for the Lady Tigers.
Big Games – When you look at the schedule for big games, you have to start with the district matchups against Christian County. There have been some epic clashes between these two over the past few seasons. The Lady Tigers will get the chance to make statements in a mid-December game against last season’s 4th Region runner-up Todd County Central and in a January game against defending 2nd Region champ Henderson County.
Outlook – The Lady Tigers were playing about as well as anyone else in the area coming down the stretch of the season in 2023-2024. Even with the graduation losses from that team, Hopkinsville appears to be one of the teams in a position to make some big strides this year. Developing some additional depth and avoiding the injury bug will be important for this group. But beware, they could be one of those teams you want to avoid having to face come the end of the season..
