The Lyon County Lady Lyons decided it was time to make a little history of their own Friday night. Jenna Coursey’s two free throws with 11 seconds left sealed the win as the Lyon County Lady Lyons took down McCracken County 60-54 in Jason White Gym.
Coursey’s two free throws made it 58-54. McCracken County then turned the ball over with Trinity Taylor scoring the final basket of the game off the ensuing inbounds pass to get to the final six point margin.
The win was the first ever for the Lady Lyons over the Lady Mustangs in four tries. Not only was it the first win for Lyon County over McCracken County in girls’ play, but it was the first time that the Lady Mustangs had ever lost to an opponent from the 5th District.
The Lyon County defense had the clamps on McCracken County early as the Lady Mustangs did not score for more than two minutes at the beginning of the contest. The problem for the Lady Lyons was that the McCracken County defense was also as good, allowing them just two points in the same time span.
With their defensive effort carrying the load, the Lady Lyons got out to a 10-5 lead in the middle of the opening quarter. However, the Lady Lyons hit a dry spell from the field for the rest of the first and had a couple of turnovers against the McCracken press, allowing the Lady Mustangs to close out the quarter on an 11-1 run to take a 16-11 lead.
That momentum did not carry over into the beginning of the second quarter for McCracken County, however. Led by Piper Cotham and Trinity Taylor, the Lady Lyons started the second quarter with a 14-0 blitz that turned the deficit into a 25-16 lead for the Lady Lyons.
Lyon County limited McCracken County to just one made field goal and one made free throw in the second as the Lady Lyons took a 28-19 lead into the half and seemed to have all the momentum on their side. Seemed to.
But ole ‘Uncle Mo’ is a fickle old soul. Coming out of the break, it was the Lady Mustangs that quickly got things rolling in their direction. After a first half that saw Ava Hughes score all but five of the McCracken County points, she started to get some help as the third quarter got underway. Reagan Hill and Arriannia Brison provided a spark as the Lady Mustangs started the second half with a 14-4 run to take a 33-32 lead.
But give the Lady Lyons their due. Whenever they had the chance to wilt against the Lady Mustangs, they did just the opposite. Lyon County came up with a couple of big steals and a couple of big plays on the offensive end and ended the third quarter on a 7-2 spurt to go back in front 39-35.
Ava Hughes and Anna Hammonds hit threes early in the fourth as part of an 8-2 run that gave McCracken the lead back at 43-41. The lead grew to 47-43 before Lyon County fought back one more time. The Lady Lyons scored 10 straight points to go back to the lead at 53-47. The last 8 points of the run were scored on a Piper Cotham three, a Trinity Taylor three, and a Cotham steal and score, in a span of just 59 seconds.
The moment of the night that will give the Lady Mustangs nightmares for a while came with 19.8 seconds to go. Lilly Perry went to the line with the Lady Lyons up just 56-54. Perry missed both free throws but McCracken failed to box out Courtney Collins on the second shot and she pulled down the rebound and the Lady Lyons got a timeout called. Out of the timeout, the Lady Lyons got the ball to Jenna Coursey, who was then fouled with 11 seconds to go.
Piper Cotham led Lyon County with 21 points and 4 steals. Trinity Taylor had a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Jenna Coursey added 14 points and was 6 of 6 at the line in the second half. Courtney Collins had 5 points and 15 rebounds. Lilly Perr had just two points but contributed 6 steals and 5 assists.
McCracken County got a huge night from Ava Hughes, who finished with a game-high 33 points. Reagan Hill finished with 8 for the Lady Mustangs.
The Lady Lyons (6-1) have now won five straight and will get back to action Monday evening in a big 5th District matchup as they host Crittenden County. The game was originally slated for this past week but was postponed due to illness. Monday night’s game will be varsity only at 6pm.
