Hopkins County Central wasn’t about to lose on a night when two Lady Storm players joined the school’s 1,000 Points Club.
A strong fourth quarter pushed Hopkins Central past rival Madisonville-North Hopkins 58-54 at Storm Gym in Mortons Gap.
That gives the Lady Storm a sweep of the regular-season series and has them sitting pretty in the race for the No. 1 seed for the district tournament next month.
Juniors Calajia Mason and Tyah White both reached milestones in the victory.
Mason hit 1,000 points with a short shot in the lane with 1:05 remaining in the first quarter.
White joined her with 4:39 left in the fourth quarter on a putback that gave the Lady Storm a 50-45 advantage.
Madisonville (9-7 overall, 1-2 district) led for much of the night before Hopkins Central (9-7, 4-0) battled back to tie things at 41-41 through three quarters.
Addie Menser had eight of her 11 points in the final frame for the Lady Storm, including a 6-for-6 showing at the free throw stripe down the stretch.
White had five of her 16 points in the final frame.
That helped Hopkins Central build a seven-point lead late in the contest.
However, Taylor Nelson connected on a 3-pointer to keep Madisonville’s hopes alive with 35 seconds to go, making it a 56-52 ballgame.
The Lady Maroons then came up with a quick steal, but could not convert, as Hopkins Central held on.
Kenzleigh Harrison had four 3-pointers and 14 points for Hopkins Central. Mason finished with eight points.
Riley Sword had a game-high 18 points to lead Madisonville. Nelson added 12 points and SaNya Carney had 10.
Madisonville led 17-13 after one quarter and went up by as much as eight points in the second period before getting to halftime with a 32-26 lead.
Hopkins Central plays at home again on Tuesday against Fort Campbell.
Madisonville next hosts Lyon County on Thursday.
Madisonville-NH 17 15 9 13 — 54
Hopkins Central 13 13 15 17 — 58
Madisonville-North Hopkins (9-7, 1-2)—Sword 18, Nelson 12, Carney 10, Johnson 9, Wright 5.
Hopkins County Central (9-7, 4-0)—White 16, Harrison 14, Menser 11, Mason 8, Dulin 5, Marsh 4.
