Caldwell County’s girls couldn’t have gotten off to a much better start when they ran out to a 15-5 lead on 7th District foe Madisonville-North Hopkins on Friday.
But the Lady Maroons turned things around in a hurry, especially in the second half, while storming back to claim a 59-36 victory at the CAB gym in Princeton.
The win gives Madisonville (14-8 overall, 4-2 district) the No. 2 seed for the district tournament, although the Lady Maroons and Lady Tigers were destined for a postseason rematch regardless of Friday’s outcome.
Caldwell (9-12, 2-4), which will be the No. 3 seed, seemed intent on snatching away the No. 2 seed early on while building its double-digit lead.
But Madisonville responded with a 15-4 run — take the lead at 20-19 on a steal and layup by Riley Sword at the 3:31 mark of the second period.
The teams traded the lead four times before the Lady Maroons got to halftime with a 26-23 advantage.
It was then all Madisonville after the break.
Sword had a pair of 3-pointers as part of a 16-0 run to start the second half. That extended the margin to 42-23.
It was 49-28 after three quarters.
Sword finished with a game-high 20 points for Madisonville. SaNya Carney added 13 points and Macy Wright had 11.
Tink Clark led Caldwell with 15 points.
Madisonville’s girls have now taken 17 straight against Caldwell in a run going back to the 2018 7th District tournament. The Lady Maroons lead the all-time series 64-16.
Madisonville next hosts Daviess County on Tuesday.
Caldwell’s girls will go to Trigg County on Monday.
Madisonville-NH 10 16 23 10 — 59
Caldwell County 17 6 5 8 — 36
Madisonville-North Hopkins (14-8, 4-2)—Sword 20, Carney 13, Wright 11, Kirk 6, Barber 5, Nelson 2, Bryant 2.
Caldwell County (9-12, 2-4)—Clark 15, Thompson 6, Butts 5, McCoy 4, Aikins 2, Williams 2, M. Thomas 1, Gobin 1.
