Lady Colonels Push Past Lady Maroons Into Regional Semifinals

It initially looked like the Christian County Lady Colonels might run their way to an opening round win in the Girls’ 2nd Region tournament Tuesday night in Lyle Dunbar Gym. But the Madisonville-North Hopkins Lady Maroons decided to make the Lady Colonels earn their way to the next round as they battled Christian County into the fourth quarter before falling 70-51.

The win will send Christian County to the regional semifinals for the third straight year.

The teams traded baskets early, being tied at 2-2 and 4-4. Then, the Lady Colonels’ defense pressure began to cause the Lady Maroons problems, and turnovers were available at the bakery. Not only did the Lady Maroons have trouble getting good looks at the basket, but they also had issues getting the ball to mid-court.

Sparked by their pressure, the Lady Colonels ripped off a 16-1 run that put Christian County in front 18-5 with under three minutes to go in the opening quarter.

The Lady Maroons were finally able to stop the run with a free throw from Kailey Barber with 2:46 to go in the first. Barber would add a three later in the quarter that pulled Madisonville to within 20-11.

Christian County finished the opening quarter with a 5-point flurry, capped off by a big-time step-back three from Anaysia Bagwell, as the Lady Colonels held a 25-11 lead after one.

Bagwell and Lazarie Daniel combined to score 15 points in the first eight minutes for Christian County.

The pace of the game, not the intensity, eased up a bit in the second quarter, and with it, the pace of turnovers eased up for the Lady Maroons, and that allowed the Madisonville-North Hopkins offense to start getting some things done.

The lead was still at 14 midway through the second with Christian County up 33-19 as NeVaeh Day and Lazarie Daniel continued to cause the Lady Maroons issues down in the paint.

While it was inside play that was carrying Christian County, Madisonville-North Hopkins started zoning in from the outside. Riley Sword and Taylor Nelson combined for four three-pointers in the second, two of them coming later in the quarter as the Lady Maroons finished the half with an 8-3 spurt to trim the margin to single digits at 36-27 at the break.

In addition to their outside shooting, the Lady Maroons were able to work their way back into the game by shutting down Christian County’s Anaysia Bagwell. After scoring 8 in the first quarter, Bagwell was shut out in the second, and the Lady Maroons did not allow her to be a significant factor in distributing the ball to her teammates.

Riley Sword and Taylor Nelson paired up to score 14 points in the second quarter as the Lady Maroons found their footing and fought their way back into the game.

Bad news in the first half for Madisonville was that Macy Wright was injured and would not return for the rest of the night.

For much of the third quarter, it was a scoring duel between Christian County’s Anaysia Bagwell and Madisonville-North Hopkins’ Riley Sword. Each scored 7 early points in the quarter as the two teams went back and forth with Christian County not able to push the lead out and the Lady Maroons not able to chew into the lead, which ranged between 9 and 14 points.

The third quarter came to an end with Christian County holding a 51-41 lead. The Lady Colonels held the double-digit lead despite playing most of the quarter without NeVaeh Day. Day was called for a technical foul after receiving a delay of game warning with 5:58 to go in the third and did not return to the game for the remainder of the game.

Christian County opened the fourth quarter on a 9-3 run, capped off by a bucket from Genesis McGee that gave the Lady Colonels their biggest lead of the night at 60-44 with just under four minutes to go.

Madisonville-North Hopkins got a three from Kailey Barber to make it 60-47, but there would be no late-game comeback on this March night for the Lady Maroons. Christian County put the ball in the hands of Anaysia Bagwell and closed out the 19-point win to advance to Friday night’s regional semifinals.

Bagwell led the Lady Colonels with 23 points. Lazarie Daniel added a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Carlie Hopson came off the bench to add 10 points for Christian County, while NaVaeh Day scored 9 points. DaNiya Bradley had just two points but pulled down 10 rebounds.

For Madisonville-North Hopkins, Riley Sword finished as the only player in double figures with 18 points, including four 3-pointers. Kailey Barber ended the night with 9 points and Taylor Nelson added 8.

Two big stats tell the story in this one. Christian County won the battle of the boards 46-25, and the Lady Colonels outscored Madisonville on points off turnovers 27 to 16.

Shooting was also an issue for the Lady Maroons, who made just 30 percent of their shots compared to 44.6 percent for Christian County.

The win was the fourth straight for the Lady Colonels and their 9th in the last 10 games. Christian County improves to 18-9 on the season and advances to Friday night’s semifinals.

Madisonville-North Hopkins finishes the year at 15-11.