Hopkins County Central’s girls think this may be their season, with talented seniors Tyah White and Calajia Mason leading a strong cast of returnees.
The Lady Storm has made strong postseason runs each of the past two seasons. Hopkins Central made the 2nd Region championship game two years ago as 7th District runner-up before falling to Henderson County in the title tilt.
Last season, the Lady Storm won the district title, but ran into eventual champion Henderson in the regional semifinals.
Not only does head coach Phillip Cotton’s crew have a lot of talent coming back, but it will host both the 7th District tournament and the girls’ 2nd Region tourney this season.
White and Mason are both 1,000-point scorers at Hopkins Central — and each averaged 12.8 points a game while helping the Lady Storm put together a 20-14 record last season. White led the team in rebounds at 7.5 a contest while Mason pulled down 4.3 boards a game.
Expectations are high at Hopkins Central, which is on the short list of challengers to Henderson’s district reign.
“I like having those kind of expectations just because I feel like it’s been expected from us for about three years now,” said Mason. “We’re going to have to do it this year because we’ve got chance after chance.
“I just know that we’ve got to work hard,” she added. “That’s all I get from it. I just get excited. It makes me excited that people believe that we can do it. And I just know that the work we’re putting in is really going to help us get to where we’ve wanted to be for so long.”
While White and Mason make for a strong inside duo, Hopkins Central also has experience in the backcourt.
Sophomore Addie Menser is back after scoring 10.6 points a game. Freshman BriNiyah Dulin emerged as another option last year, scoring 7 points a game. Junior Kenzleigh Harrison added 6.8 points.
In addition, junior Braylee Marsh scored 4.3 points and junior Macy Cotton 2.3.
Menser, Dulin, Harrison, Marsh and Cotton are all threats from 3-point range.
The Lady Storm picked up even more firepower when another starting-level player moved in.
Senior SaNya Carney scored 9.1 points a game and grabbed a team-high 7.1 rebounds while at Madisonville-North Hopkins last season.
Hopkins Central faces a stiff early-season schedule as it tries to prepare for postseason play.
The Lady Storm enters the year as the favorite in the 7th District.
Hopkins Central, Crittenden County, Christian County and Lyon County are all jockeying for position to try to take down Henderson County in the region.
The Lady Storm will tip off the 2025-26 season Saturday afternoon when they host Warren Central.
One Response
Henderson may have loss 2-3 key players from last year, but from what im hearing this year Henderson team could be one of the best team they have putting together in years.
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