A tough start to the night put the Christian County Lady Colonels in a hole they could never quite dig out of Thursday night. Portland, Tenn., scored the first 8 points of the night and went on to take a 59-51 win over the Lady Colonels in the second game of the night at the Toyota of Hopkinsville Holiday Classic at Hopkinsville High School.
The first quarter was not one the Lady Colonels will like to remember. Christian County turned the ball over seven times in the first eight minutes, and Portland was able to convert several of those into runout baskets. Plus, the Lady Panthers were dialed in from behind the arc, knocking down three 3-pointers as they scored the first 8 points of the game and then held a 12-point lead at the end of the quarter at 17-5.
The Lady Colonels got the turnovers under control as the second quarter got started and, led by the play of senior Anaysia Bagwell, opened the quarter on an 8-2 run to close to within 19-13.
Still, Christian County was having trouble getting shots to fall, and Portland was knocking down shots from deep. The Lady Panthers came back at the Lady Colonels with an 11-6 finish to the half to carry a 30-19 lead into the locker room at the half.
Anaysia Bagwell led the Lady Colonels with 8 points. Five other players had a made field goal each.
Nyalvak Pal led the Lady Panthers with 10 first half points. Gvachick Mut added 7 points and five rebounds.
Portland made five threes in the half, while Christian County made 3. The Lady Panthers also won the rebounding battle 15 to 9.
The Lady Colonels came out of the break and cranked up the defensive heat a notch or two, and it began to pay off. The Lady Panthers started to have ball control issues and, getting a spark from Genesis McGee, Christian County closed to within four points at 38-34.
The lead was seven points when Nyalvak Pal beat the third quarter horn with a dagger three to push the lead back out to double digits at 46-36 heading into the final eight minutes of the game.
Christian County came out and scored the first four points of the final quarter to get the lead down to 46-40, but that would be as close as they could get coming down to the wire. It was six points at 48-42 and 50-44, but then Portland got big plays from Pal and Mut in the waning moments to hold on for the eight-point win.
Genesis McGee led the Christian County effort with 15 points, 13 of them coming in the second half. Anaysia Bagwell added 10 points, but managed just two made free throws in the second half. Carliah Hobson added 9 points and eight rebounds.
Portland was paced by Gvachick Mut, who finished the night with 22 points and nine rebounds. Nyalvak Pal chipped in with 16 points for the Lady Panthers.
Christian County (2-1) will be back in action Saturday, taking on McCracken County in the 2025 Holiday Hoopla Classic in Paducah.
