Lyon County’s girls will play for a 2nd Region All A Classic championship Saturday afternoon after surviving a heavyweight bout with Crittenden County Thursday night.
Lyon (12-3) saw a 17-point lead disappear, trailed by four points late, but still captured a 54-51 victory in semifinal action at Panther Gym in Dawson Springs.
Piper Cotham had 22 points to lead the Lady Lyons, but it felt more like 42 as the Lyon junior came up with a key play or big shot every time her team needed one.
Cotham scored 18 points in the second half, including 12 in the decisive fourth quarter.
Lyon rolled out of the gate with the game’s first nine points while building a 16-9 lead after one quarter.
The Lady Lyons led by as much as 17 points, 27-10, in the sedcond period before getting to halftime with a 29-18 advantage.
Crittenden (11-4) countered in the third quarter and Anna Boone and Jordyn Hodge heated up.
Boone scored 18 of her game-high 24 points in the second half while Hodge netted nine of her 19 in the third period.
That helped the Lady Rockets battle back to tie things at 35-35 entering the fourth quarter.
Crittenden seemed to have the momentum when a Boone 3-pointer put the Lady Rockets up by four points late in the game.
However, Cotham immediately answered with a 3 at the other end to keep the game tight.
Cotham hit two free throws with 6.7 seconds to play to give Lyon its three-point edge at 54-51.
Crittenden got an open look at a 3-pointer from the corner at the buzzer, but the shot was long as the Lady Lyons ended the Lady Rockets’ three-year run as All A regional champs.
Lily Coffman added 11 points for Lyon.
The Lady Lyons will next face Caldwell County in the regional title tilt. The Lady Tigers (6-5) advanced with a 53-43 win over Livingston Central in Thursday’s first semifinal contest. The championship contest is now set for 2:00 Saturday in Dawson Springs.
Crittenden County 9 9 17 16 — 51
Lyon County 16 13 6 19 — 54
Crittenden County (11-4)—Boone 24, Hodge 19, Rushing 4, Evans 3, Stewart 1.
Lyon County (12-3)—P. Cotham 22, Coffman 11, Taylor 6, Collins 5, Coursey 4, S. Cotham 4, Perry 3.
