It did not come easy and required coming back from a halftime deficit. Still, the Henderson County Lady Colonels continue to look like the team to beat in the 2nd Region again this year. The Lady Colonels traveled south Tuesday night and came away with a 51-40 win over the Christian County Lady Colonels in Lyle Dunbar Gym.
The win ended a three-game winning streak for Christian County and gave the northern Lady Colonels their sixth win in the last seven games, with the only loss in that stretch being a four-point loss on the road at 3rd Region contender Daviess County, which entered Tuesday night on a ten-game winning streak.
The first quarter set the tone early on of a defensive battle as both teams refused to allow the other a good look at the basket. Christian County was able to get enough done to take an early 7-4 lead.
The northern Lady Colonels, sparked by ATylia Green, went on a quick 6-0 spurt to take a 10-7 lead late in the quarter. Christian County closed out the first by making three of four free throws to tie the game at 10-10 after one.
Henderson County opened the second quarter with the defensive pressure turned up a notch, and it paid dividends. Three quick baskets from Green and Henderson had a 16-10 lead and looked to be on the verge of getting their offense up and running.
However, Christian County came battling right back. Getting some big plays from Anaysia Bagwell and Adreyona Smith, the southern Lady Colonels outscored Henderson County over the remainder of the half 13-3, and took a 23-19 halftime lead.
Whatever Henderson coach Stephen Haile communicated to his team during the break, he probably should have recorded for future use. Fueled by their full-court defensive pressure, Henderson’s Lady Colonels opened the third quarter with a 9-4 run that got them back in front at 28-27. Most of those points came off Christian County miscues that led to easy Henderson County baskets.
After the teams traded baskets, Henderson County ripped off a 7-0 run to take a 37-31 lead, a lead which Henderson would not relinquish again for the rest of the game. The third quarter ended with Henderson County up 40-36.
A couple of turnovers and a cold shooting stretch for Christian County allowed Henderson to extend the lead to 46-36 and that would seal the win.
Christian County got 15 points from Anaysia Bagwell at the top of the scoring column. NeZiyah Bell added 8 points. Carliah Hobson finished the night with 7 points and 7 rebounds.
Henderson County was led by ATylia Green with 17 points. Adalyn Gish had 13 points and 8 rebounds. Maggee Melvin ended up with 8 points, all coming in the second half. It was Melvin and Gish that played big roles in the second half comeback for Henderson County.
Unless the two teams meet up in the 2nd Region tournament, the series between the programs will end with Henderson County having won the final three meetings. The last Christian County win was in December 2023 by a score of 63-52 in overtime.
Christian County drops to 6-7 with the loss. The southern Lady Colonels are scheduled to be back in action Friday night when they travel across town for the final regular season meeting ever against the Hopkinsville Lady Tigers.
