The first two months of the high school basketball season have seen some major milestones reached by both players and coaches in the Second Region, with one program set to reach 1,000 wins when play resumes after the winter weather hiatus.
PLAYERS
While not a video game, Second Region 2K would be an appropriate way to describe several players who passed the milestone this season.
Christian County’s Anaysia Bagwell and Crittenden County’s Anna Boone both reached the 2K scoring milestone this season. Bagwell enters the week with 2,177 points after her 24-point night Friday in the win over cross-town rival Hopkinsville.
Former Miss Basketball Arnika Brown (2002-06) holds the school record with 2,770 points.
Boone became the seventh player in 5th District history to top 2,000 career points, joining her former teammate and Crittenden County’s all-time leading scorer, Taylor Guess (2,643).
Other district players to top 2K points were Saundra Oliver of Lyon County (2,351), Stephanie Humphries (2,168) and Karen Johnson (2,140), both of Trigg County; Tabby Padon (2,096) of Livingston Central, and Abbey Benton (2,001) of Caldwell County, who was a a member of the 5th District prior to being moved to the 7th District in 2005.
Two other players are expected to join them on that list.
Lyon County junior Piper Cotham enters the week with 1,820 points as she bears down on Oliver’s school-record mark. Fellow junior Trinity Taylor should also pass the 2K mark next season as she has 1,423 points.
Another one of Lyon County’s talented juniors is closing in on an elite club that her older sister also belongs to.
Courtney Collins scored her 1,000th career point against Carlisle County at the All A Classic State Tournament last week. She also has 968 career rebounds, with her sights set on the 1K/1K club.
Her older sister, Calista, finished her Lyon County career with 1,289 points and 1,352 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Crittenden County’s Elliot Evans joined the 1,000-point club earlier this month and has 1,077 for her career. Lady Rocket sophomore Jordyn Hodge (923) should pass the 1,000-point mark sometime next month.
Also joining the 1,000-point club this season were Caldwell County senior Tink Clark and Henderson County senior ATylia Green.
A pair of Hopkins County Central players topped 1,000 points last year. Calajia Mason stands at 1,506 points and 578 rebounds, while Tyah White has 1,364 points and 884 rebounds. Sophomore Addie Menser (843) is likely to join them in the 1,000-point club.
Also topping 1,000 career points last year was Henderson County’s Brooklyn Gibson, who hasn’t played this season due to an injury.
For the guys, Livingston Central’s Logan Wring joined the rare 2K/1K club this year. Already the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,175 points, the senior recently passed 1,000 rebounds.
Wring’s teammate and fellow senior Bryson Walker (1,439) passed 1K last season.
Lyon County’s Bray Kirk appears poised to be the next 5th District player to top 2K in points. The senior guard has 1,839 points entering the week.
Kirk’s teammate, Nolan Coffman, passed 1,000 career points at last week’s All A Classic State Tournament.
Trigg County’s Davaree Gude (943) should top 1,000 career points next month. He would join Eddie Radford as the only Wildcats to rush for 1,000 yards in a football season and score 1,000 career points on the hardwood.
Other players who topped 1,000 career points this season are Union County’s Daishawn Curry (1,267) and Fort Campbell’s Tyreek Anthony (1,016).
Hopkins County Central’s Davonyae Butcher (1,290) and Dawson Springs’ Jaydon Plunkette both topped 1K points last year.
COACHES
Crittenden County’s Shannon Hodge is closing in on 450 career wins with the Lady Rockets in a tenure that dates back to 1993-94. Her total ranks her among the top 10 active girls’ head coaches in the state.
Henderson County’s Jeff Haile, who retired three seasons ago, ranks first in the region and second in the state with 821 career wins.
Caldwell County’s Malissa Thomas topped 200 career wins last season, while Madisonville’s Jeff Duvall passed 150 wins last season.
Christian County’s Kiki Radford needs six wins to reach 150.
Meanwhile, a pair of the region’s boys coaches are closing in on 300 career wins. Henderson County’s Tyler Smithhart enters the week with 274 wins, while Webster County’s Jon Newton has 272.
Lyon County’s Ryan Perry ranks third among active coaches in the region with 181 wins.
TEAMS
The Henderson County girls’ basketball team will reach a major milestone once the weather thaws out. The program has 999 career wins dating back to 1974-75, according to research by the late Bob Mays, archived on his history website.
Only three other girls’ programs, Marshall County (1,262), Sacred Heart (1,118), and George Rogers Clark (1,025) have 1,000 wins. Henderson County has passed Leslie County (971) and Marion County (933) in the past five years.
Exact records for the schools aren’t available on the KHSAA records website, which hasn’t been updated in three years.
Henderson County was set to try to get its 1,000th win on Monday, but its game with Hopkinsville was canceled due to the weather. The Lady Colonels are scheduled to play at Madisonville-North Hopkins on Thursday.
Henderson County’s career record stands at 999-425.
Webster County is second in the region with 918 wins (918-537), while Madisonville-North Hopkins (878-553) is third.
Meanwhile, Mays’ research shows Madisonville-North Hopkins with the most wins in the region, with 1,738. Hopkinsville (1,644) is second, with Henderson County (1,284) third, and Lyon County, thanks to its recent success, now fourth with 1,267 wins.
Other programs in the region with 1,000 career wins include Christian County (1,223), Trigg County (1,186), and Dawson Springs (1,125).
Union County (936) and Webster County (923) are the next two schools likely to join the 1K win list, with Caldwell County right behind at 881 wins.
