Going into their matchup against one another in the first round of the 8th District Girls Basketball Tournament, Fort Campbell had lost five straight games, while Hopkinsville had lost 14 in a row. It was the Lady Tigers who were able to break that streak, and they did so with a 74-43 victory on their home floor.
Halfway through the first quarter, Hopkinsville was up 6-5, but a few very quick buckets extended their lead to five points and forced a Fort Campbell timeout. This, as well as an effective full-court press, helped the Lady Tigers take a 14-11 lead after the first eight minutes.
Kaveyah White started the second quarter off for Hopkinsville with a three-pointer, and that started a 17-0 run in the first four minutes of the period. The run extended all the way to 21-0 before Fort Campbell was finally able to stop it with a Ja’leighna Cabrera layup.
Unfortunately for the Lady Falcons, those were the only points they were able to get in the quarter, and that allowed Hopkinsville to take a commanding 39-13 lead at the half after another White three to end the period.
Fort Campbell’s offense was able to get back on track in the third quarter with 19 points, and that helped them cut the lead to 19 at a timeout with just under three minutes left. But the Lady Tigers were able to keep up and score 17 to give them a 56-32 lead going into the final period.
After that, all it took was 18 from the Lady Tigers in the fourth quarter to close out the game and get their first win since beating Fort Campbell earlier in the season in December.
This was the final game between the Lady Tigers and the Lady Falcons before Hopkinsville combines with Christian County, and Hoptown ended the all-time series winning 44 straight. The last win Fort Campbell was able to get against the Lady Tigers was back in March of 2005.
Hopkinsville short a whopping 92 shots over the course of the game, as they were able to force a number of turnovers and get their own offensive rebounds to get more shots. This, as well as them out-rebounding Fort Campbell by 23, were the driving forces in the win for the Lady Tigers.
Serenity Ewing led Hoptown in scoring over the course of the game with 25 points, 13 of which came in the third quarter. White and Faniya Redd were also able to get into double-digits with 15 and 12 points, respectively.
As for the Lady Falcons, they were led by A’mari Grimsley with 24 points, and she was able to get to the free-throw line a decent amount. The second leading scorer in the game was Cabrera, who finished with eight of her own.
The Lady Tigers will move on to play the rival Christian County Lady Colonels in the 8th District championship on Thursday, February 26. The game will once again be played at Hopkinsville High School, and will begin at 6 p.m.
