Going into their matchup against one another in the 5th District Girls Basketball Championship, Lyon and Crittenden County were both on a win streak. The Lady Lyons had won six straight, while the Lady Rockets had won four straight.
But it was the latter who was able to keep that streak going by defending their home floor in the title game with a close score of 58-52.
The Lady Rockets spread it around in the first quarter, as all five of their starters got on the board in the first eight minutes. As for the Lady Lyons, Piper Cotham led the way with eight points, six of which came at the free throw line.
Crittenden went into the second quarter with a narrow one-point lead as a result of them being able to spread the ball around.
But the second saw Lyon take control a bit, taking the lead with 11 more points from Cotham. They held the Lady Rockets to seven points in the period, and that helped them take a 28-21 lead into the halftime break.
Crittenden came out of the locker room with something to prove, going on a very quick 7-2 run to force a Lyon timeout. The lead kept shrinking, but Cotham was able to hit a big and-one layup with 15 seconds left to give the Lady Lyons a four-point lead going into the final period.
The Lady Rockets’ Elliot Evans started off the fourth quarter immediately with a three, and that helped Crittenden claw their way back. They then took the lead with some free throws, and never looked back.
Evans had a total of 12 points in the period, which was just three less than the Lady Lyons scored as a whole. This was the driving force in the Lady Rockets being able to close out the game and win their second straight district championship.
This was the third time in the last three years that Lyon and Crittenden’s girls have matched up in the 5th District Championship, and the Lady Rockets have gotten the better of the Lady Lyons in the last two.
Cotham led Lyon in scoring with a very impressive 29 points over the course of the game, and she was able to get to the rim and finish with consistency. Trinity Taylor, Courtney Collins, and Lily Coffman were also all able to score six points of their own.
Both the Lady Rockets and the Lady Lyons will be back in action in the 2nd Region Girls Basketball Tournament for their next games. Pairings will be announced soon.
