The storyline was a familiar one for the first girls’ Second Region semifinal on Tuesday as Hopkins County Central and Hopkinsville met for a third straight year.
The plotline also played out the same way, with the Lady Storm defeating the Lady Tigers 76-24. Hopkins Central advanced to Friday’s semifinal.
After a sluggish few trips down the floor, Hopkins Central coach Phillip Cotton decided to turn up the pressure on defense, jumping into a press that ignited a 16-0 run that ultimately decided the game.
Hopkinsville committed 20 first-half turnovers, 10 in each quarter, that limited their ability to get off shots.
Hopkins Central led 30-4 after one quarter and 46-10 by halftime which triggered a running clock for the second half.
Addie Menser, Bri Dulin, and Calajia Mason each scored seven points in the opening quarter, while Tyah White scored eight of her 15 points in the second quarter. The Lady Storm scored most of their points in the paint, netting 22 second chance points.
Menser led the Lady Storm with 22 points, scoring her 1,000th career point on a 3-pointer in the third quarter. Mason added 17 points, 10 rebounds, and six steals.
Sophomore Serenity Ewing led Hopkinsville with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Fellow sophomore Laelah Watkins added 11 points as they were the only two Lady Tigers to score.
Tuesday’s win was Hopkins County Central’s third straight win over Hopkinsville in the first round of the region tournament. The loss represented the final game for the Hopkinsville girls basketball program.
Hopkins Central improved t0 20-11, marking its fourth straight 20-win season. The only other time that happened was in the school’s first four seasons after consolidation in 1997-2000 under coach Nancy Oldham.
Friday’s first region semifinal will be at 6:00, featuring Crittenden County and Caldwell County. Hopkins County Central will play in the 7:30 semifinal.
Hopkinsville 4 6 4 10– 24
Hopkins Co. Central 30 16 19 11– 76
Hopkinsville (2-19) – Ewing 13, Watkins 11
Hopkins County Central (20-11) – Menser 22, Mason 17, White 15, Dulin 9, Liles 3, Thomas 2, Hobgood 2, Cotton 2, Marsh 2, Stephens 2
Rebounds – Hopkinsville 21 (Ewing 11, Johnson 3), Hopkins County Central 34 (Mason 10, Menser 7)
Assists – Hopkinsville 4 (Johnson 2), Hopkins County Central 11 (Mason 4)
Steals – Hopkinsville 5 (Five players with one), Hopkins County Central 14 (Mason 6)
–photos by Todd Griffin
