Lady Rocket advance to semifinals of All A

 

Crittenden's Jaylin Tapp calls for the ball in
the post during the second half Monday.

HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. – Highly favored Crittenden County took care of business Monday, beating University Heights Academy 53-39 at Hopkinsville and scripting the first chapter in what the Rocket girls hope will be an eighth Second Region All A Classic champion. 

The Lady Rockets have won two straight regional All A titles and more than any other Second Region team since the small-school tournament began back in the early 1990s.

Crittenden (12-2) led at UHA from the jump and had the running clock rolling early in the second half. Every player on Coach Shannon Hodge’s bench got into the action and almost everyone scored.

Junior Taylor Guess led the way with 15 points and junior Natalie Boone scored 11, including three treys. The Lady Blazers (2-9) were launching long-range shots of their own. Seven of their nine field goals were from behind the arc.

The win sets up a rematch of two Fifth District rivals in the semifinal round of the small-school regional. Lyon County drew a first-round bye and will host the final two rounds of the tournament. Crittenden plays the Lyons in the late game Thursday.

“I expect it to be a heated battle from the get-go,” said coach Hodge about her team’s third matchup already this year against Lyon. 

The Lady Rockets have beaten the Lyon girls 10 straight times, but Hodge is taking nothing for granted. 

“Applying pressure on them is key and trying to contain their bigs,” Hodge said. “And we need to use our defense to create offense. When we do those type things, I feel really good about us.”

Lyon is 6-7. They’ve lost to CCHS 60-43 and 63-51 in meetings this season

Crittenden Co. 18 40 49 53
University Heights 5 10 20 29
CRITTENDEN – Guess 15, N.Boone 11, A.Boone, Hatfield 2, Driskill 7, Evans 7, Tapp, Hunt 4, McDaniel 5, Federico 2, Long, Holeman. FG 21. 3-pointers 3 (N.Boone). FT 6-9.
UHA – Acree 3, Daniel 12, Smith 2, Bass 5, Tullis 6, Leve 1. FG 9. 3-pointers 7. FT 4-7.