Lady Rockets win district crown in OT

Senior Grace Driskill cuts down the net.

MARION, Ky. – It took Crittenden County overtime and a fourth-quarter superhuman effort by junior stalwart Taylor Guess to lift the Fifth District Tournament championship trophy Thursday night at Rocket Arena.

Guess scored 17 of her game-high 28 points in the fourth to lead CCHS back from a double-digit deficit and force an extra period where it won 58-54 in a thrilling finish.

“We came out not hitting any of our shots and really not focusing on our offense,” said Guess, who became the team’s all-time leading scorer just days earlier in the first round of the district tournament. “Towards the end of the third quarter we picked it up and ran our offenses right and shots starting falling.”

The Lady Rockets won the tournament for the first time since claiming back-to-back tiles in 2017 and 2018.

Natalie Boone (11) fights for position against
Lilly Perry in the second half.

Guess and her teammates struggled offensively early and were out-rebounded by the Lyons, who finish the season 16-14. Four three-pointers by LCHS’s freshman Lilly Perry and an enormous offensive effort by junior Ella Defew helped the Lyons take a 12-point lead by halftime. Perry finished with 17 points and Defew had 16, more than double her scoring average.

Crittenden still couldn’t find the basket in the third period, shooting 28 percent from the floor, but its defense smothered the Lyons in the second half. The Rocket girls began closing the gap despite its inability to handle the taller Lyons on the boards. Crittenden had just one second chance shot on its end until it pulled down a couple of offensive boards with 18 seconds in regulation that gave Guess a chance to drop her only three-pointer of the game. That bucket pulled pulled Crittenden to within one, 40-49.

Lyon made one of two foul shots on the ensuing exchange and Guess went from baseline to baseline for a layup to tie the game at 51 with three seconds to go. It was the first time CCHS had tied it or led since the first two minutes of the game.

District Champions

In overtime, junior Natalie Boone drained a three-pointer and Guess scored with 40 seconds to go for a 56-54 lead courtesy of Lyon missing three of four free throws in the final 1:19. Guess put the contest away with a couple of foul shots with 14 seconds to go.

The Lady Rockets (22-7) had suffered a tough loss to Lyon in January during the All A Classic and this win proved a measure of revenge. 

“We really came out here with a lot of pressure,” said the Lady Rockets’ only senior Grace Driskill, pointing to that All A Classic overtime loss a few weeks ago.

“We felt it, we dealt it. We really were just excited to come back from the All A. We were fighting really hard and it was down the wire at the end, but I knew we were going to pull through.”

Coach Shannon Hodge won her fourth district championship in 29 seasons as head coach, and the third since 2017. She also played on two district championship teams in the 

"We struggled offensively at the begging of the game, and really into the second half. We didn't knock down the shots that we normally do. We rushed ourselves, I thought, a little bit offensively," said Hodge. "On the defensive end of the floor, we just failed to get stops because we did not keep them off of the boards."

"Finally in the second half our defense picked it up a bit and caused few turnovers, and we knocked down a few shots to get ourselves back within 5 or 6 points. Then we just kept chipping away and made some big shots and big plays at the end," Hodge added.

As a district champion, Crittenden will host a first-round game in the Second Region Tournament which starts Monday. The Lady Rockets will play either Christian County, Hopkins Central or Webster County.

Guess, Natalie Boone and Anna Boone were each named to the All District Team and Guess was chosen Player of the Year in the league.

Lyon County 20 32 40 51 54
Crittenden Co. 13 20 30 51 58
LYON – Butler, Smith 11, Collins 10, Taylor, Holland, Defew 16, Perry 17. FG 21. 3-pointers 4 (Perry 4). FT 8-18.
CRITTENDEN – Guess 28, N.Boone 13, A.Boone 12, Hatfield, Driskill 5, Evans. FG 24. 3-pointers 4 (A.Boone 2, N.Boone, Guess). FT 6-11.