Lady Rockets fall in All A opener

RICHMOND, Ky. – A third-quarter scoring drought allowed Bethlehem to build a double-digit lead while Crittenden County scoring stalwart Taylor Guess was troubled by fouls, dooming the Lady Rockets late Wednesday night in the opening round of the All A Classic State Tournament.

Foul trouble helped the Banshees slow
Taylor Guess in the All A opener.

Fifth Region champion Bethlehem, winners of the All A tournament in 2020 and 2021, took command of the game in the second half and cruised to a 71-55 victory.

The Banshees (15-6), led by six-foot lumberjack center Emma Filiatreau and crew of logger-like companions, used heavy defensive pressure to take down Crittenden County (15-4).

Bethlehem was sluggish out of the chute, making just 3-of-11 shots in the opening period while CCHS built an 11-point lead. The Banshees went on a 13-2 run after Guess picked up here her third foul early in the second period and CCHS abandoned its typical man-to-man defense for a zone to help protect Guess.

Lady Rocket coach Shannon Hodge, piloting her team in an eighth All A state tournament appearance, said she chose to keep Guess on the floor, but admitted that the foul issue caused the senior to be more tentative on the both ends of the court.

“We have to have her in there,” Hodge said.

Bethlehem defenders disrupted passes and picked the Lady Rocket pockets, creating 25 CCHS turnovers and scored 36 points off of them. They started nailing threes in the last half and for the game scored 16 points at the line. The Banshees scored 34 points in the paint while CCHS managed only a dozen.

Guess, who is chasing the Fifth District career scoring record, needed 23 to begin the game and finished with 17 points, six shy of the league record. She celebrated her 18th birthday at Richmond, but it wasn’t the party she expected.

Freshman Anna Boone led CCHS
with 20 points in the game.

Freshman Anna Boone led Crittenden in scoring with 20 points, including four threes, and classmate Elliot Evans had a team-high 11 rebounds.

In reality, the Banshees – a private school from Bardstown – put the game away early in the third quarter with a 14-0 run when CCHS failed score in the first four and a half minutes out of the dressing room.

“I am so proud of our girls,” Hodge said. “I don’t think anyone in the gym except those in the blue and white would have believed anything would happen like it did in the first half.”

Second-chance buckets, Hodge said, helped Bethlehem erase her team’s early lead in the second period.
“And in the second half, we weren’t getting to the free throw line. They shot 24 free throws and we shot seven,” she said.

Guess, who averages almost 25 points a game, typically gets a bucket full at the charity stripe, but was just 2-of-2 in the game. Through her six-year varsity career, Guess has netted 30 percent of her points at the line.

“When she doesn’t get to the line or we don’t get to the line it makes a huge difference,” Hodge added.
Hodge said Bethlehem’s size and quickness around the basket was indeed an intimidating factor in the outcome. The Banshees also scored 10 points in transition while the Lady Rockets – who typically rack up racing down court were scoreless on the break.

Crittenden will return home to play Carlisle County on the road Saturday. The Lady Comets (13-6) were the First Region All A champions, and lost to Pikeville 76-23 in the first round of the tournament.

Crittenden County 17 32 42 55

Bethlehem 9 33 51 71

CRITTENDEN - A.Boone 20, Hatfield 2, Guess 17, N.Boone 9, Evans 4, Hunt 3, Hodge, Stewart, Holeman, Federico, Munday, Rushing, McDaniel. FG 21. 3-pointers: 7 (A.Boone 4, N.Boone, Guess, Hunt). FT 6-7.

BETHLEHEM - T.Miles 17, A.Miles 14, Clayton 2, Thurmond 24, Filiatreau 12, Young 2. FG 25. 3-pointers 5 (T.Miles w, Thurmond 3). FT 16-24.