Lady Rockets win All A regional crown

HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. – A remarkable second-half performance by the Lady Rockets saw Livingston Central’s early lead wilt in a hurry followed by Crittenden County cutting down the nets Saturday in the All A Classic for a record eighth time.

Senior Natalie Boone cutting
down the nets afterwards.

As well as the Lady Cardinals (8-7) shot to build a five-point halftime lead over the tournament favorite, Crittenden was more impressive on the last lap to win going away 50-32 to punch its ticket to the All A State Tournament starting Jan. 25 in Richmond.

CCHS, now 14-3 on the season, will play 15-5 Bethlehem in the state tournament. It will be a rematch of the 2021 Final 16 opener when the Banshees beat Crittenden 80-54 en route to a Class A championship.

To win its second regional crown in three years, CCHS had to find its legs in the last half after a lackluster start.

“This is a great win for our team and our program,” said 30-year Lady Rocket skipper Shannon Hodge. “They had set this as one of their bigs goals at the beginning of the year.

“The first half didn’t look very pretty. For some reason we just had trouble getting our legs going defensively. I felt like we were the quicker team. At halftime, I issued a challenge to really get out and defend, and they did.”

Anna Boone and Addie Hatfield displaying
the defense that brought CCHS back to win.

Livingston was on target with nearly every ball early. Lady Cardinals leading scorer Victoria Joiner dropped 10 points in the second period as Livingston went ahead by seven at one point. She finished with 11. Likewise, Livingston post player Emersyn Ramage scored all six of her points in the first quarter. The second half, LCHS managed only seven points, and went 1-for-7 at the foul line. Their shooting touch had left the building.

Crittenden senior Taylor Guess, who scored with a game-high 21, netted eight in the third period as the Lady Rockets rolled off a 15-2 run and won the race to Richmond.

The Lady Rockets open play in the All A State Tournament at 8:30 p.m. (CST) one week from Wednesday. 

Bethlehem, winner of the Fifth Region, is a private Bardstown school, one Crittenden Countians are familiar with from many meetings in football. Bethlehem is ranked No. 1 in its region with a KHSAA RPI of .611. 

The Rocket girls, winners of small-school regional titles in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2008, 2011, 2017, 2021 and now 2023, like Bethlehem, have not lost in regional play this season. Crittenden is ranked No. 3 in its region with an RPI of .577.

Livingston Central 12 25 27 32

Crittenden County 9 21 36 50

LIVINGSTON – Downey 5, T.Leahy, Joiner 11, A.Leahy 7, Holman, Hargrove 3, Ramage 6. FG 12. 3-pointers 4 (Downey, Joiner, A.Leahy, Hargrove). FT 3-10.

CRITTENDEN – Guess 21, N.Boone 8, A.Boone 7, Evans 6, Hatfield 4, Federico 4, McDaniel. FG 20. 3-pointers 2 (Guess, A.Boone). FT 8-8.

All A Classic Second Region Champion