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| Seniors Natalie Boone and Addie Hatfield wrestle for the ball against Lyon County. |
Well, it might not be a real lunar destination, but rocketing to post-season stardom would indeed be tremdously celestial in nature, particularly if Crittenden County can make the kind of racket its faithful believes is possible.
In this century, one hand will count the number of times a team not named Henderson County or Christian County has won the Second Region championship. The Lady Colonels, ranked No. 1 in the region as postseason begins, have 15 titles since 2000.
So, the journey for 30-year CCHS coach girls’ coach Shannon Hodge began Monday night and her team surprised no one this side of the North Star. Ranked No. 2 in the region, the Lady Rockets deftly handled Lyon County 70-49 in the opening round of the Fifth District Tournament at Livingston Central’s gym.
By virtue of its win, CCHS has a spot at the table when the Second Region Tournament opens Monday at Morganfield. Yet, there’s some business left in Smithland as Crittenden will try Thursday to button up a second straight district tournament title and earn a more tolerable draw for the regional tournament.
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| Freshman Anna Boone (2) looks for an outlet pass to a teammate against Lyon. |
So it’s a bit presumptuous to hear anyone speak of such a lunar scarcity, but Crittenden Countians have been quietly building hope as their team has now won 22 games against just 5 losses.
Armed with a nuclear-fueled Rocket – Second Region Player of the Year Taylor Guess – Crittenden has as good a chance to rock the regional hierarchy for the first time since it completed such a mission and advanced to the Sweet 16. That was in 2011 when coach Hodge’s oldest daughter, Jessi, was on the team. Now, a full dozen years later, she believes there’s room to hope again.
“With a player like Taylor… surrounded by a supporting cast like we have, yeah, you feel like you have a legitimate shot,” Hodge said early this week, moments after dispatching Lyon in a physical struggle that was really not a contest after Crittenden established some tempo and ran away with it.
“Now, we have to get some breaks; things have to go your way to win a region. When you get there, everyone is capable. We’ve played just about everybody except Henderson and Madisonville, and you can bet they will be there.”
The Lady Rockets have lost just once this season in regional play. That was in their final game of regular schedule at Hopkins Central, the region’s third ranked team based on KHSAA’s power rankings. It was a close loss on the road, so a rematch on neutral soil wouldn’t be too frightening.
Avoiding Henderson, the No. 7 team in Kentucky, and perhaps Hopkins Central in the second round would be a moon shot for the Rocket girls. If they’re on the side of the bracket with either them, the undertaking could get tough early. But for now, they’re focused on winning the district and making sure the mission stays on track.
Against Lyon, every hand on the CCHS bench got onto the court in the final period and all but three scored, as the Lady Rockets continued to extend their lead until the game’s end. Guess scored 27 and senior classmate Addie Hatfield had a career-high 14.
Make no mistake, it was a physical basketball game. Coach Hodge said her team weathered the physicality early and adapted appropriately.
“It was extremely physical, and I think that was part of their game plan,” the coach said. “We knew we had to control tempo and handle Lyon’s pressure, and they will all be like that from now on.”
The next box Hodge’s team will have to check is the district title. It could be their seventh in school history and Hodge’s fifth since 2011.
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