REGION: Big win, but Lady Rockets seek more

Senior Taylor Guess fights for a loose ball.

MORGANFIELD, Ky. – By scoring differential alone, it was the biggest Second Region Tournament victory in the history of Lady Rocket basketball.

Crittenden County pelted Hopkinsville 87-61 Monday in the opening round of the tournament. Surprising it was not. Sure it was sweet for CCHS to win just its sixth regional tournament game in the past 25 years, but there wasn’t too much fanfare. 

“It’s nice to get a regional win,” said Lady Rocket coach Shannon Hodge.

But the disinterest couldn’t have been more conspicuous for basketball fans without a deep blue stake in the outcome. Up by 19 at the break, the Lady Rocket played in front of mostly their own fans as the large crowd in the gym after Hopkins Central beat Webster County 64-50 in the early game didn’t stick around too long to see the blister Crittenden left on the Lady Tigers. Crittenden led by 31 at one point in the third quarter and by game’s end all 13 Lady Rockets listed in the scorebook had posted at least a point.

Hopkinsville (8-15) was the fourth worst team in the entire region, according to power rankings. So wiping them out had about as much genuine appeal as a sliced ham and green bean banquet dinner. 

Consider it a somewhat bland appetizer for a main course that will begin on Friday when the stakes go up and the competition follows suit in the regional final four.

“We can’t be satisfied with how we played,” Hodge added. “We have to challenge ourselves mentally, stay focused and get tougher. It will get tougher from here.”

Lady Rocket freshman Andrea
Federico defense Hopkinsville.

The Lady Rockets will find themselves in a rematch with Hopkins Central, a team they lost to by eight points in the last regular-season game at Morton’s Gap and beat in the first round of last year's regional tournament. February's encounter was a closely-contested four quarters, and despite the loss, CCHS somehow came away without losing its No. 2 ranking in region, according to the KHSAA power rankings. They finished the regular season 4/100ths of a point ahead of the Lady Storm in those ratings. According to Dave Cantrall's Ratings – which are a decades-old staple in the Courier-Journal – Crittenden is 4th behind Henderson, Madisonville and Hopkins Central, respectively. The Lady Colonels are the consensus No. 1 team in the region. 

Crittenden and Hopkins Central have already punched their tickets to the Final Four. They will face one another at 6 p.m., on Friday. Henderson will play Madisonville Tuesday in the other side of the opening-round bracket and Livingston Central will have Christian County.

Hopkins Central and Crittenden have each lost just once against the region’s teams this season. The Storm was defeated by Henderson while Crittenden lost to Hopkins Central a couple of weeks ago. Henderson, Crittenden and Hopkins Central are a combined 46-2 against the region field. 

Of course, the rankings will have no bearing whatsoever on the the rest of this week’s play. The championship is scheduled for Saturday, and ratings have never won a championship. Just ask anyone on Crittenden County’s 2021 team, which finished the regular season No. 2 in the region, but missed postseason due to a handful of COVID-19 cases and quarantine protocol that wiped out the roster.

Winning the tournament opener may not have been cause for a grand celebration, but it did bring the Gritty out of the Lady Rockets’ 30-year skipper, who struck the popular dance move for her team after the game. 

If course, that drew grand applause. 

Until Monday, Hodge’s teams had won only one regional tournament game since capturing the entire thing in 2011 and going to the Sweet 16 for the only time in history. Otherwise, CCHS hadn’t won much in the regional tournament – ever. 

Beating Hopkinsville by 26 was close to Crittenden’s other five combined tournament win differentials in the past 13 years.

Now, Crittenden will take its 24-5 record into the semifinal against Hopkins Central’s 24-8 mark. Records have no regional crowns either, but the Lady Rockets are hoping they get a chance at their second later this week. If they can win one more game, it will tie the Rocket girls’ winningest season in history.

Hopkinsville 8 22 37 61
Crittenden County 22 41 67 87
HOPKINSVILLE – Paxton 14, Tulles 2, Fleming 23, Earthmen 3, Forte 10, Sharber 3, McGee 4, Sheffield 2. FG 24. 3-pointers 6. FT 7-11.
CRITTENDEN – Guess 25, N.Boone 9, A.Boone 21, Evans 2, Hatfield 8, Federico 2, Hunt 5, McDaniel 3, Rushing 2, Holeman 2, Stewart 4, Munday 1, Hodge 3. FG 27. 3-pointers 5 (A.Boone, 2, N.Boone 2, Guess). FT 28-43.