Lady Rocket run over in All A semifinal

Pollsters voting in the commonwealth’s latest girls’ high school basketball poll believe Pikeville is the fourth best team in Kentucky.

You’d have a hard time convincing the Lady Rockets that the Panther women aren’t somewhat better than that.

Elliot Evans and Anna Boone defend against
Pikeville's All-American nominee Trinity Rowe.
MORE GAME PHOTOS HERE  

Pikeville sapped all of the starch from Crittenden County’s All A Classic swagger Friday, beating the Lady Rockets 69-41 in the quarterfinal round of the state tournament in Corbin. 

A first-round victory two days earlier over Lexington Christian had given the Rocket girls a nice skip in their step. After all, it was CCHS’s second straight trip to the All A state tournament, a third in four years and ninth in history. Reasons to strut.

But a higher level of schoolgirl basketball exposed Crittenden’s youth and plucked its spirit. 

Heavily-favored in the game, the Panther girls were as advertised. Led by two Division 1 basketball commits, Pikeville locked the Lady Rockets into a discomfort level that’s pretty rare for a proud CCHS program led by its seasoned, 31-year-skipper Shannon Hodge.

They don’t rattle too often, but Pikeville had Crittenden on its heels immediately, jumping out to a 19-0 lead before Anna Boone and Elliot Evans scored a couple of foul shots apiece – their only points of the first period.

Andrea Federico tries to wrestle a rebound.

Foul shots are uncontested, mind you. Everything else had a Panthers’ paw on it. The Lady Rockets were 11-for-11 at the charity stripe.

“I think today there probably were some nerves at the beginning of the game,” Hodge said. “We knew we had a big task ahead of us.

“Until you play against a team like that, there is really no way to simulate or prepare for the physicality or the speed, the aggressiveness.”

There were plenty of reasons – not necessarily excuses – for things going wrong. Nerves were an early factor for Crittenden’s sophomore sensations – there are no juniors or seniors on the team. 

Pikeville has an upperclass lineup. 

“They are a team that a few years ago was coming to play in this situation as freshmen and sophomores, and now four of their starters are seniors and one was a junior,” Hodge said.

At least a dozen Rocket turnovers and five CCHS airballs in the first half let Pikeville race out to an insurmountable lead. The mercy rule’s running clock was engaged shortly after the second half started.

Pikeville’s senior-laden squad is led by Trinity Rowe, a McDonald’s All American nominee who is headed to Southern Mississippi to play collegiate basketball, and Kyera Thornsbury, who’s going to Jacksonville State. Pikeville was better in all facets of the game. Based on records and rankings, the Lady Panthers are the best in the 15th Region where they have captured the last three small-school regional titles. 

Like state pollsters, KHSAA’s power ranking formula believes Pikeville is No. 4 among the 269 basketball playing schools in Kentucky. Crittenden County is ranked 111th.

So, if you’re comparing Rockets to Panthers, observers got about what Vegas odds would have predicted.

Pikeville (15-2) advances to a powerhouse showdown Saturday in a semifinal matchup with No. 5 Owensboro Catholic (17-3).

The Lady Rockets (12-8) return home to regroup and host a tough Second Region opponent, Christian County, on Tuesday. A previously scheduled game at home against Carlisle County on Saturday has been canceled and will not be made up.

Pikeville 22 49 63 69

Crittenden 4 17 28 41

PIKEVILLE – Rowe 21, Whited 15, Thornsbury 10, Alyial 5, Lin 4, Jackson 4, Rogers 2, Theiss 6, Kidd 2. FG 28. 3-pointers 6 (Rowe 2, Alyial, Thornsbury 2, Whited). FT 7-15.

CRITTENDEN – Boone 17, Evans 9, Hodge, Federico 6, Rushing, Holeman 3, Walker, Stewart 4, Munday 2. FG 14. 3-pointers 2. FT 11-11.