Lady Rockets eliminated from regional tournament

CADIZ, Ky. – One victory shy of a coveted threshold, Crittenden County just missed its fifth 20-win season in coach Shannon Hodge’s 31 years as the Lady Rocket skipper, losing 72-44 to Henderson County Monday in the opening round of the Second Region Tournament.

Elliot Evans guards a Henderson player
during Monday's regional opener.

Sophomore Anna Boone, the Fifth District Player of the Year, scored 21 points against the Lady Colonels, moving up to No. 7 on the Lady Rocket career scoring list with 1,131 points, just two shy of being in the sixth spot.

Crittenden kept the game close for a half. With under two minutes to play in the second period, the Lady Rockets trailed Henderson (23-7) by just three. However, two quick threes gave the Colonel women a nine-point halftime cushion. They expanded it quickly in the third and led by 16 by the start of the final quarter.

Henderson was more physical and beat CCHS to the basket often, prompting Crittenden to deploy a zone defense. Henderson had an answer. It was able to get some back door cuts and finished with seven three-pointers.

For Crittenden, it brought their season to a close against the same team that defeated the Rocket girls in the regional championship a year earlier.

Henderson advances to play Christian County in a regional semifinal Friday. Christian defeated Madisonville 56-51 in the other opening-round game Monday at Trigg County's gym.

Crittenden County 12 20 34 44
Henderson County 17 29 50 72
CRITTENDEN – Boone 21, Evans 6, Hodge 9, Federico 2, Rushing 4, Champion 2, Holeman, Stewart, Munday, Walker. FG 16. 3-pointers 1 (Boone). FT 7-9.
HENDERSON – Gish 7, Gardner 4, Kemp 4, Rideout 16, Cansler 9, Green 16, Gibson 16, Stanley, Burnett, Locher, Estabrook, Hall. FG 28. 3-pointers 7. FT 9-13.

Lady Rockets draw Henderson in regional tourney

Lady Rockets - 5th District Runner-Up

The Lady Rockets will play Henderson County in the first game Monday of the 2nd Region Tournament. Tipoff is at 6 p.m., at Trigg County High School.

Other tournament pairings are:
Monday 7:30 p.m. - Madisonville North Hopkins v. Christian County

Tuesday 6 p.m. - Hopkinsville v. Union County

Tuesday 7:30 p.m. - Lyon County v. Hopkins County Central

Guess is Mid South Freshman of Year

Crittenden County’s Taylor Guess has been named 2024 Mid-South Conference Women's Basketball Freshman of the Year. The freshman at Lindsey Wilson becomes the program's fifth player all-time to be tabbed the conference's top freshman.

"We are extremely proud of Taylor and how much she has grown and improved over the course of the season," expressed head coach John B. Wethington. "She and our entire freshman class represent the future of Lindsey Wilson women's basketball, and this is an incredible honor for her and the program."

Guess appeared in all 12 of the Blue Raiders' conference games during the regular season. She scored in double-figures five times, including back-to-back 19-point performance against Bethel (Tenn.) and Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) in February. Her conference scoring average was 8.9 points per game. She also added a 34-for-42 effort from the charity stripe and contributed the team's second-most rebounds, along with 13 assists, 8 steals and 4 blocks.

On the season, Guess has scored 9.4 points an outing and is ranked second overall on the team for total blocks and rebounds.

Guess, who graduated from CCHS in 2023, is the Lady Rickets' all-time scoring leader.

She and her Blue Raider teammates open their postseason at 2:30 p.m. today in the Mid-South Conference tournament quarterfinals in Bowling Green.