Lady Lakers feed Crittenden slice of humble pie

TALL ORDER
Jordyn Hodge tries to get off
a shot against a Laker defender

PADUCAH, Ky. – Call it an ego check if you care to.

Certainly, Crittenden County’s 73-34 loss to Calloway County on Saturday in the Mustang Hoopla at McCracken County delivered a healthy heaping of humble pie.

Calloway, ranked No. 1 in the First Region and arguably one of the best girls teams in all of western Kentucky, raked the Lady Rockets over the coals, killing them with a thousand cuts and nearly as many points.

From the opening tip, the Lady Lakers were in complete command. For Crittenden, it was like being stranded on Gilligan’s Island with no rescue in sight. Behind its two Division I commits – Sayler Lowe and Jaidan Koch – Calloway sank three after three with pinpoint shooting and feasted on second-chance buckets. The Lady Rockets were stunned by a 16-3 deficit in the first four minutes and trailed 27-8 after the first period.

With Lowe, who plans to play collegiately at North Alabama, holding Crittenden’s top scorer Anna Boone scoreless in the first half, the Lady Rockets trailed by 32 at the break. Calloway’s active defense kept Crittenden at bay throughout, while Lowe scored 24 points with ease and Koch finished with 19 points, including three of her team’s eight three-pointers. Koch plans to play college all at Southern Indiana. The dynamic duo is rated as the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the First Region, respectively, according to the Courier Journal.

Crittenden got a team-high 11 points from sophomore Jordyn Hodge. Elliott Evans finished with seven, while Boone had three. Bristyn Rushing and Morgan Stewart combined for eight points in the post.

Crittenden had fancied itself among the better teams on this side of the state after key wins over Breckinridge and McCracken counties, along with a competitive season-opening loss at Marshall County. While the setback in Paducah was a sobering one, the Lady Rockets will need to lick their wounds quickly and refocus for Lyon County, a key Fifth District matchup Tuesday night at Rocket Arena.

Crittenden County 8 18 28 34
Calloway County 27 50 67 73
CRITTENDEN – Boone 3, Evans 7, Hodge 11, Federico 1, Rushing 4, Holeman 2, Stewart 4, Berry 2, Champion, Grau, Rich, Kemmer. FG 13. 3-pointers 3 (Evans, Boone, Hodge). FT 7-8.
CALLOWAY - Koch 19, Emery 9, Franklin 1, Haynes 7, Grooms, Arnett 1, Stark 4, Perkins 8, Lowe 24. FG 29. 3-pointers 8 (Koch 3, Emery 3, Stark, Lowe). FT 7-14.