Historic season comes to a close by three

CCHS accpeets the regional runner-up trophy

MORTON'S GAP,  Ky. – Victory, as the famous Southern author William Faulkner once wrote, “is an illusion of philosophers and fools.”

For Crittenden County, there was no illusion Saturday night in a championship game loss in the KHSAA Second Region Girls Basketball Tournament. The Lady Rockets had answered the script they uttered the previous March after losing a regional title bout to the Lady Colonels in Hopkinsville. We will be back, they said.

And indeed they were.

Crittenden fell behind early, forcing hurried shots whenever brief openings appeared and committing five turnovers in the first quarter. Henderson’s quick, disciplined man-to-man defense repeatedly disrupted the Lady Rocket offense, turning stops into scoring opportunities on the other end. By halftime, the Lady Colonels had stretched the margin to 26–15, using defensive pressure and accurate shooting to seize control of the game.

“We were kind of rattled at the first of the game and couldn't get a shot to fall,” said Lady Rocket coach Shannon Hodge, who completes her 33rd year at the helm. “I told them at the half, we’re okay. The good news is we hadn’t hit anything and were down by just 11 and still in the game.”

Despite falling even further behind – by 14 early in the third – CCHS had one good run led by Anna Boone and Jordyn Hodge. The Rocket girls pulled within five, then four on a Boone three with five minutes to play. Seconds later, Boone stole the ball in Henderson’s front court and went all the way to the other end for a basket, closing to within two points, 35-33.

From there, it remained tight, but Crittenden could never forge ahead. With the clock winding down, CCHS had a reasonable look at the basket for a potentially tying three-pointer, but it wasn’t to be. The comeback fell just shy of a dream, 42–39.

Boone led the way with 20 points and Hodge had 14. The rest of the team contributed five points.

At the summit once again stood Henderson County, a program that has turned regional dominance into routine, capturing 20 of the last 22 championships. The climb once again proved too steep for CCHS.

For this senior class, the obstacle had become painfully familiar. Crittenden County has now been eliminated by Henderson County in four consecutive regional tournaments, including three times in the championship game. Each postseason, the Lady Rockets have fought their way to the doorstep of the state tournament, only to find the same powerhouse blocking the path.

All Region Tournament team seleections
Boone - Hodge - Evans

Among Kentucky county school districts that operate only one traditional high school, the largest is generally considered to be Henderson County. The disparity is difficult to ignore. Henderson County’s basketball team draws from a student body roughly four times the size of Crittenden County’s, giving the Lady Colonels a deeper roster and a broader pool of talent from which to assemble its squad. Yet enrollment numbers do little to soften the sting for a group of Lady Rockets who have clawed to within sight of Rupp Arena time and again, only to see the dream slip away once more.

In a sense, Faulkner’s observation feels almost written for moments like this, facing an opponent such as Henderson with such decided advantges. If victory is an illusion, then so too is the idea that the only true measure of a team’s success is whether it can overcome nearly unsurmountable odds to reach Lexington in March. Crittenden County’s seniors never made that trip to Rupp, but they did something nearly as difficult and perhaps just as worthy when all is reconciled. They were regional runners-up three times, winning a school-record 26 games this season, setting multiple other team and individual records and milestones, and carrying their program to the brink of the state tournament in an era dominated by a much larger Henderson County program.

In the cold, hard arithmetic of Saturday’s scoreboard there was no victory, but in the annals of time, these girls – this Crittenden County basketball team – will remain an everlasting Mount Rushmore. It is a troupe that did everything except slay the giant. The script would have been complete if not for the final chapter of this now-closed book.

The bland taste of consolation will take time to soften into something less painful, yet the mark this team has carved into Lady Rocket lore will endure long after the sting has faded.

Henderson County 16 26 35 42
Crittenden County 7 15 28 39
HENDERSON – Locher 9, Gish 2, Gardner 4, Burnett 1, Green 11, Melvin 11, Dixon 4. FG 16. 3-pointers 5 (Melvin 3, Green, Locher). FT 5-11.
CRITTENDEN – Boone 20, Evans, Hodge 14, Federico 2, Rushing 3, Berry. FG 14. 3-poionters 6 (Boone 3, Hodge 2, Rushing). FT 3-5.

All Second Region Team announced

Three Crittenden County Lady Rockets were named to the All Second Region Team announced Friday night between semifinal games at the regional tournament at Hopkins Central. Chosen by the region’s head coaches based on regular-season player were (front from left) Macy Wright of Madisonville; Anaysia Bagwell of Christian County; KaMyia “Tink” Clark of Caldwell County; Elliot Evans and Jordyn Hodge of Crittenden County and Addie Menser of Hopkins Central; (vack) Veyda Grinols of Trigg County; Trinity Taylor, Piper Cotham and Courtney Collins of Lyon County; Anna Boone of Crittenden County; Adalyn Gish and A’Tylia Green of Henderson County; Calajia Mason and Tyah White of Hopkins County Central.

Rushing leads Lady Rockets into regional title

 26 WINS | MOST EVER BY A CRITTENDEN COUNTY BASKETBALL TEAM

MORTON’S GAP, Ky. – For a team that has made a habit of lighting up the nets inside Hopkins County Central’s gym this season, Friday night proved to be a far different kind of challenge for Crittenden County.

Shots that had fallen here in two earlier games simply would not go down for the Lady Rockets. But when the perimeter cooled, senior center Bristyn Rushing provided the spark inside.

Bristyn Rushing 16 pt | 15 reb

Rushing delivered one of the best performances of her career, and Crittenden weathered a relentless defensive effort from Caldwell County to claim a 49-38 victory in the Second Region semifinal.

Rushing finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds, her scoring total just three shy of a career high.

Crittenden improved to 26-5 with the victory, giving the Lady Rockets the undisputed winningest season in program history. Two other teams had reached 25 wins, but none had surpassed that mark until now.

There will soon be room made for a team photograph of this group back in Marion inside Rocket Arena on the western wall, displayed alongside the most celebrated teams in school history. Those oversized portraits tell stories and build legends in the gymnasium where coach Shannon Hodge has molded some of the Second Region’s best teams over the past decade and a half. Only once, however, have the Lady Rockets captured the regional championship. That came in 2011.

Now, with the program on the cusp of a third regional championship game appearance in four years and a second straight trip to the title game, the place for this team’s photograph is secure. The only question remaining is what kind of caption it will ultimately carry.

Lady Rocket Anna Boone fights for
the block with Caldwell's Audrey McCoy

Crittenden came out strong early, with Rushing scoring the Lady Rockets’ first six points as they built a 16-6 lead by the end of the first quarter. Three-point baskets from Jordyn Hodge and Elliot Evans helped stretch the advantage, and a mid-range jumper from Rushing gave her eight points in the opening period.

The Lady Rockets pushed the margin to 26-12 midway through the second quarter following baskets from Hodge, Anna Boone and Georgia Holeman. But Caldwell responded with strong defensive pressure and a handful of baskets to close the half on a 6-0 run and trim the deficit to 26-18 at the break.

The Lady Tigers scored the half’s first four points and cut Crittenden’s lead to four, the closest it had been since the opening minute.

Crittenden answered behind Rushing’s steady play in the post and timely scoring from Evans and Hodge. Evans hit a key three-pointer off an inbounds play early in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 39-30, and Hodge later added several clutch baskets off the dribble to help the Lady Rockets regain control.

Rushing dominated the boards for Crittenden, finishing with 15 rebounds, although Caldwell held a 36-29 advantage on the glass.

Caldwell’s length and quickness in a tight man-to-man defense consistently challenged the Lady Rockets, who missed a number of shots they typically make. The difference was particularly noticeable from three-point range. In two earlier games played in the Hopkins County Central gym this season – a win over the host Storm and the Second Region Tournament opener against Webster County – Crittenden combined to hit 22 of 45 three-point attempts. Friday night, the Lady Rockets made just three.

Hodge and Rushing led Crittenden with 16 points each, while Evans added 10.

The Lady Rockets will face Henderson County in the regional championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday. The winner advances to the state tournament at Rupp Arena.

Caldwell County 6 18 28 38

Crittenden County 16 26 35 49

CALDWELL — Clark 17, Thomas 2, Whitaker 2, Thompson 4, Shearer 6, McCoy 7. FG 15. 3-pointers 1 (Clark). FT 7-19.

CRITTENDEN — Boone 5, Evans 10, Hodge 16, Federico, Rushing 16, Holeman 2, Champion, Hunt, Berry, Grau, Kemmer, Rich. FG 16. 3-pointers 3 (Evans 2, Hodge). FT 14-20.

Lady Rockets tie school record for wins

Sophomore Jordyn Hodge and seniors Anna, Boone, Elliot Evans, Bristyn Rushing,
Georgia Holeman and Andrea Federico got a break late in the game to enjoy the win.

MORTON’S GAP, Ky. – It does not require a large canvas to illustrate how heavily favored Crittenden County dismantled Webster County 57-20 in the opening round of the Second Region Tournament on Monday night.

But it would require a much broader brush to fully capture what this group of players, particularly the senior class, has accomplished over the past five seasons, dating back to middle school when several began playing significant varsity minutes, if not starting.

The milestones, both individual and collective, have been remarkable. With Monday’s victory, the 25-5 Lady Rockets tied a school record for wins in a season.

Mission Numero Uno now becomes chasing that elusive post-season sweetener – the program’s second regional championship and a return trip to the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Sweet 16, set for March 11-14 at Rupp Arena.

A wide-angle lens is necessary to properly examine the full body of work. This is the best three-point shooting team in school history. The senior class is the winningest ever. Four players have surpassed 500 career rebounds, and three have eclipsed 1,000 career points – one of them went over 2K.

Crittenden’s 2011 Second Region championship team posted comparable offensive numbers and, most importantly, secured the regional crown that has thus far eluded this current statistical powerhouse. Lady Rocket version 2011 won the All A Classic regional tournament, district tournament and KHSAA regional tournament. That will not be outdone this season as CCHS lost by three in the small-school regional back in January. 

That squad from 15 years ago featured three eventual 1,000-point scorers, though only one logged every point in a Lady Rocket uniform. Jessica (Hodge) Sigler poured in all 1,448 of her points playing for her mother, longtime head coach Shannon Hodge. Laiken Tabor reached the 1,000-point mark after transferring from Marshall County, and Bailey Brown crossed the threshold after leaving Marion for Calloway County. In this contemporary version, the three leading point-makers have career scoresheets like this: Boone 2,179, Evans 1,187, Hodge 1,117. Center Bristyn Rushing and forward Andrea Federico each have more than 500 rebounds. So do the senior guards. Hodge, a sophomore, is the only underclassman starter.=

Meanwhile, Lady Rocket Version 2026 has produced three seasons with more than 20 wins. The program, which dates back to the early 1970s, has recorded only five 20-win campaigns in more than five decades.

Since this senior core was in eighth grade, Crittenden County has compiled a 115-44 record. That’s a .723 winning percentage.

Against Webster County, résumé aside, CCHS dominated every facet. The Lady Rockets triggered the running-clock mercy rule late in the third quarter, building a 54-16 advantage before wholesale substitutions began early in the fourth.

Crittenden advances to Friday’s 6 p.m., semifinal match against Christian County or Caldwell County. The championship game is at 7 p.m., Saturday at Hopkins Central High School.

Webster County 5 12 16 20
Crittenden Co. 17 33 54 57
WEBSTER – Cartwright 4, Cardwell 1, Wrigth 8, Tapp 2, Rakestraw 3, Torres, Kramer 2. FG 8. 3-pointers 1. FT 3-6.
CRITTENDEN – Boone 12, Evans 8, Hodge 17, Federico 7, Rushing 7, Holeman 3, Hunt, Berry, Champion, Grau, Rich, Kemmer. FG 20. 3-pointers 11 (Hodge 5, Boone 2, Evans, Federico, Rushing, Holeman). FT 3-4.