Rockets fall after early lead at Caldwell

PRINCETON, Ky. – It was some the team’s best play this season, but Crittenden County lost on the road 56-43 Tuesday at Caldwell County.

After leading by six at the half, Crittenden was unable to hang on down the stretch as the Rockets struggled to overcome foul trouble with a roster thinned by injuries. 

The Tigers improved to 11-7. Crittenden falls to 2-14 and will host Livingston Central Friday in a district makeup game.

“We just ran out of gas. Our guys had Caldwell on the ropes until we started picking up fouls and had to back off (defensively), coach Matt Fraliex said.

Crittenden shot five foul shots in the game and Caldwell shot 23.

Crittenden County      15 31 38 43
Caldwell County 11 25 40 56
CRITTENDEN – Walker 11, Hatfield 8, Sharp 7, Poindexter 9, Reddick 8, LaRue, Perryman. FG 16. 3-pointers 7 (Poindexer 3, Walker, Hatfield 2, Sharp). FT 4-5.
CALDWELL – Parker 11, Rowland 4, Ca.Whittington 10, Thompson 12, K.Wilson 3, J.Wilson 16. FG 19. 3-pointers 3 (K.Wilson, Thompson, Parker). FT 15-23.

Girls lose at home for first time in nearly 2 years

MARION, Ky. - Despite leading by 16 early and by six with six minutes to play, Crittenden County’s girls lost at home for the first time in nearly two years Tuesday, falling 64-61 to Christian County in a matchup between two of the top teams in the Second Region.

First-half foul problems and Christian County’s depth weighed heavy on the Lady Rockets as they watched their big lead disappear by early in the third quarter. In the second half, Christian County won the inside game, controlling the boards, and made key foul shots down the stretch. The Lady Colonels scored 8 points at the stripe in the closing period.

Crittenden sophomore Anna Boone led all scorers with 28 points and Christian sophomore guard Anaysia Bagwell had 25 as the Lady Colonels improved to 12-8. The Lady Rockets are now 12-9 and will play a key Fifth District game Friday at Lyon County (13-7).

Prior to Tuesday, the Lady Rockets had not lost at home since Feb. 12, 2022 against Union County.

Christian County 12 29 43 64
Crittenden County 20 32 43 61
CHRISTIAN – Northington 2, Anderson 6, Bagwell 25, Day 18, McGee 1, Daniel 6, Bradley 7, Reid, Bradley. FG 24. 3-pointers 1 (Bagwell). FT 14-26.
CRITTENDEN – Boone 28, Evans 5, Hodge 8, Federico 8, Rushing 8, Holeman, Stewart 4. FG 21. 3-pointers 7 (Boone 4, Hodge 2, Evans). FT 10-16.

Rockets lose on the road at McLean

CALHOUN, Ky. - Poor shooting was the biggest problem for the Rockets on the road Saturday at McLean County as they lost 79-42.

Bryson Walker scored 18 for Crittenden and Brayden Poindexter a dozen points, eight of them at the foul line.

The loss drops CCHS to 2-13 on the season while McLean improved to 13-6.

Crittenden County 10 14 32 42
McLean County 14 39 61 79
CRITTENDEN - Belcher, Walker 18, Hatfield 3, Sharp 2, LaRue, Travis 7, Poindexter 12, Porter, Young. FG 12. 3-pointers 5 (Walker 4, Hatfield). FT 13-19.
MCLEAN – Lee 6, Cline ,12, Floyd 3, Graves 8, Maury, French 3, Bozarth 4, Baird 9, Decker 12, Englehardt, Revelott 22, Davis. FG 31. 3-pointers 6. FT 14-24.

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.

Rockets fall at Dawson Springs 61-49

Crittenden County 12 27 29 49

Dawson Springs 14 28 46 61

CRITTENDEN - Bechler 2, Walker 28, Hatfield 4, Sharp 4, Reddick 4, Travis 2, Rhodes, Poindexter 5, LaRue. FG 21. 3-pointers 2 (Walker). FT 9-15.

DAWSON - Dever 10, Walls, Blue 21, Johnston 13, Bourland, Fain 12, Plunkette 5. FG 24. 3-pointers 6 (Blue 4, Johnston, Plunkette). FT 7-10.

Boone 1K Golden in Closing Minutes

MORE ACTION PHOTOS HERE

CORBIN, Ky. – She was shoved around, had a hand in her face the whole way and got pushed away from the “honey hole” much of the game, but Anna Boone was 1K gold from the top of the key when it mattered most.

Boone’s three-pointer with 1:23 to play in the opening round of the All A Classic Wednesday against Lexington Christian Academy put Crittenden County in position to win 56-53 and advance to Friday’s quarterfinal round against Pikeville.

All in one shot, Boone reached a personal milestone and purchased her teammates at least two more nights in a London motel room. 

There will be no tea sipping – and not too much celebration – for the Lady Rockets in this London flat, which is just a hop, skip and jump from the Corbin Arena, host of this year’s small-schools state championship. The Rocket girls will be focused on the next step in the state tournament despite having a roster too young to drive. Playing the All A Classic has a certain sense of comfort to it because CCHS has been there more than any other Second Region team. 

Playing in their ninth All A state tournament, it was Boone’s 21-footer near the game’s end that ensured an even more peaceful feeling.

The game was hotly contested from jump to buzzer and LCA concentrated on keeping Boone pushed out of her favorite spot, down the left side of the key.

Left to improvise, Boone took her offense elsewhere, dropping three treys and scoring 15 fourth-quarter points.

Yet it was that last three that took the cake. It gave Crittenden its winning margin and Boone eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in her young career.

“She just put us on her back there at the end and found a way to score,” Hodge said.

The coach moved Boone around in the offense trying to find something that would work after she was held to just seven points through three quarters. Although sophomore Elliot Evans and eighth-grader Jordyn Hodge had penciled four three-pointers into the book in the first half, Hodge knew Boone had to get free for her team to close the deal.

“We moved her around a few places there at the end. She has to get the ball in her hands and I think because Jordyn and Elliot had scored a few, it opened things up for Anna,” Hodge said.

Crittenden led by 10 early in the first half, but trailed by as many as five in the second half before 31-year Lady Rocket skipper Shannon Hodge played her trump card to start the fourth period. CCHS had not shown its full-court pressure until the moment was right. LCA turned the ball over three times over a short span and Crittenden turned a four-point deficit into a four-point lead when Boone netted her next to last three-pointer with about four minutes to play. 

In some regard, it was an unlikely place for the Lady Rockets to be after scoring only one bucket during the entire third period. Yet they started the final period trailing by just two possessions.

Then Boone turned loose in the offense to finish with 23 points. Hodge and Evans added 14 and 13, respectably.

Center Bristyn Rushing grabbed eight rebounds and forward Andrea Federico had seven, and they had a couple of points apiece. So did freshman Morgan Stewart off the bench. Federico also got the game's final rebound to complete the victory after LCA missed a three-pointer in the waning seconds. 

LCA falls to 14-4 and the Lady Rockets improved 12-7.

Crittenden will play Pikeville at noon (CST) on Friday. Pikeville is the top-ranked team in the 15th Region with a 14-2 record. The Lady Panthers feature two of the 15th Region's top four players. Trinity Rowe is regarded as the region's best and Kyera Thornsbury is ranked fourth. Together they average 28 points and there is a third player on the team scoring in double figures. 

Crittenden County 14 29 34 56
Lexington Christian 15 25 38 53
CRITTENDEN - Boone 23, Evans 10, Hodge 17, Federico 2, Rushing 2, Stewart 2, Munday. FG 22. 3-pointers 8 (Boone 4, Evans 2, Hodge 2). FT 4-8.
LCA – Gabbert 6, Brown 16, Roberts 2, Castle 2, Pridemore 6, Bertram 21. FG 21. 3-pointers 4 (Brown 3, Bertram). FT 1-4.

SECOND REGION ALL A HISTORY

Crittenden County Winningset Team

Click Image to Enlarge

Crittenden gets big win over Livingston

Livingston 13 20 35 48

Crittenden 21 43 64 72

CRITTENDEN - Boone 33, Evans 15, Hodge 12, Fed 2, Rushing 7, Munday 3, Holeman, Walker, Stuart, Champion FG: 23 3-pointers: 10 (Evans 4, Hodge 3, Boone 2, Munday) FT: 16-20

LIVINGSTON - A.Leahy 5, Jennings 2, Joiner 14, Downey 8, Holman 2, T.Leahy 3, Ramage 14, Palmer, Doyle, Collins FG: 20 3-pointers 2 (Downey, T.Leahy) FT: 5-8