Rockets close season with loss to Panthers

MARION, Ky. – Crittenden County closed out its regular season at 2-28 Tuesday night with an 83-46 loss to Dawson Springs at Rocket Arena.

The Rockets led 15-13 after the first quarter but were outscored 28-8 in the second period as the Panthers took control. Crittenden managed just three field goals in the second quarter, two of them by Brayden Poindexter.

Poindexter finished with a double-double, scoring 12 points and pulling down a dozen rebounds. Brady Dayberry added eight points and Roane Topp six.

Dawson Springs, now 9-15, was led by Jaydon Plunkette with 31 points, including seven 3-pointers. Cooper Burge added 24 points, hitting three from beyond the arc. The Panthers knocked down 13 three-pointers as a team.

The Rockets are off until the opening round of the 5th District Tournament, which begins Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Rocket Arena against Lyon County.

Dawson Springs 13 41 68 83
Crittenden County 15 23 34 46
DAWSON – Riley 7, Slaton 12, Bouwland 8, Plunkette 31, Burge 24, Drennon 1. FG 26. 3-pointers 13 (Plunkette 7, Burge 3, Bourland 2, Riley). FT 18-23.
CRITTENDEN – Ellington 4, Porter 2, Bumpus, Topp 6, Dayberry 8, Jones 5, Myers, Hutchison 3, C.Poindexter 4, B.Poindexter 12, Counts 2. FG 19. 3-pointers 3 (Jones, B.Poindexter 2). FT 5-12.

Lady Rockets win for first time at Madisonville

MADISONVILLE, Ky. – Crittenden County earned its first win ever at Madisonville Tuesday night, defeating the Maroons 61-50, by jumping out early and holding on late.

The Lady Rockets (21-5) surged to a 26-8 lead after one quarter and withstood a late Madisonville push to secure the historic road victory. The Lady Rockets defeated Madisonville two years ago in Marion, its only other victory over the Lady Maroons in more than 40 years.

Crittenden used offense rebounding and defensive pressure to disrupt Madisonville (10-14) early, forcing turnovers that led to transition points. The Lady Rockets led 36-19 at halftime and pushed the margin to 47-29 late in the third quarter after a 9-3 run capped by a Rushing hook shot with 2:39 remaining in the period.

Madisonville, which held a size advantage, found its rhythm in the fourth quarter and trimmed the deficit to 57-45 with 1:48 to play. The Maroons closed within 59-48 in the final minute, but Crittenden converted at the free-throw line to seal the win.

Senior Anna Boone led Crittenden with 25 points, including three 3-pointers. Sophomore Jordyn Hodge added 17 points with two 3s. The Lady Rockets shot 21 field goals, hit five 3-pointers and went 14 of 16 at the free-throw line.

Crittenden closes the regular season Friday at home against McLean County (18-8), one of the top teams in the 3rd Region.

Crittenden County 26 36 47 61
Madisonville-North 8 19 29 50
CRITTENDEN – Boone 25, Evans 7, Hodge 17, Federico, Rushing 6, Holeman 2, Hunt, Berry 4. FG 21. 3-pointers 5 (Boone 3, Hodge 2). FT 14-16.
MADISONVILLE – Westen 3, Nelson 2, Wright 18, Kirk 6, Gobin 15, Baker 3. FG 17. 3-pointers 6 (Gobin 3, Hams, Baker). FT 9-12.

Rockets lost by 46 at Union County

Freshman Roane Topp

MORGANFIELD, Ky. – Crittenden County dropped its 27th game in 29 outings Monday night, falling 85-39 at Union County.

The Rockets trailed 26-17 after one quarter and 59-25 by halftime as the Braves seized control early. Union extended the margin to 70-33 through three periods and closed out the win by 46.

Freshman Roane Topp led Crittenden with 10 points. Emmitt Ellington and Brady Dayberry added nine points each, while Brayden Poindexter finished with seven. The Rockets hit 14 field goals, including three 3-pointers, and went 4-for-6 at the free-throw line.

Union County placed 11 players in the scoring column.

Crittenden, now 2-27, will close out the regular season tonight at home against Dawson Springs.

Union improved to 17-9.

Crittenden Co. 17 25 33 39
Union County 26 59 70 85
CRITTENDEN – Ellington 9, Porter, Bumpus, Bryant, Topp 10, Dayberry 9, Jones, Myers 2, Hutchison, Martin, C.Poindexter 2, B.Poindexter 7. FG 14. 3-pointers 3 (B.Poindexter, Dayberry, Ellington). FT 4-6.
UNION – Patterson 10, Curry 8, Johnson 15, Hillsman 5, Black 6, Jones 4, Wilson 8, Davis 9, Mills 8, D.Davis 6, Rapier 6. FG 35. 3-pointers 8. FT 7-12.

Seven Lady Rockets join Three-Point Dance

MARION, Ky. – While there is no way to be certain, there is an excellent chance Crittenden County set a team record in Saturday’s matinee against Hopkinsville. The Lady Rockets had seven different players make at least one 3-pointer and finished with 12 treys in a 77-22 victory, their 20th win of the season.

Senior Anna Boone buried five 3-pointers and led CCHS with 19 points. Sophomore Jordyn Hodge added 15 points, including two from beyond the arc.

Crittenden seized control early, building a 26-6 lead after one quarter and stretching the margin to 48-18 by halftime. With the outcome well in hand, the Lady Rockets went deep into the bench. Twelve players saw action, and 11 scored.

Hopkinsville fell to 1-16 in what will be the school’s final season before consolidating with Christian County.

CCHS has two regular-season games remaining. The Lady Rockets will travel to Madisonville on Tuesday and host McLean County on Friday.

Hopkinsville 6 18 19 22
Crittenden Co. 26 48 64 77
HOPKINSVILLE – White, Ewing 10, Beaman, Watkins 7, Johnson, Redd 2, Gentry 3, Wilkerson. FG 8. 3-pointers 1. FT 5-11.
CRITTENDEN – Boone 19, Evans 4, Hodge 17, Federico 5, Rushing 8, Holeman 3, Hunt 5, Berry 4, Champion 4, Grau 5, Rich, Kemmer 5. FG 28. 3-pointers 12 (Boone 5, Hodge 2, Federico, Holeman, Hunt, Grau, Kemmer). FT 9-11.

Rockets fall to Webster on Senior Night

MARION, Ky. – Crittenden County recognized its seniors before tipoff Friday night but was unable to keep pace with Webster County in an 82-25 loss.

The visiting Trojans jumped out early and led 25-8 after the first quarter. Webster extended the margin to 58-16 by halftime and continued to build on the advantage in the second half.

Webster County, now 18-7, placed four players in double figures.

Crittenden County, which fell to 2-26, was led by Roane Topp with 7 points. The Rockets made 10 field goals, including one 3-pointer by Kash Myers, and were 4 of 7 at the free-throw line.

Crittenden has two regular-season games remaining – at Union County on Monday and at home Tuesday against Dawson Springs.

Webster County 25 58 71 82
Crittenden Co. 8 16 17 25
WEBSTER – Bumpus 21, Hardison 5, Phelps 11, Garrard 5, Shelton 13, Kennegissor, Newton 10, Dunn 9, Hardrick 6, Wright 2. FG 34. 3-pointers 4. FT 10-19.
CRITTENDEN – Ellington, Porter 2, Bryant, Topp 7, Dayberry, Jones 2, Myers 3, Hutchison 1, Adamson, C.Poindexter 4, B.Poindexter 2, Counts 4. FG 10. 3-pointers 1 (Myers). FT 4-7

Rockets fall behind early in loss at HopCentral

MORTON’S GAP, Ky. – Hopkins Central pulled away early and never let up Thursday night, handing Crittenden County a 73-41 loss.

The Rockets fell behind 23-11 after one quarter and trailed 40-19 at halftime as Hopkins Central built separation with balanced scoring and efficiency at the free-throw line. The Storm shot 28 field goals and went 13 of 19 from the stripe.

Crittenden finished with 17 field goals and struggled at the line, converting just 4 of 13 attempts. Brayden Poindexter led the Rockets with 10 points, followed by Brady Dayberry with 9 and Conner Poindexter with 8. 

Crittenden dropped its third straight game and fell to 2-25 on the season. Hopkins Central improved to 13-8. The Rockets will return home Friday night to host Webster County.

Crittenden County 11 19 30 41
Hopkins Central 23 40 67 73
CRITTENDEN – Ellington 3, Porter 5, Bumpus, Topp 6, Dayberry 9, Myers, Martin, C.Poindexter 8, B.Poindexter 10, Counts. FG 17. 3-pointers 3 (Ellington, Dayberry, B.Poindexter). FT 4-13.
HOPKINS CENTRAL – Bettas 16, Butcher 4, Stephens 1, Sumner 7, Trejo 2, Harrelson, Jagoe 26, Stone 5, Edwards, Miller 2, Bruce 10, Brussels. FG 28. 3-pointers 4 (Sumner, Stone, Bruce 2). FT 13-19.

Henderson holds off Lady Rockets in key matchup

Jordyn Hodge scored her 1,000th point

HENDERSON, Ky. – If players and coaches watch polls and power rankings – and even though they may attest otherwise, they certainly do – then Henderson County probably felt it needed to prove a point Thursday night on its home floor against Crittenden County.

The proof, as the saying goes, is in the pudding. Crittenden County has still never beaten Henderson County, but… the gap has closed a bit.

The Lady Colonels escaped on their home floor with a 48-39 victory, upending the numbers and rendering pregame rankings largely irrelevant. Although the Lady Rockets led for much of the contest, going ahead with 6:30 to play in the second quarter on a Jordyn Hodge 3-pointer – which turned out to be a milestone bucket – and holding the advantage until 6:30 remained in the game, they were unable to control the closing stretch. That’s when Henderson’s A’Tylia Green, a McDonald’s All-American candidate, scored a half-dozen points in a row to give HCHS the upper hand. The Lady Colonels never relinquished it from there.

Crittenden County entered the road matchup ranked No. 1 in the measuring stick known as the KHSAA RPI – more formally, the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s Ratings Percentage Index. In essence, the RPI attempts to quantify a team’s standing relative to others, factoring heavily into strength of schedule and opponent success. In the absence of a formal Second Region media poll, it has become the most frequently cited barometer of comparative strength in regional high school basketball.

Henderson County came in ranked third in the RPI. Lyon County – which Henderson had dispatched just days earlier in Eddyville – sat at No. 2. On paper, the gap between Crittenden and Henderson amounted to a razor-thin 6.134 hundredths of a single RPI point.

Andrea Federico guards Henderson County's
A'Tylia Green, an All-American candidate.

But inside the maroon-trimmed hardwood confines of Henderson County High School, the arithmetic didn’t quite add up.

Some numbers that did measure up for the Lady Rockets were personal milestones – reflections of a broader body of work. Sophomore Jordyn Hodge became the 14th Lady Rocket to join the 1,000-point club. She broke the tape on 1,000 with a 3-pointer to open the second quarter, giving CCHS a 15-13 lead.

Additionally, senior Elliot Evans surpassed the 500-rebound mark for her career – she already has 1,000 points – and senior Bristyn Rushing eclipsed 500 points and 500 rebounds for her career.

Lady Rocket coach Shannon Hodge said her team played less than four quarters of quality basketball but wasn’t terribly disappointed despite the loss.

“We got what we needed out of this game, which was to rub elbows with them and to kind of get a measuring stick of things and to know what we have to do to beat them,” Hodge said.

Senior Anna Boone led CCHS in scoring with 16 points, and Jordyn Hodge added 13.

While CCHS was unable to pull off a key road win, the Lady Rockets appear to have closed the gap somewhat. Henderson beat Crittenden 66-31 in last year’s Second Region championship game. 

The Lady Colonels have won seven straight regional titles and 18 in 21 years. Crittenden County owns one of the few championships Henderson missed, winning the region in 2011. The teams could see one another again in a few short weeks in the regional tournament. 

Crittenden County’s fourth quarter ultimately told the story. The Lady Rockets committed four turnovers and missed six field goals in the final period, producing 10 empty possessions at the worst possible time. They managed just four made shots in the quarter – including baskets from Rushing and Hodge along with a free throw – and were outscored 16-4 over the final eight minutes. That combination of stalled offense and lost possessions allowed Henderson to create separation late and turn a tight game into a decisive finish.

Crittenden Co. 12 23 35 39
Henderson Co. 13 18 33 48
CRITTENDEN – Boone 16, Evans 5, Hodge 13, Federico, Rushing 5, Berry. FG 11. 3-pointers 5 (Boone 2, Hodge, 2, Evans). FT 10-14.
HENDERSON – Locher 6, Gish 10, Burnett 3, Green 20, Melvin 7, Evans 2. FG 17. 3-pointers 5 (Green 3, Melvin, Locher). FT 9-17.