After their loss to Caldwell County to open the season, the Christian County Lady Colonels decided to turn things up, and in turn, turn things over in their 8th District opener against Hopkinsville Friday night at Colonel Gym. The Lady Colonels blew open a close game late in the contest and picked up a 58-38 win over the Lady Tigers.
The first half was Charles Dickens-like, in that, it was a “Tale of Two Quarters.” The first eight minutes belonged to the Lady Tigers, while the second eight was all Lady Colonels.
Behind the play of Donisha Flowers on the offensive end and their pressure defense on the other end, Hopkinsville looked to have control of the game early. Flowers had six points in the first quarter, and the Lady Tigers forced Christian County into ten first quarter turnovers, as Hopkinsville took an early 12-6 lead.
The second quarter was a full 180-degree turn from the first 8 minutes of the game. In the second, it was Hopkinsville that struggled to hold on to the ball, while Christian County was dominant on both the offensive and defensive glass. That combination was enough to allow Christian County to limit the Lady Tigers to four points and to close out the half on a 9-0 run to take a 23-16 lead into the break.
The Lady Colonels got a huge lift from two of their youngest players, as 7th grader Anaysia Bagwell and 8th grader NeVaeh Day stepped up with some big first half minutes.
The rebounding, especially on the offensive glass, was a big part of the story in the first half for Christian County, as the Lady Colonels outrebounded Hopkinsville 27-15.
Both teams had trouble holding on to the ball, as the teams combined for 35 turnovers, Christian County with 16, and Hopkinsville with 19.
The Lady Colonels kept their momentum rolling coming back out to start the second half. Led by Reni Shemwell and Mikayah Killebrew, Christian County opened the second half with an 11-6 spurt to go up 34-22. The lead would be eight points at 36-28 as the quarter came to an end.
Kahtahvia Fleming and Faith Dansbury scored five quick points for Hopkinsville to open the final quarter and cut the lead to three at 36-33. The lead was still at three points at 40-37 when Hoptown delivered the final blow. Led by their defense forcing turnovers that led to easy baskets, Christian County hit the Lady Tigers with an 18-1 run to finish out the game and pick up the 20 point win. 8th NaVaeh Day played a big role in the finish, as did Mikayah Killebrew and Destinee Catlett-Watkins.
Reni Shemwell paced the Christian County attack, finishing with 12 points. NaVaeh Day also reached double figures with 10. Mikayah Killebrew and Treliyah Thomas added 8 points apiece.
For Hopkinsville, Faith Dansbury was the only player to reach double figures with 10 points. Donisha Flowers finished with 9 points, eight of them coming in the first half of play.
Both teams had some issues with turnovers during the game. Christian County turned the ball over 31 times, while Hopkinsville registered 40 miscues.
Christian County goes to 1-1 on the season and 1-0 in district play. The Lady Colonels are slated to travel to Lyon County on Tuesday.
Hopkinsville drops to 1-1 overall, and 0-1 in the 8th District. They return to action next Friday against University Heights.
HHS — 6 17 13 22 – 58
CCHS — 12 4 12 10 – 38
Hopkinsville (1-1) – Dansbury 10, Flowers 9, Epps 8, Bellamy 5, Fleming 5, Cherry 1
Christian County (1-1) – Shemwell 12, Day 10, Killebrew 8, Thomas 8, Catlett-Watkins 6, Bagwell 5, Banks 5, Brown 2, Harris 2