Henderson County knocked off Region 1 power Calloway County 46-40 Thursday night at Murray State University’s CFSB Center to close the regular season in impressive fashion.
The Lady Lakers entered at 28-1 — with their only loss to Region 2’s Lyon County — and finished the regular season 28-2, both defeats coming against Region 2 opponents.
Henderson battled adversity early. The Lady Colonels trailed 16-13 after the first quarter, and senior leading scorer A’Tylia Green exited at the 5:10 mark after turning her left ankle. Just minutes later, Addy Gish picked up her second foul and went to the bench. Green returned midway through the second quarter after getting the ankle taped and helped spark a rally.
Bella Estabrook opened the second with a three to tie the game at 16, but Calloway responded with a 6-0 run to lead 22-16. Green answered with six points, and Henderson closed the half on a 9-4 run to cut the deficit to 26-25.
Green caught fire in the third quarter, knocking down three three-pointers as the Lady Colonels’ defense tightened. Henderson outscored the Lady Lakers 11-4 in the period to take a 36-30 lead into the fourth.
Green added her fourth three-pointer and a pair of free throws late, while JaNyla Locher went 5-6 from the line in the final quarter to help seal the win.
Henderson finished 10-16 from the free-throw line and 6-14 from three-point range. Calloway County went 7-10 at the line and 5-16 from three. Turnovers were nearly even, with Henderson committing 12 to Calloway’s 13. The Lady Lakers held a 32-21 advantage on the boards.
Green delivered a gutsy performance with 22 points and 4 rebounds, hitting four three-pointers while playing through the ankle injury. Locher added 7 points and 4 rebounds. Gish scored 5. Maggee Melvin had 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Jersey Gardner and Estabrook each connected on a three-pointer. Callie Burnett had 2 points. Nevaeh Dixon did not score but contributed strong defense with 2 blocks and 2 rebounds.
Henderson finishes the regular season 20-9 and returns to action Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the District 6 Championship Game at Webster County High School in Dixon against the winner of Union County and Webster County.
Comments