By CHARLIE HUST
For the third time this season, the Union County girls’ basketball team defeated Webster County. But Monday night’s win would be the most costly as the Bravettes ended the Lady Trojans season with the 59-49 triumph in the opening round of the Sixth District tournament held at Trojan gym.
Union held a commanding 17-point lead midway through the fourth quarter before WCHS mounted a furious comeback bid that saw the lead dwindle to just five points before the Bravettes iced the game at the free throw line.
It was bitter loss for Webster on its home floor as they finished the season with a 17-14 record. Union, winning its sixth straight game and upping its record to 19-8, will take on Henderson County Thursday night in the 6th District Championship game and both teams will advance to next week’s Second Region tournament. It will be the first time in 12 years that the Lady Trojans will not advance to the district championship game and play in the regional tournament.
Things looked promising in the early going for Webster, trying to beat Union for the first time this season. WC jumped out to a 14-9 first quarter lead and seemed poised for the victory.
But a combination of solid defense from Union and a WCHS offense that went flat for the second and third quarters was the difference in the game. Webster went ice-cold from the field, hitting just one field goal in a span of nearly 16 minutes and didn’t score until the 4:39 mark of the fourth quarter.
But the never-say-die Lady Trojans continued to battle and sliced the lead in half on 3-pointers from Kaylee Duncan and Maddie Duncan along with missed opportunities at the free throw line from Union County. Employing the ‘foul and stop the clock strategy’ almost worked for Webster as the Bravettes hit just 12-of-25 free throw attempts in the final 3:00. They finished the game 24-for-45 from the charity stripe.
An old-fashioned 3-point play off an offensive rebound from Kaylee Duncan with 0:46.9 left in the game, Webster was within five points, 54-49. But the Bravettes scored the final five points of the game including 3-of-4 free throw shooting from Dominique Smith who lead all scorers with 25 points along with 11 rebounds.
Kaylee Duncan came off the bench to lead Webster in scoring with 14 points while senior guard Darrian McNary added 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Maddie Duncan added nine points on a trio of 3-pointers including two in the fourth-quarter run by Webster.
Hannah Pritchett added six points while Hallie Gibson finished with five points. Christian Papineau and Kristen Keeney scored one point each.
Webster County 62
University Heights 67
It was a re-match of last year’s Region 2 semi-final tournament game in which the Lady Blazers used a third-quarter scoring blitz to end Webster’s season.
On Friday night, the talented UHA squad jump out to a early lead and then held off the charging Lady Trojans in the final minutes for the victory in Hopkinsville.
UHA held a 14-8 lead at the first break and stretched that margin to 28-21 at intermission. Then the fireworks began as both squads heated up the offense.
WC senior Darrian McNary scored 15 of her team-high 24 points in the third quarter, draining a pair of 3-pointers to boost the Lady Trojans to an 18-16 scoring advantage. That trimmed the UHA lead to 44-39.
Webster continued its hot shooting in the fourth quarter with 23 points, highlighted by a trio of 3-pointers from junior sharp-shooter Maddie Duncan. Bailey Townsend added eight of her 10 points in the frame also adding one of WC’s eight 3-pointers in the contest.
But while the Lady Trojans were red-hot, the Lady Blazers matched them point for point, connecting on 10-of-18 from the free throw line to ice the victory.
Maddie Duncan finished with nine points while Kristen Keeney added seven. Hannah Pritchett scored five points, Georgia Keeney three points and two points each from Christian Papineau and Hallie Gibson.
Webster County 64
Caldwell County 59
It was a see-saw battle last Tuesday night in Trojan gym as the Lady Trojans held on for the victory against a scrappy Lady Tiger squad in front of a large WCHS crowd on Senior night.
The game was tied 11 times and the lead changed hands 15 times, including five in the final half.
“They just kept coming at us and were very hard to put away,” noted WCHS head coach Tonya Wells. “We knew what they wanted to do (offensively) we just had a hard time stopping them.”
Webster held a slim 23-20 lead at halftime but saw Caldwell (12-12) fight back to earn a 36-34 advantage with 1:28 remaining in the quarter. Consecutive steals and layups from Hannah Pritchett and Kaylee Duncan sparked a 6-0 run as WCHS closed out the quarter with a 40-38 lead.
A rebound and putback from Kristen Keeney gave WC a bit of breathing room to open the fourth quarter but Caldwell’s Tori Loomis drilled a 3-pointer to slash the lead to 42-41.
Webster’s solid defense effort on the full-court press forced several turnovers and easy transition baskets. But Caldwell stayed close with driving buckets from Loomis and Kaitlyn Gilkey. Caldwell’s 22 turnovers was just too much to overcome.
A lane jumper from senior Bailey Townsend put Webster up 60-55 but Lele Rodgers answered with a bucket with 0:34 left in the game. That would be as close as the Lady Tigers would get as free throws from Pritchett and McNary iced the game.
“It was a great win for, our girls played hard, they wanted this win for our seniors,” Wells added.
And a very emotional Bailey Townsend, playing her last regular season game in Trojan gym along with fellow senior Darrian McNary, praised her teammates after the game.
“They (Caldwell) always play us very tough and they were difficult to put away. But I knew my teammates would come through for me and Darrian. We played with a lot of heart and a lot of hustle tonight and I’m very proud of my teammates,” the teary-eyed Townsend said.
McNary led the balanced Lady Trojan scoring attack with 17 points, eight coming in the fourth quarter. Georgia Keeney came off the bench to score 10 points, draining a trio of 3-pointers. Kristen Keeney and Pritchett added nine points apiece, followed by eight each from Christian Papineau and Kaylee Duncan. Maddie Duncan contributed one 3-pointer.
But teams were fairly strong at the free throw line as WCHS hit 14-of-21, including 13-for-18 accuracy in the fourth quarter. Caldwell sank 17-of-25 attempts.