A fourth quarter swing made all the difference Tuesday night as the McCracken County Lady Mustangs defeated the Marshall County Lady Marshals 41-35 in the first round of the First Region tournament at the CFSB Center.
What was a narrow ball game from start to finish that featured the Lady Marshals holding onto the lead the majority of the way, was flipped on its head in the final four minutes of action.
“Out of a timeout we just said let’s change over to a full man and if you have the opportunity to trap then do it,” McCracken County head coach Scott Sivills said about the gameplan down the stretch. “We rotated, we got the traps and those were huge. But this was definitely a team effort, everyone stepped up and made key plays at key times.”
McCracken County sophomore Anna Hammonds was integral in that late swing, knocking down all eight of her points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of crucial 3-pointers. Add a forceful full court pressure from the inbound pass from the Lady Mustangs and they were able to pull away with the victory.
Down 29-27, Hammonds would hit her for triple, claiming the Lady Mustangs first lead since the early minutes of the night. That full court press would pay its dividends with another McCracken County stop which led to her second 3-pointer of the night to take a 33-29 lead with just over two minutes to play.
“In a game like this with two of the top defenses in the state of Kentucky, you’ve got to find a way when the window opens up to make shots, and I thought Anna really stepped up and made some huge shots,” Sivills said.
For a team that has thrived as of late from their success from downtown, the two long buckets from Hammonds would be the only 3-pointers all night for the Lady Mustangs.
“I just knew I needed to shoot with confidence and help my team win this game,” Hammonds said. “We were down just a little bit and that first three really just helped get our momentum going.”
“Anna’s two 3-pointers made us all exhale a little bit,” Sivills said. “Our defense picked up and we were able to get a couple of key steals there as well.”
Much of the night leading up to the swing was controlled by the Lady Marshals, who after a shot back and forth, was capitalized on by 3-pointers from Eden Sanlin and Kenzlee Terry. Two more triples in the second took the first quarter score from 10-8, to 16-10 quickly, but McCracken was quick to answer courtesy of Ava Hughes and Lilly Hamilton.
“I thought Marshall made some really good plays in the first half and we didn’t do a very good job defensively and they made us pay,” Sivills said. “
With a 19-15 halftime score, both teams had to figure out how to break free from the others’ defense schemes. For Marshall, their perimeter trap games was paying off in eliminating 3-pointers, while quick feet made it nearly impossible for the Lady Marshals to find the open look after those early long balls.
The third quarter saw the lowest scoring of the night as the first few minutes saw just a LeZharia Bolen free throw. Sandlin and Rylee Teague would find their perimeter shooting when it mattered to take a 25-21 lead.
“I love our kids resilience, they never quit playing,” Sivills said. “We just found a way to make plays.”
Some of those plays came down to free throws in the final minutes as the Lady Marshals put the Lady Mustangs shooting from the foul line to the test in an effort to get the ball back. In a game where free throw shooting was not on point for either team, a pair from Lilly Hamilton and three from Eva Hughes made all the difference.
The Lady Marshals season comes to an end with a record of 21-6 and boast the No. 1 scoring defense in the state.
McCracken County (25-8) will advance in the First Region tournament to take on Carlisle County (25-7) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night.
MCCRACKEN COUNTY8 | 7 | 6 | 20 — 41
MARSHALL COUNTY10 | 9 | 7 | 9 — 35
MCC: A. Hughes 10, A. Hammonds 8, L. Bolen 7, R. Hill 7, L. Hamilton 6, A. Casebier 2
MAR: E. Sandlin 11, K. Terry 9, A. Wall 8, J. Reed 4, R. Teague 3