Feb. 28—The Lady Hornets came close, but their journey through the All ‘A’ Classic small-school state tournament came to an end Saturday.
Hancock County fell behind early but never gave up, eventually falling 58-48 to Crittenden County in the tournament quarterfinals in Marion.
The Lady Rockets pulled out to an early 14-10 advantage after the first quarter before building their lead to 22-17 at intermission. Hancock County cut into the deficit in the third quarter, slicing the lead to 37-33, but free throws down the stretch were too much for the Lady Hornets to overcome.
“They made a little run and we fought back in it in the second quarter,” HCHS coach Kevin Husk said. “It was just a back-and-forth, pretty tight game. We gave up too many offensive rebounds and missed some shots around the rim — that’s really the difference.”
The Lady Hornets trailed by four points with three minutes left to go, but Crittenden County converted 9-of-12 free throws in the final period to seal the victory.
Still, Husk said, he was proud of his team’s effort.
“We know we’re in any game anytime, no matter what the score is,” he said. “I love that. I love that our press and our shooting can get us back into any fame, even if things aren’t going our way. It boils down to the girls and their effort level.”
Eighth-grader Karmin Riley paced the Lady Hornets (5-9) with 16 points, while sophomore Bailey Poole finished with 10 points.
With such a young team, Husk is hopeful the All ‘A’ experience will pay dividends down the road.
“Just to see that tournament style and intensity, making plays in those situations — you can’t replicate it in a regular-season game or in practice,” he said. “This is a huge opportunity for us just to learn from it and have that experience under our belt. It’ll help us be ready at the end of the season and even in years to come, having tournament runs in the All ‘A’ would be great.”
With less than two weeks remaining in the regular season, Husk added, the Lady Hornets’ hopes remain high for the postseason ahead.
“We felt like we had a really good opportunity to go to the All ‘A’ final four and kind of let that slip away,” he said. “Crittenden County is a good basketball team, so our concern moving forward is making sure we don’t have a letdown. We still have a handful of games left, so we’re starting preparation for Breckinridge County in our district first-round game.”
Taylor Guess scored a game-high 18 points for the Lady Rockets (12-3), who advanced to the All ‘A’ Classic semifinals for the first time in school history. Riley Smith finished with 13 points, while Chandler Moss and Nahla Woodward added 10 points apiece.
Hancock County is set for a return to action against Ohio County on Monday at the Sportscenter.
HANCOCK COUNTY10-7-16-15 — 48
CRITTENDEN COUNTY14-8-15-21 — 58
Hancock County (48) — K. Riley 16, Poole 10, House 7, H. Riley 5, Roberts 4, Kratzer 4, LaClair 2.
Crittenden County (58) — Guess 18, Smith 13, Moss 10, Woodward 10, Duncan 7.
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