Trigg County hadn’t won a season opener in three years, but timely free throws and clutch play down the stretch saw the Lady Wildcats beat Dawson Springs 40-34 Monday night at Wildcat Gym.
The Lady Wildcats saw a nine-point third quarter lead trimmed to two with less than a minute left, but they never allowed Dawson Springs to grab the lead. Up 31-30 with 4:00 left, Katelyn Slone buried a 3-pointer to push the lead to 34-30.
Erin Orten, who was scoreless through three quarters, scored Dawson Springs’ first seven points of the fourth frame to keep the Lady Panthers within striking distance. However, Dawson didn’t hit a field goal in the final three minutes of the game, while Trigg County hit 4-of-9 free throws to cap off a 10-of-15 night at the charity stripe.
Slone hit a trifecta of 3-pointers in the game to finish with 12 points to lead the Lady Wildcats. Bethany Stallons joined her in double figures with 10 points.
Trigg outrebounded Dawson Springs 42-25 with three Lady Wildcats reaching double figures. Lauren Oliver had 11 rebounds (4 points), with Rylee Bush (five points) and freshman Adri Phillips (nine points) each grabbing 10 rebounds.
Trigg County, who averaged 24 turnovers a game last year, cut that total to 10 Monday, with Dawson Springs scoring just seven points off the miscues.
Brooklyn Cotton hit four 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 16 points for Dawson Springs. Orten scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds, while Kaylee Simpson scored seven points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Trigg County returns to action Friday in their district opener at Crittenden County.
