The Christian County Lady Colonels are headed back to the Girls 2nd Region semifinals for the 2nd year in a row. The Lady Colonels advanced by rolling past Livingston Central 83-45 in a quarterfinal round game Tuesday night at Webster County High School.
Christian County opened the game on a 10-0 run and never really looked back for the rest of the contest. Laderia Gold was a big part of the hot start for Christian County, connecting on two 3-pointers in the first two minutes. The Lady Colonels were still up by 10 at 16-6, when they ripped off an 8-0 run to push the lead out to 24-6.
Livingston Central then forced Christian County into some mistakes, and took advantage of them. The Lady Cardinals trimmed the lead to 26-12 at the end of the 1st quarter.
The two teams traded 3s to open the second quarter. Christian County then hit the Lady Cardinals with a 15-3 run to extend the lead on out to 44-18. The margin would be the same 26 points at the half, with Christian County ahead 50-24. After a slow start in the first quarter, Trinitee Jackson heated up in the second quarter, scoring 8 of her 10 first half points. Aaliyah Hampton also had 8 points in the quarter, a total of 14 in the first half.
A big story in the first half was turnovers. Christian County’s pressure defense forced Livingston into numerous turnovers that resulted in Lady Colonel baskets. Even when Christian County did not come up with the turnover, the Lady Cardinals had to exert significant energy just to get the ball into their half-court offense.
Behind a sharp 3rd quarter from Kinara Phillips and Bianna Snorton, Christian County continued to extend its lead. The Lady Colonels reached the point at which a running clock starts on a layup by Snorton, which gave the Lady Colonels a 69-34 lead. Christian County would lead at the end of the quarter 72-36.
Christian County coach Kiki Radford pulled her starters at the beginning of the 4th quarter, giving younger players the valuable opportunity to get regional tournament experience
The Lady Colonels were led by Aaliyah Hampton with 18 points. Laderia Gold, Trinitee Jackson and Kinara Phillips had 12 each, and Bianna Snorton added 10.
Senior Tabby Padon led Livingston Central with 25 points in her final game in a Livingston Central uniform.
With the win, Christian County improves to 22-7 on the season, and advances to the semifinal round for the second consecutive year. In 2017, the Lady Colonels lost a 49-48 heartbreaker to Webster County in the semifinals.
Livingston Central ends their season at 14-16