Trigg County grabbed the lead from Crittenden County in the third quarter and never gave it back as the Lady Wildcats picked up a 39-36 win over the Lady Rockets Monday in Marion.
The win moved Trigg County to 4-1 in Fifth District play and allows them to control their own destiny for the top seed in the district tournament.
Trigg County began the game quick, jumping out to a 9-1 lead early. Crittenden countered with a 13-1 run to lead 14-10 – their largest lead of the game.
Neither team would lead by more than three points the rest of the way. The game was tied at 19 at halftime, and Trigg led 28-25 after three quarters with the game featuring five ties and six lead changes up to that point.
Crittenden County got to within one point of Trigg six times in the fourth quarter but could never regain the lead. A Rylee Bush bucket with 1:50 left gave Trigg a 37-34 lead.
Following a Lady Wildcat miss, Nahla Woodward hit two free throws with 1:13 left to bring Crittenden to within 37-36.
Trigg missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 22 seconds left. Crittenden grabbed the rebound and was fouled following a missed shot with seven seconds left. Crittenden missed both free throws, and Bush hit a pair of free throws with three seconds left for the final margin. A final 3-point attempt by Crittenden failed to draw iron.
Bush scored 11 points for Trigg – all in the second half. She added seven rebounds. Adri Phillips also had 11 points and seven rebounds for Trigg, and Emily Noffsinger scored six points.
Crittenden County (8-7, 3-2) got 11 points from Woodward and Shelby Summers. The Lady Rockets were bothered by 19 turnover that led to 16 Trigg County points.
Monday’s win marked Trigg County’s first regular season sweep of Crittenden County since 2011-12. It also marks the first time since 2001-02 that Trigg has scored road wins at Crittenden County and Livingston Central. The Lady Wildcats play at Union County Friday. Their shot at Lyon County and their first district top seed since the early 1990s will come Jan. 29.