You sort of had the feeling all night long that it was going to come down to the fire. Talitha Bryant’s put back with 9.2 seconds left turned out to be the game winning basket as the Christian County Lady Colonels edged out the Madisonville Lady Maroons 62-60 in a 2nd Region girls showdown at Colonel Gym.
Bryant’s basket gave the Lady Colonels a 61-60 lead. Trinity McGee added a free throw with 2.6 seconds to go. Her second of two shots missed, with Madisonville’s Courtney Peyton grabbing the rebound and pushing up court. Peyton’s shot from mid-court sailed wide left as the Lady Colonels held on for the exciting two point win.
The game was close from the very beginning. There were three lead changes in the opening quarter, which ended with the two teams tied at 13-13.
Madisonville appeared briefly to have taken control in the 2nd quarter. The Lady Maroons used an 8-0 run in just over a minute of play to take a 24-18 lead. After a timeout, the Lady Colonels battled right back, going on a 9-4 run to trim the lead to 28-27. A basket by Lexi Mullins in the final seconds of the half sent Madisonville to the locker room with a 35-33 lead. Aaliyah Hampton had a huge quarter for Christian County, scoring ten in the quarter.
Not much changed in the third quarter, as neither team was able to get out to a lead of more than four points. When the quarter came to an end, Christian County was up 48-45.
The Lady Colonels looked to have things rolling their way when a Bianna Snorton free throw gave them a 53-47 lead with 6:43 to go. Camryn LaGrange scored five quick points to ignite a Madisonville run and push the Lady Maroons to a 56-54 lead with 4:05 to go.
Both teams missed some opportunities to gain control down the stretch missing some key free throws. A LaGrange free throw with 40.6 seconds left gave Madisonville a 59-57 lead. Bianna Snorton scored to tie the game at 59-59. LaGrange hit one of two free throws to put the Lady Maroons back in front 60-59, and setting up the heroics from Talitha Bryant.
Aaliyah Hampton led the way for Christian County with 22 points. Trinity McGee added 12 points. Talitha Bryant scored 10 points including the game winning basket.
The Lady Maroons were led by Courtney Peyton with 18. Camryn LaGrange added 17, while Lindsey Peyton scored 11.
Christian County improves to 11-7, while Madisonville drops to 13-5 on the season.