Trigg County held off a late rally from Dawson Springs to pick up a 48-45 win over the Lady Panthers Monday at Wildcat Gym.
The Lady Wildcats held a 30-18 halftime lead but watched Dawson Springs whittle away the deficit throughout the third quarter. After shooting 26-percent in the first half, Dawson Springs hit 5-of-12 shots in the third quarter.
Trigg County was continuing to take the basketball to the hoop strong but hit just 9-of-23 free throws in the contest. The Lady Wildcats led 38-29 late in the third quarter, but Dawson Springs countered with an 11-1 run to take a 40-39 lead with 4:19 left in the game. Erin Orten scored six points for Dawson during the run.
Emily Noffsinger answered with back-to-back buckets to put Trigg ahead 43-40 with 3:17 left. Denisha Randolph answered with a corner 3-pointer for Dawson Springs to tie the game on the next possession.
The dagger came with 1:20 left when Bethany Stallons drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing to put Trigg up 46-43. After a missed shot, Noffsinger hit two free throws with 11 seconds left to put the game out of reach.
Stallons scored eight points for Trigg County and added three steals. Noffsinger scored six. Rylee Bush led the Lady Wildcats with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Marleigh Reynolds added nine points and eight rebounds.
Eighth grader Brooklyn Clark led Dawson Springs with 12 points and five rebounds. Orten added nine points, and Kaylee Simpson had 10 points and nine rebounds.
Dawson Springs (9-14) will return to action Tuesday at Hopkins County Central.
Trigg County improved to 12-14 – their most wins in a season since 2003. They will play at Caldwell County Friday.