Caldwell County’s girls missed a chance to get back to the .500 mark for the season as McCracken County rallied for a 71-65 victory Tuesday night at the CAB gym.
The Lady Tigers (12-14) led by as much as 13 points in the first half and were still up by 11, 47-36, late in the third quarter.
But the Lady Mustangs (16-12) used a 31-point performance from Meagan Hayden. The senior guard hit five 3-pointers in the second half and scored 21 points after the break — 12 in the fourth period. Hayden finished the night with eight 3-pointers, which was a major factor in McCracken’s victory.
A Hayden trey with 3:17 to play broke a 57-57 deadlock and put the Lady Mustangs up for good.
Caldwell was within 66-64 when Karsyn Parker scored on a stickback with 34 seconds left in the game. But Caldwell could get no closer.
Hayden helped put the game away with two free throws at the 0:20 mark that put McCracken up 70-65.
Abby Ellington added 19 points for the Lady Mustangs, with 12 of those coming in the decisive final frame.
Caldwell got 25 points and 10 rebounds from Bella McConnell. Jacey Jaggers finished with 13 points and seven boards. Jada Boyd had 10 points.
Both teams battled foul problems in the contest. The two sides combined for 55 fouls in the contest and shot 86 free throws. In a statistical oddity, both teams were 27 of 43 at the free throw stripe.
Caldwell used an 11-0 run in the second quarter to build its lead. Five different Lady Tigers scored during the run, giving Caldwell a 31-18 lead. The Lady Tigers took a 31-21 advantage to the halftime.
McCracken got within 38-36 midway through the third quarter before Caldwell ran off nine straight points to make it 47-36 following a McConnell basket at the 0:46 mark.
But a 3-pointer by Hayden broke Caldwell’s run and McCracken got to within 47-41 entering the fourth quarter.
Caldwell’s girls will finish the regular season on Friday when they host Livingston Central as part of a girls and boys varsity doubleheader.