The 2019-2020 basketball season tips off Monday, and the question for girls basketball in the 2nd Region is whether or not the 6th District will continue their run of ruling the region. Henderson County or Webster County has won the title every year since Hoptown cut down the nets in 2012. Often, those two have met in the title game. Does the pattern continue, or does someone else step up and make a run in 2019-2020. That, we will find out over the next three months. In the meantime, here is out preseason YSE 2nd Region Girls Basketball Super 7.
1 – Henderson County – Despite losing the 6th District title game last season, the northern Lady Colonels came back to win the 2nd Region title in 2019, their sixth in the last seven seasons. Returning leading scorer Emilee Hope is a big boost to the Henderson County “hopes” this season. The queens are at the top till someone takes their crown away.
2 – Webster County – The Lady Trojans came up just short last season in their bid to go back-to-back as 2nd Region champions. Webster returns enough talent to be considered the primary contender to stop Henderson’s current title streak at one. How a coaching change impacts Webster County will be seen fairly early in the season.
3 – Madisonville – Jeff Duvall’s Lady Maroons return five of their top six scorers, and would appear going into the season to be the team with the best chance to break the 6th District’s recent hold on the title. Camryn LaGrange, the Peyton sisters, Kara Franklin, Allison Clark, and Kaitlyn Zeiba combine to make a very solid core for the defending 7th District champs.
4 – Christian County – The southern Lady Colonels made it back-to-back 8th District championships in 2019. However, Christian County lost three of its top four scorers from that team, and those will be some huge shoes to fill. The Lady Colonels will need Trinity McGee to take over games down in the paint, and they will need some outside shooting to develop, if they hope to make a regional push.
5 – Caldwell County – Chuck Mitchell is in his first season at the helm of the Lady Tiger program, and he has plenty returning to contend in the 7th District. Senior point guard Jada Boyd and senior Bella McConnell anchor a solid list of returning players that have all seen significant time on the court over the past couple of seasons. Early games against Christian County and Webster County will test the Lady Tigers.
6 – Trigg County – Cory Coble’s Lady Wildcats managed 16 wins and a 5th District title in 2019. While they return several key players for the 2019-2020 season, the Lady Wildcats will need to find a way to score more than 45.7 points per game if they look to make some noise on the regional level. Another 5th District title would appear to be well within their reach in 2020.
7 – University Heights – After struggling down the stretch in 2019, the Lady Blazers had Hopkinsville on the ropes in the 8th District tournament. Derrick Hickman takes over as head coach, and he has a roster full returning. Lily Hendricks, Meghan Adams, Shiyah Forte, and Mallory Rager are among the returnees, with Clarissa Miller coming over from the volleyball team. And, the Lady Blazers have some really good young talent coming up.