Madisonville-North Hopkins looks like a solid favorite for the 2019 girls 7th District tournament. But last year’s tourney proved anything can happen in the postseason.
Caldwell County won the district championship as the No. 3 seed last season — beating fourth-seeded Dawson Springs in the finale.
The Lady Maroons, however, have been perfect in the district this season, going 6-0 while laying claim to the No. 1 seed.
Madisonville carries a 20-7 record into the district tournament, which begins for the girls on Tuesday at Hopkins County Central High School in Mortons Gap. The Lady Maroons had won seven straight before suffering a 54-41 setback to Owensboro Apollo in the regular-season finale on Thursday.
The young Lady Maroons are led by freshman guard Camryn LaGrange. LaGrange is scoring a team-best 16.5 points a game and is second on the squad with 6.4 rebounds a game.
Junior sisters Courtney and Lindsey Peyton, both 5-foot-11, give Madisonville a lot of length on the defensive end not to mention a boost on the offensive side. Courtney is averaging 15.3 points and 5.3 rebounds while Lindsey scores 9.1 points and tops the team with 8.0 rebounds a contest.
The Lady Maroons allow just 45 points a game.
Their biggest challenge during the regular season came at Caldwell County in late January. After beating Caldwell by 35 points earlier in the month, Madisonville needed a strong fourth quarter to turn back the Lady Tigers in the rematch 69-66.
Madisonville will open the semifinals on Tuesday at 6 p.m. against Dawson Springs. The Lady Maroons won the two regular-season meetings by 30 and 17 points.
The Lady Panthers are 12-16 but have won three straight heading into postseason play.
Guard Brooklyn Clark, an eighth grader, is the leading scorer for Dawson at 11.9 points a game. Senior center Erin Orten is averaging 10.1 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds.
Caldwell County and Hopkins County Central will square off in the late semifinal game Tuesday around 7:30. Those two teams split during the regular season.
The Lady Tigers are 12-14 after an up-and-down campaign.
Junior Bella McConnell leads Caldwell despite being undersized in the post. The 5-6 McConnell is averaging 13.9 points and 7.8 rebounds a game.
Sophomore guard Jacey Jaggers is next on the scoring list with 11.1 a game. She also grabs 5.9 boards a night. Junior guard Jada Boyd nets 8.0 points a contest.
Meanwhile, Hopkins Central is 12-15 after dropping its last game 33-26 at Lyon County on Thursday.
Senior Keke Ikeard is the only Lady Storm scoring in double figures at just over 12 points a contest. She also leads the team in rebounding at around 10 boards a game.
Hopkins Central overcame a double-digit deficit to beat Caldwell 41-10 on Jan. 5 in Mortons Gap. The Lady Tigers captured the rematch in Princeton on Jan. 29, holding on 53-49 to claim the No. 2 seed. (In the 7th District, the second matchup of the season serves as the tiebreaker.)
Tuesday’s winners will advance to the 7th District championship game on Friday at 6 p.m. They will also earn a berth in the 2nd Region tournament, which will be played the following week at Critenden County.