An intense doubleheader between McCracken County and Calloway County came to a head on Friday, with some of the top talent in the region as stars of these games. Both matches were decided by less than 10 points each, with the Lady Lakers pulling through in the girls matchup, and the Mustangs gaining the upper hand in the boys.
LADY LAKERS 60, LADY MUSTANGS 52Calloway County narrowly survived a late fourth quarter surge by McCracken to claim their second win in a row. An early second half run was the difference in this 60-52 contest.
A stagnant start to the match quickly received a jolt of energy from Lady Laker sophomore Angie Emery, who knocked down triples on two consecutive possessions to put her team up 12-10 to cap off the first period.
“The sky’s the limit for Angie and what she can bring us. She’s coming off of zero varsity experience last year,” Calloway County head coach Kirsten Collins said. “For her to come in in a game like this, and we haven’t won on McCracken’s court in a while, and knock down those big shots, she’s one hundred% the reason we were in this game.”
Lady Mustang standout Ava Hughes was the main focal point of offense up until this time. She scored every point for McCracken in the first quarter, and the first 11 of the game.
The second quarter consisted of a strong run of points by both teams left Calloway with just a one point lead at the buzzer, up 23-22.
The third quarter run ended up being the difference for Calloway. The Lady Lakers got out to a 39-26 lead, and held a double digit lead with just eight minutes of clock left. Sayler Lowe came alive in this quarter, getting to the rim three times for some tough post finishes.
The Lady Mustangs led by Hughes started a fantastic run of play when they needed it the most. She had an incredible 12-point quarter to lead her team back to down just three with under two minutes.
From here, Jaidan Koch acted as the designated free throw shooter, trusting her skills at the line to close out the game. She did just that, shooting a whopping 7-for-10 in the quarter to seal the victory for Calloway County.
Ava Hughes scored 29 for the Lady Mustangs in this matchup. Abby Casebier provided a solid 10 points, with Reagan Hill behind her with eight.
Calloway had four different girls reach double figures, Koch leading with 21, Lowe and Emery with 11 a piece, and Madison Futrell collecting 10.
“One who wasn’t much in the stat sheet was Emma Grooms. She comes in and plays lights out defense, and that kind of stalled McCracken’s offense for a little bit,” Collins said. “For Madison to step up as a senior, she settled our offense down and hit a couple of big shots with five in the third quarter. That’s what we’re going to have to have from her and Jaycee down the stretch, that senior leadership to push us through.”
MUSTANGS 67, LAKERS 63The Mustangs secured their sixth consecutive win in the final minutes during the boys contest. The perfect way to describe the outcome was an overall team win, with 10 different Mustangs finding a place on the score sheet.
“We had a 10 guys score, a true collective effort,” Mustangs head coach Dustin Roberts said. “Whether it be on the scoring column, defensive end, moving the basketball, or the little stuff that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, I think it feels good for all our guys to be a piece of that against a really good team. That was a good win for us.”
The Lakers were the aggressors to start this matchup. They scored the first eight points and got out to a 15-4 lead before McCracken could even blink. It took a timeout to regroup and stay competitive, but still found themselves down 23-12 after the first.
The Mustangs spent the entire quarter chipping away at their deficit. Both Aaron Adams and Jace Dawson collected five in the period, but two pull up threes by Eli Finley kept the Mustangs at bay, headed to the locker room up 36-29.
An unbelievable defensive effort by McCracken put them back in this game in the third. They held the Lakers to just eight points to their 15. Once again, the scoring distribution was a major component of McCracken’s offense, with five players finding the bottom of the net. This effort was enough to come back and tie the game, with just a quarter remaining.
The Lakers had a clear strategy of trying to let their star players in. Butler and Finley take over this game, but McCracken’s defense was holding strong against the duo. Owen Grogan provided a quick spark to the offense with consecutive baskets, one of his own steal which led to a wide open layup on the other end.
Garrett Miller played in a bucket to put McCracken up by six with just three minutes left, which ended up as a difference maker down the stretch. Dylan Jackson and Eli Finley then exchanged pull up jumpers for three that maintained the lead at six.
Calloway actually strung together two straight possessions with a score in the final 30 seconds. Jonah Butler tipped a ball back into have the Lakers just trail by two with eight seconds left. It was Garrett Miller who was fouled, and drained his two free throws, clinching the 67-63 win for the Mustangs.
“I feel and I hope that we’ve turned a corner,” Roberts added after the Mustangs’ six straight victory. “Since the Graves County game, our guys have had a sharpened focus and a lot more confidence, plus a little chip on their shoulder. It’s shown the last six games.”
McCracken County has a quick turnaround to their next game, which will be a doubleheader at Marshall County on Saturday, with the girls tipping off at 6 p.m.. The Calloway Boys will also play Saturday at 5 p.m. at Christian County, where they will take on the Trigg County Wildcats. The Lady Lakers have a break until next Tuesday, where they will host Christian Fellowship.