The Lady Mustangs claimed their second straight victory this week in a tight 61-59 win over Hopkins County Central. McCracken’s hot streak has started at the right time, with just under three weeks left in the regular season.
“Fight, toughness, resiliency,” are three words Lady Mustangs head coach Scott Sivills used to describe the win. “This was a really good high school basketball game.”
The first quarter made it seem like this game was going in an entirely different direction, with the Lady Mustangs up 20-10 after the first eight minutes. It was the Ashely Word show in the beginning, knocking down three triples in the first quarter alone. She was a huge part of McCracken’s 12-0 run that got them out to the big lead.
Despite the uninspiring first quarter, the Lady Storm did not just roll over and quit. It seemed that a blink of the eye to start the second was all it took for the Storm to cut it to just a one-point deficit. It was senior Addie Menser leading the charge for Hopkins County Central, netting eight points off a clean 4-4 from the field in this span. The Lady Storm even broke ahead in the final second of the half, but an Ava Hughes free throw knotted the game at 31 halfway through.
The defensive adjustments made at halftime seemed to work for both coaches, as it was truly a battle from this point out. Although Hughes added seven more to her tally in the third, it was not enough to pull away, as McCracken only led 47-46 with just eight minutes to play.
The fourth was once again back and forth, with neither team gaining more than a four-point edge for most of the way. The Lady Mustangs put together what ended up being a key stretch of points late. With thegame tied at 53, Reagan Hill, who recorded a double double on the night, spun around in the post to break the deadlock with a nice close shot. This, followed by a Ava Hughes jumper just a minute later extended McCracken’s lead, now out in front 59-55.
Hopkins had to foul with just a minute left and down four, but what was thought to be a game that was over was quickly rejuvenated after four straight misses from Lady Mustang shooters from the charity tripe. Luckily, Hughes stepped up to the line with just nine seconds left and up two, and drained both of her free throws. This four point lead in the last seconds was enough to hold off the Lady Storm’s final chances, and solidify the 61-59 win.
Ava Hughes led the way for McCracken with 19 points. Behind her was Skater Houser, who knocked down two huge threes in the final period as a part of her 14 points. Reagan Hill was the last Lady Mustang in double figures with 10 points.
Scott Sivills was a fan of the way his girls battled down the stretch in this contest. He knows the importance of being battle tested as tournaments are less than three weeks away.
“That’s the one thing you want to do. We talked about it in the locker room, I said two or three weeks ago we would have lost this game. We have gotten better as a team, and I know it’s still only early February, but we can still get better. We’ve got some winnable games in front of us, and we’ve got some tough games in front of us, which win or lose, those are going to be good for us.”
The Lady Mustangs have a tough one as their next matchup. They will be hosting Owensboro Catholic on Saturday, who is one of the best teams in the Second Region.
“We all know the goal in basketball is peaking at the right time, and we’re kind of going in the direction right now. That’s the important thing, not to regress, but go forward,” Sivills said. “We are looking forward to a great challenge on Saturday with Owensboro Catholic. Let’s just keep doing what we’re doing right now, and see what happens.”