The Henderson County Lady Colonels made history by securing their unprecedented eighth straight Second Region Championship after a thrilling tournament run.
It was a hard-earned accomplishment against a talented field of competitors. Henderson won its three games by a combined 13 points, after averaging nearly a 32-point margin of victory in last year’s title run.
“We knew coming into this tournament that these other teams were a lot closer to us than in years past,” said head coach Stephen Haile. “I’m just proud of our resiliency. It seems in all three games, when we needed to make a big shot or a big play or get a stop on defense, we were able to do that.”
The final game saw the Lady Cols face off against the Crittenden County Lady Rockets at Hopkins County Central. Henderson beat Crittenden earlier this season and it would be the same result this time around. The tone was set early with Henderson’s trademark pressure defense as Crittenden was forced into nine first-half turnovers.
Second Region Player of the Year A’Tylia Green started the scoring with an early field goal before Lady Rockets senior Anna Boone nailed a three to give her team its only lead of the game. There was a bit of adversity when senior guard Addy Gish picked up her second foul with 3:06 remaining in the first quarter. However, the Lady Cols were still able to jump out to a 16-7 lead after one.
Henderson controlled the second quarter as well, using its stifling defense. Even with Gish on the bench the whole quarter, the Lady Cols were able to extend their lead to 26-15 by halftime. With contributions from bench players Jersey Gardner and Nevaeh Dixon, Henderson used an 8-3 run to widen the gap to 14. Both players finished the game with four points. Boone knocked down another three for the Lady Rockets at the end of the half to cut the margin to 11.
Coach Haile shared how important his role players and bench have been late in the season.
“They’ve been key pieces for us the last 10 games,” Haile said. “As we started to play better basketball, Locher has been scoring the ball more and Melvin has taken a much larger role on our team scoring the basketball. She’s also helped us on the boards, rebounding the ball.”
Sophomore Maggee Melvin caught fire to begin the third quarter, hitting two threes early in the period helping her team to maintain a 32-19 lead. Melvin would lead the Lady Cols with 11 points and six rebounds. From that point, the Lady Cols would struggle to score. Crittenden County got three pointers from Bristyn Rushing and Jordyn Hodge, along with a free throw and basket from Boone to cut the Henderson lead to 35-28 at the end of the third quarter.
Boone went right back to work in the fourth drilling a three and a layup to pull her team within two points at 35-33. About midway through the period, JaNyla Locher hit a clutch three pointer to end a nearly eight-minute scoreless drought for the Lady Cols. Boone hit a long jumpshot with 58 seconds left to get the Lady Rockets back within two at 39-37. From there, Henderson would use a few late free throws to push the lead to 42-39. Boone had one last shot to tie the game, but missed a three-point attempt with three seconds left, allowing Henderson to escape with the victory.
Along with Melvin, Green tied for the team lead with 11 points. Locher contributed seven points and five rebounds. Gish scored two points, while Burnett added one. Henderson County moved to 24-9 on the season as Crittenden County ended its season at 26-6. The win also improved Haile’s postseason coaching record to 14-2 over his first three seasons.
“The credit goes to the girls…You just really want it for the kids and want them to get that experience of winning a region tournament and getting to go to Rupp Arena and compete for a state championship,” Haile said.
Named to the All-Region Tournament Team were Green, Locher, Melvin and Gardner.
Henderson County 71 Hopkins County Central 64
In the semifinal game of the regional tournament, Henderson defeated host Hopkins County Central in a high-scoring 71-64 game. The Lady Colonels used a hot shooting night to claim the victory. Overall, they shot 9-for-15 (60%) from three.
A’Tylia Green led the way for the Lady Cols with 26 points and four rebounds. JaNyla Locher had 10 points and six rebounds, with eight of those coming in the fourth quarter. Maggee Melvin also added 10 points and six rebounds.
Henderson County 49 Lyon County 46
In its opening game, HCHS was able to use its stout defense to hold off Lyon County for a 49-46 win. The game stayed close throughout, often alternating between one point leads. A’Tylia Green played through some rust, after taking the court for the first time in over a week after suffering an ankle injury. JaNyla Locher stepped up to lead the way for Henderson scoring 18 points and knocking down four free throws to ice the game late in the fourth quarter.
Green added nine points. Maggee Melvin had nine points and four rebounds. Jersey Gardner scored six points, while Addy Gish collected five points and seven rebounds.
