HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – On Friday, the girls and boys teams from Christian County competed in the City of Hopkinsville Holiday Classic, hosted at Christian County and Hopkinsville High.
The Lady Colonels emerged victorious against the Marshall County Marshalls, 53-44. The boys fell to Louisville Male High, 79-49.
The Christian County Colonels have fought hard all year, playing tenacious defense, crashing the boards, and owning the paint, that’s just how the Lady Colonels play. Even when they are down players to sickness, injury, or whatever else, they step up. While it hasn’t always been pretty, their results have paid off more times than not.
“We knew we were gonna have to come out here and play against this Marshall County team,” said Christian County head coach Kiki Radford. “It was ugly at times, We didn’t have our whole team, some of them played sick, but we had to protect the home court, and that’s what we did.”
The Colonels jumped out to a 6-0 run to start the game, and held a 13 point lead at the half, 34-21. A large part of that scoring effort came from guard Neveah Day, who handled the ball most of the night, and finished with 22 points. What the stat book won’t show you though is the dirty work in the paint and the rebounds by Daniya Bradley.
“Daniya is really coming into her own,” said coach Radford. “She continues to improve and if she can keep getting better, it will give us another weapon that can score in double figures.”
While Marshall County gave them a fight, Christian County never trailed, and won 53-44. Coach Radford thinks games like this can build confidence and discipline, and really help them come tourney time.
“We just have to continue to be disciplined. We have to know when to take shots, when to pull the ball out. These games aren’t going to make or break us, but it’s going to give us momentum going forward, for when it really matters.”
Box Score:
Christian County: Neveah Day 22 Points, Anaysia Bagwell 16 Points, Daniya Bradley 4 Points, Lazarie Daniel 4 points, Carla Hobson 3 Points, Amari Northington 2 points, Kassidy Quarles 2 Points.
Boys fall to Louisville
The Christian County boys have a scrappy, defensive heavy style of play. They like to play that game that way, and typically if it does, the results look good. On Friday against Louisville Male, we saw what happens if that doesn’t happen.
In the first quarter, it was a defensive battle, leading to a 16-9 Male lead at the end of one. Christian County head coach Toby Miles says that they just had to have that intensity they had in the first, for four quarters.
“We gotta accept challenges and be ready to be consistent and give effort. We gotta come out ready to play hard,” Miles said.
In the second quarter it all changed as Male went on a 9-0 run to start the quarter, and that led to a 39-17 halftime lead.
“We knew coming in that they were going to run, score in transition, and shoot the ball well,” said coach Miles. “They came out and were the aggressor, and we never adjusted.”
There were some bright spots, as senior forward Derell Bateman scored 17 on the night, however he was the only Colonel in double figures. Ultimately, sloppy turnovers and a lack of defense was the nail in the coffin for the Colonels, and Male would cruise to a 79-49 victory.
“We just have to learn how to be more consistent,” said coach Miles. “We gotta keep at it, watch film, you gotta see what’s going on out there and then adjust. This team taught us a lot in 32 minutes.”
Box Score:
Derrell Bateman 17 Points, Theo Quarles 9 Points, Jordan Miles 9 points, Prince Northington 6 points, Kam WIlliams 3 points, Na’Darieh Rowe 3 Points,