The Lady Tigers still have work to do if they want to dethrone defending 7th District champion Madisonville-North Hopkins.
The Lady Maroons (13-5) never trailed Friday night, opening up a double-digit lead in the second quarter and defeating Caldwell County 69-50 on Senior Night in Madisonville.
Senior Tayla Foster scored 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds while junior Keke Drake had 24 points and 20 rebounds as Madisonville beat the Lady Tigers (12-8) for the second time this season.
However, the first meeting back on Dec. 4 at the CAB gym was a down-to-the-wire affair, with the Lady Maroons finally pulling out a 72-68 triumph.
The rematch on Friday saw Madisonville score the first six points of the contest and bolt to a 10-2 lead.
Caldwell finished the first quarter with six straight points to get within 12-8 after eight minutes.
A 3-pointer early in the second quarter by Jacquelyn Sindelar cut the margin to three at 14-11.
A driving layup by Savannah Pepper kept Caldwell within three points at 16-13.
But Madisonville scored the next 13 points to extend its lead to 29-13, and got to halftime with a 38-23 advantage.
The Lady Tigers could never make a run at Madisonville after the break. Caldwell got only as close as 43-31 when Casey Stone made two free throws with 5:10 left in the third quarter.
The Lady Maroons scored 11 of the next 12 points to go up 54-32, and took a 55-37 lead to the fourth quarter.
Caldwell got as close as 60-46 on a pair of free throws with 4:48 left in the contest.
But Madisonville answered with nine straight points to take its biggest lead of the night at 69-46.
Lyndi Tedder added 11 points for Madisonville, but it was the inside duo of Foster and Drake that gave Caldwell fits all night.
Pepper was the only Lady Tiger to score in double figures, finishing with 18 points, including three 3-pointers.
Emily Meeks had a team-high 10 rebounds, but the Lady Tigers’ leading scorer totaled just five points.
Caldwell also struggled at the free throw stripe, making only 13 of 27 attempts and missing a chance to keep the game closer for the first three quarters at the line.
Madisonville held a 45-30 advantage on the boards.
Those numbers mirror the earlier meeting this year. In that game, Caldwell was outrebounded 42-28 and made just 15 of 27 free throw attempts.
The Lady Tigers have now dropped their last four meetings with Madisonville and trail the all-time series 33-9.
The Lady Maroons have solidified their claim as the district’s front-runner.
Caldwell, meanwhile, will try to regroup and hope to see Madisonville again in the 7th District tournament finals. The two teams are favored to meet in the championship game later this month.
Things don’t get any easier for the Lady Tigers when they return to the court on Monday. Caldwell will host defending regional champion Henderson County at the CAB.
Henderson (18-3) has won nine straight games after beating Union County 73-62 Friday night.
The Lady Tigers also have a home date next Friday, when they host Trigg County as part of a boys and girls doubleheader that will be played at Butler Gym.
