The Heritage Christian Academy Lady Warriors appeared to be right on the verge of ending their losing skid Tuesday night. They were getting a big night from Kate St. Martin and they were leading by nine early in the second half. Then they ran not just into trouble, but ‘double trouble’ from the Dawson Springs Lady Panthers.
Identical twins Baylee and Ashtyn Swatzell combined to score 19 points, all in the second half as the Lady Panthers rallied to take a 36-30 win over HCA on Homecoming Night. The win was the third this season for Dawson Springs over the Lady Warriors.
The night started off promisingly for Heritage Christian. Kate St. Martin knocked down a couple of early threes to give HCA a 6-2 lead. Dawson Springs battled back to cut the margin to 8-7 as the quarter ended.
The Lady Warrior defense forced the Lady Panthers into seven turnovers in the second quarter and HCA was able to convert enough of those to push the lead out to 16-10 at the half. In addition to St. Martin, Heritage got some big minutes from Rachel Robson and Kynlee Henderson.
The lead might have been even bigger if not for the Lady Warriors’ own issues with ball security. HCA had 14 turnovers at the break and that would turn out to be a forewarning of problems for the second half.
After St. Martin’s three to start the second half made it 19-10, the Swatzell twins, aided by Lady Warrior miscues, got things going for the Lady Panthers. Dawson Springs went on a 10-0 run to take a 20-19 lead. St. Martin, who would be the only Lady Warrior to score in the second half, bagged another three to temporarily plug the hole in the dam.
The third quarter ended with the game all knotted up at 24-24.
The third-quarter turnovers told the story for the Lady Warriors. HCA handed the ball back over to the Lady Panthers 13 times in the third quarter.
Baylee and Ashtyn Swatzell got some help in the fourth quarter as Emmalyn Colson found some opportunities down in the paint. Dawson opened the final quarter with an 8-0 run that effectively sealed the win as the Lady Warriors got no closer than five points the rest of the way.
Ball security ended up being a big problem for both teams, but more so for HCA. The Lady Warriors ended up with 34 miscues on the night, while Dawson Springs finished with 18.
Kate St. Martin led the way for Heritage with 22 points, including five made 3-pointers. Rachel Robson added 6.
Baylee Swatzell was the leading scorer for the Lady Panthers with 11, all in the second half. Emmalyn Colson hit for 9 points. Ashtyn Swatzell finished with 8 points, all in the second half.
The loss, which was the 14th in a row for the Lady Warriors, drops HCA to 1-16 on the season. They close out the regular season on the road Thursday at Christian Fellowship.
DSHS — 7 3 14 12 – 36
HCA — 8 8 8 6 – 30
Dawson Springs – B. Swatzell 11, Colson 9, A. Swatzell 8, Hoover 5, Back 3
Heritage Christian – St. Martin 22, Robson 6, Henderson 2
