Belgreen stymies Shoals Christian for area titl

By Staff
Kim West
BELGREEN – It was the Amber Smith and Mackenzie Bishop show in Saturday's Class 1A, Area 16 tournament championship game.
Smith scored all 17 of Belgreen's points in the first quarter and finished with a career-high 26 points as the Lady Bulldogs beat a stubborn Shoals Christian 65-61.
Belgreen (21-7) took an early 17-7 lead but the Lady Flame shot 17 free throws in the second quarter to climb back into the game as Bishop, who scored a game-high 28 points, went 7-of-10 at the line and had 15 points during the quarter. Bishop tied the game at 29 with two free throws but Smith responded with a 3-pointer and a driving layup to put Belgreen ahead 34-29 at halftime.
Shoals Christian tied the game at 59-59 but three Flame starters fouled out in the last minute of the game and Belgreen scored five straight points, including a 3-pointer by Candice Allen to put the Lady Bulldogs ahead 64-59 with 32.5 seconds left.
Bishop hit two free throws but Shoals Christian couldn't hit a field goal to cut into the deficit as time expired.
Monica Smith and Martha Billingham both scored nine points, while Candice Allen had eight and Deborah Billingham added six.
Jessica Hartley, Michelle Grace and Tori Blackburn each finished with seven points for the Flame (11-15).
Belgreen will host a sub-regional game against R.A. Hubbard tomorrow at 7 p.m. and the winner will advance to the Northwest Regional tournament at Wallace State in Hanceville.