County girls teams struggle in Christmas tourney

By Staff
Scot Beard
ROGERSVILLE – Four area basketball teams participated in the Northwest Alabama Girls Basketball Tournament this week, but none could compile a winning record during the event.
Phil Campbell and Tharptown were eliminated in two games each while Belgreen and Red Bay both went 1-2.
Lexington 61,
Belgreen 50
Belgreen, ranked No. 2 in Class 1A, lost to Lexington 61-50 Tuesday during an elimination game. The Lady Bulldogs trailed by five points at halftime, but Lexington pulled used a strong third-quarter performance to take control of the game.
Amber Smith and Loren McVicker scored 14 points each to lead the Belgreen while Erica Smith and Katelin Barber scored seven points each. Lydia DeVaney and Anna DeVaney scored two points each.
Hackleburg 48,
Red Bay 40
The Lady Tigers were eliminated by Hackleburg 48-40 Tuesday as the Lady Panthers outlasted a depleted Red Bay squad.
Red Bay was playing with only seven players because others had previous commitments.
The Lady Tigers led 18-11 during the second quarter before foul trouble forced some players to stay on the bench and Hackleburg rallied to take a 24-23 lead at halftime.
Cailtin Childers scored 16 points to lead Red Bay while Whitney Sharp scored 12 and Hannah Sharp scored six points.
Also scoring for Red Bay were Morgan Mason with four points and Leah Fuller with two points.
Belgreen 41,
Phil Campbell 32
The Lady Bulldogs avenged a loss to Phil Campbell earlier this season by pulling away during the second quarter and keeping the Lady Bobcats at bay down the stretch Monday at the Northwest Alabama Girls Christmas Tournament.
Belgreen jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but Phil Campbell battled back to take a brief 6-5 lead, but the Lady Bulldogs ended the first quarter with a pair of baskets to take the lead for good.
Belgreen extended its lead to 18-11 at halftime and 29-20 by the end of the third quarter. Phil Campbell pulled within six points twice during the final quarter, but could not get any closer.
The loss eliminated the Lady Bobcats from the tournament.
Smith scored a game-high 17 points for the Lady Bulldogs while McVicker added 11 points and Katy Britton scored 10 points. Kristi O'Dell also scored three points for Belgreen.
Ciara Harville was the leading scorer for Phil Campbell with 13 points while Caitlin Stancil added seven, Sarah Hilliard scored six, Lindsey Jackson scored four and Whitley Yocom scored two points.
Red Bay 57
Elkmont 46
The Lady Tigers rebounded from their opening-round loss to stave off elimination with an 11-point victory against Elkmont Monday.
Red Bay led 19-15 following the first quarter, but Elkmont rallied to take a 30-28 lead at halftime. The Lady Tigers pulled away in the fourth quarter by outscoring Elkmont 18-9 down the stretch.
Whitney Sharp led Red Bay with 19 points while Childers added 15 points and Hannah Sharp scored 11 points. Also scoring for the Lady Tigers were Fuller with seven points and Mariah Horton with five points.
Hatton 70,
Tharptown 57
The Lady Wildcats held a 15-9 advantage after the first quarter of play, but Hatton took control down the stretch to eliminate the Lady Wildcats from the Northwest Alabama Girls Christmas Tournament Monday.
The Lady Hornets outscored Tharptown 23-12 during the second quarter.
Kendra Baker scored 25 points while Kamri Sears added 12 and Chelsea McCluskey scored 10. Also scoring for the Lady Wildcats were Heather Hatton with six points and Elly Valdez and Chloe Lane with two points each.