Lady Tigers knock off Hatton

HANCEVILLE — The Red Bay Lady Tigers extended their playoff run by beating the Hatton Lady Hornets 60-49 at Wallace State.

The Lady Hornets were able to keep pace with the Lady Tigers early on, but Red Bay never let off the gas, allowing them to outscore Hatton in the end.

“I give Hatton credit,” Red Bay head coach Donnie Roberts said.

“They played with heart.”

Red Bay led only 14-12 five minutes into the first quarter. The Lady Tigers ended the quarter on a 7-2 run, aided in part by a 3-pointer by Lexy Lindsey.

Red Bay created 15 total turnovers in the game, and these dispossessions helped it take a 28-25 lead into the half.

“In the first half we got a good lead, but then we missed some shots,” Roberts said.

“Next thing we know we’re up by three.”

The Lady Tigers upped that lead to nine points at 46-34 by the end of the third. Red Bay continued to pull away in the fourth, and eventually the Lady Tigers tallied an 11-point victory.

All but one of the starting five players for Red Bay played the entire 32 minutes.

“We felt secure with what we had,” Roberts said.

Kasey Sparks was subbed out for Alaina Hester for three minutes and 36 seconds total, possibly due to illness. Coach Roberts said she was sick with a stomach virus on Monday and said it was a “miracle” that she was even able to play.

Hannah Sharp put on a stellar performance for Red Bay, scoring 19 points and bringing in eight rebounds, team highs in both categories.

Lauren Pacetti had 13 points, Sparks added 12, Lindsey totaled 10 and Jade Ezzell contributed six.

Hatton hit the same number of field goals as Red Bay and had five more 3-pointers, but the Lady Tigers won the game by hitting 18 free throws compared to Hatton’s two.

“We knew we couldn’t let them have any shots,” Sharp said.