Belgreen girls advance to final of area; Vina eliminated

By Bart Moss for the FCT

The Belgreen Bulldogs found themselves in tight, defensive battle tonight with the Hackleburg Panthers.  The winner would go on to the area finals, the loser to the house.  Faced with a tie game going into the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs stepped up their game and outlasted Hackleburg winning 37-34.  Belgreen will face Phillips in the finals of the area tournament.

Both teams fought to a 10-10 stalemate in the first quarter.  Hackleburg gained a slight advantage in the second quarter outscoring the Bulldogs 8-6 to take an 18-16 halftime lead.  Belgreen evened the game again outscoring the Panthers 7-5 in the third quarter to tie the game at 23-23 going into the final period of play.  Belgreen, with their postseason hopes on the line, got two big three pointers from Shellie Barber and Gabbie Moore to outpace Hackleburg 14-11 to get the 37-34 win.  

Jasmine Martin led Belgreen with nine points.  Barber and Emma Dempsey added six points each.  Moore and Katie Dempsey finished with five points each.  Brianna Wood had four points and Camie Terrell two points.

Paula Camp led Hackleburg with 15 points.

In the other semifinal game, the top seeded Phillips She Bears eliminated the Vina Red Devils from area competition Wednesday night 69-42.  The loss ended a successful season for the Red Devils.  Phillips will host Belgreen in the finals Friday night

Phillips rolled out to a 19-8 first quarter lead over Vina.  Vina kept it close for the next three quarters but could never over the lopsided first quarter.  The Bears outscored the Red Devils 17-15 in the second quarter to extend their lead to 36-23 at halftime.  Phillips led Vina 54-39 at the end of the third quarter.  The Bears outpaced the Red Devils 15-13 in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

Abby Hester led Vina with 24 points.  She was followed by Kaitlyn King with 19 points and Emma Humphres with nine points.

Julianna Taylor led the way for Phillips with 23 points.