County girls hit courts through holidays
By Bart Moss / For the FCT
Belgreen 78, Tharptown 58
The Belgreen Bulldogs hit five three-pointers in the second quarter to put enough space between themselves and the Tharptown Wildcats to go on to a 78-58 win in the Tharptown Invitational Tournament last week.
The county and area rivals had yet to meet in the regular season and will face each other Friday night at Belgreen.
Belgreen led 15-12 at the end of the first quarter. The Bulldogs blew past the Wildcats in the second quarter with their perimeter shooting to take a 41-27 lead at halftime. Belgreen extended that lead to 54-39 at the end of the third quarter and outscored Tharptown 24-19 in the final period of play to get the win.
“It was a good win for us,” said Belgreen coach Chad Green. “We didn’t play well against Mars Hill, and it was good for us to get some confidence going forward. Tharptown is a good team, and I’m sure we will get them at their best next week, and we will have to play well again.”
Belgreen had four players in double figures, with Katie and Gracie Dempsey leading the way with 15 points and 14 points respectively. Gabbie Moore and Ansley Tate followed with 12 points and 11 points. Emma Dempsey added nine points, Autumn Bragwell eight points, Jasmine Martin five points and Camie Terrell four points.
Aly Vandiver led Tharptown with 16 points. Shaylee Wieting followed Vandiver with 13 points. Catie Dawson added nine points, Brooke Daily eight points, Ameliah Dawson five points, Linda Bahena three points, Adrianna Borden two points and Gracie Montgomery two points.
Tharptown 59, Brilliant 38
A big second quarter by Anslee Bottoms and a big third quarter by Daily helped Tharptown blow past Brilliant 59-38 in the Tharptown Invitational.
Brilliant led Tharptown 15-13 at the end of the first quarter. Bottoms scored 11 of her game-high 15 points in the second quarter to help Tharptown outscore Brilliant 19-5. The Lady Wildcats took a 32-20 halftime lead. Daily scored 11 of her game-high 15 points in the third quarter to help the Wildcats to a 47-25 third quarter lead.
Daily and Bottom’s 15 points each led the Wildcats. They were followed by Wieting with 11 points. Borden scored six points, Ameliah Dawson five points, Bahena four points, Vandiver two points and Catie Dawson one point.
Belgreen 50, Oakman 41
The Belgreen Bulldogs defeated Oakman 50-41 in the Tharptown Invitational Tournament.
Belgreen jumped out to a 15-9 lead in the first quarter. Oakman cut the Bulldogs’ lead to three in the second quarter, 20-17. Belgreen extended their lead to 35-28 in the third quarter.
Emma Dempsey led Belgreen with 13 points. She was followed by Tate, who scored 10 points. Emma Willingham added nine points, Katie Dempsey six points, Bragwell four points, Gracie Dempsey three points, Martin three points and Terrell two points.
Vina 80, Cherokee 38
The Vina Red Devils had no problem defeating the Cherokee Indians with a resounding 80-38 win.
Vina led Cherokee 13-7 at the end of the first quarter and 47-21 at halftime to cruise to the easy win.
Emma Humphres led Vina with 24 points, making six three-pointers. Rayleigh Guinn followed with 14 points, Abby Hester with 13 points and Kaitlyn King with 11 points. Kaley Vandiver added nine points, Sarah Johnson four points, LaDava Davis three points and Sarah Scott two points.
The Red Devils hit 15 three-pointers in the game.
Vina 58, Waterloo 27
The Vina Red Devils easily beat the Waterloo Cougars in the Waterloo Invitational last week, 58-27.
Vina led Waterloo 14-7 at the end of the first quarter and 28-17 at halftime. The Red Devils put the game away in the third quarter, outscoring the Cougars 12-5 to take a 40-22 lead into the final period of play.
Hester hit 10 of 12 free throws to score 16 points and lead the way for Vina. Humphres added 10 points. Guinn finished the game with eight points, Johnson with seven points, Scott with six points, Kaley Vandiver with six points and Kaitlyn King with five points.
Colbert Heights 69, Vina 58
The Vina Red Devils dug themselves a deep hole early in the game and fought all the way only to come up just short in the championship game of the Waterloo Invitational Tournament. Vina trailed Colbert Heights 21-0 in the first quarter and eventually cut the Wildcats’ lead to one point in the fourth quarter before running out of gas and losing 69-58.
After allowing 21 unanswered points, Vina eventually got on the board and trailed 21-5 at the end of the first quarter. Colbert Heights led 36-20 at halftime.
Vina could have coasted the rest of the way but kept fighting. The Red Devils hit four three-pointers to open the third quarter – one by King and three by Humphres – to cut the Wildcats’ lead to six, 51-45, at the end of the third quarter.
A three-pointer by Hester and a layup by Guinn cut Colbert Heights’ lead to 51-50. That was as close as the Red Devils would get, however, as Colbert Heights made free throws down the stretch.
“It was a great comeback,” said Vina coach Richie Hester. “The girls never gave up and left everything on the court. It was tough to lose after such a valiant effort to get back in the game.”
Humphres made seven three-pointers, including five in the third quarter, to score 21 points, leading the way for Vina. King hit five three-pointers to finish the game with 16 points. Guinn added 13 points. Hester finished the game with eight points.
Mars Hill 72, Belgreen 43
The Mars Hill Panthers’ full court pressure was too much for the Belgreen Bulldogs last week in the Tharptown Invitational Tournament. The Panthers forced several Bulldog turnovers, leading to a 72-43 loss. Mars Hill would go on to win the Tharptown Invitational with a win over the Rogers Pirates.
Belgreen fell behind early 15-7 at the end of the first quarter. Mars Hill extended their lead to 39-19 in the second quarter and put the game away by the end of the third quarter, leading 57-30.
Gracie Dempsey and Tate led Belgreen with 11 points and 10 points. Moore scored five points. Terrell and Emma Dempsey scored four points each. Bragwell, Katie Dempsey and Martin finished with three points each.
West Point 60, Phil Campbell 46
The Phil Campbell Bobcats faced West Point for the second time this season in tournament play. The Bobcats lost the first matchup rather convincingly. Phil Campbell kept the second meeting a little more interesting before losing 60-46.
Phil Campbell jumped out to a 19-14 lead in the first quarter. West Point outscored the Bobcats in the second quarter to take a 30-28 lead at halftime. West Point pulled away in the second half, outscoring Phil Campbell 14-6 in the third quarter and 16-12 in the fourth quarter.
Darby Elliott led Phil Campbell with 13 points. Kallie Allen followed with 11 points. Abby Davis had eight points and four blocked shots. Chloe Roberson had six points, Kaci Harris five points and Dakota Elliott three points.
Phillips 60, Phil Campbell 53
The Phil Campbell Bobcats and Phillips Bears had a unexpected meeting in the Lauderdale County Invitational Tournament before their much-anticipated matchup this week at Phil Campbell. Phillips came out on top of the Bobcats in tournament action 60-53.
Phillips led Phil Campbell 15-12 at the end of the first quarter. The Bobcats tied the game 29-29 at halftime and took a 45-42 lead going into the fourth quarter. Phillips outscored Phil Campbell 18-8 in the final period to take the win.
Davis led Phil Campbell with 21 points. Dakota Elliott followed with 12 points. Allen had nine points. Chloe Roberson finished the game with six points, Harris three points and Carley Nix two points.
The two teams meet again Thursday in Bear Creek.
Priceville 59, Red Bay 31
Red Bay couldn’t overcome a first half onslaught by Priceville in the Lauderdale County Invitational Tournament, losing 59-31.
Priceville outscored Red Bay 20-8 in the opening quarter of play and extended their lead to 38-19 by halftime before cruising to the win.
Reagan Kuykendall led Red Bay with nine points. Macy Faulkner followed with seven points, Savannah Shaw with six points, Emma McCollister with three points, Mallori Miller with three points, Destiny McCollister with two points, Lila Blackburn with two points and Carlie Lindley with two points.
Rogers 64, Tharptown 41
The Rogers Pirates were just too much for the Tharptown Wildcats, winning 64-41. Rogers would go on to finish second in the Tharptown Invitational, losing to the Mars Hill Panthers in the finals.
Rogers led 17-9 at the end of the first quarter and 37-23 at halftime as they cruised to an easy win.
Aly Vandiver led the Wildcats with nine points. Catie Dawson scored eight points. Bahena and Ameliah Dawson scored six points each. Wieting and Borden had four points each. Daily and Bottoms finished with two points each.
