BELGREEN, PHIL CAMPBELL ADVANCE TO GIRLS AREA FINALS
The Belgreen Bulldogs and Phil Campbell Bobcats both won their opening round area tournament games Monday and will advance to the finals Thursday night.
Both teams will also advance to the subregion Monday night. The area winner will host a subregion game, and the area runner up will travel.
Red Bay, Russellville, Tharptown and Vina girls all lost and saw their seasons come to an abrupt end.
CLASS 1A, AREA 14
Belgreen 58, Vina 35
Belgreen beat Vina 58-35. The Bulldogs will play Hackleburg in the Class 1A, Area 14, final at Hackleburg Thursday at 7 p.m.
“The girls really stepped up big at the end of the game on defense and rebounding,” said Belgreen Coach Chad Green. “We want to carry the momentum into the finals.”
Dacota Green made six three–pointers and scored 21 points to lead Belgreen past Vina in the semifinals of the area tournament. Green had three three-pointers in the first half and three in the third quarter.
Belgreen led Vina 14-8 at the end of the first quarter and 28-22 at halftime. The Lady Bulldogs started pulling away in the third quarter, extending their lead to 45-35.
Belgreen shut out Vina in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Red Devils 13-0 to solidify the win.
Noelle Willingham added 16 points for Belgreen.
Sara Scott led Vina with 11 points, followed by Kaitlyn Athey with 10 points.
CLASS 3A, AREA 15
Phil Campbell 51, East Lawrence 29
Phil Campbell beat East Lawrence 51-29. The Bobcat girls will play Vinemont at Phil Campbell in the Class 3A, Area 15, finals Thursday at 7 p.m.
“We came out strong tonight,” said Phil Campbell Coach Craig Thomas. “We played with a sense of urgency and made some big shots.”
Phil Campbell didn’t want any drama. The Lady Bobcats put away the East Lawrence Eagles early and went on to win 51-29.
The Bobcats led the Eagles 23-3 at the end of the first quarter and held a 31-9 advantage in the second quarter, putting the game on cruise control.
Faith Cook made four three–pointers in the first half for Phil Campbell, scoring 12 of her 14 points. Kenner Scott led Phil Campbell with 15 points.
The Bobcats made eight three–pointers in the game.
CLASS 2A, AREA 14
Hatton 46, Tharptown 35
Tharptown trailed by two points going into the fourth quarter of the area tournament, 35-33. Hatton went on a 6-0 run to start the fourth quarter, giving the Hornets a 41-33 lead – and Tharptown could never recover.
CLASS 2A, AREA 10
Aliceville 40, Red Bay 36
Kaylie Lindley scored 20 points for the Red Bay Lady Tigers as they fell late to Aliceville 40-36.
Red Bay led Aliceville 9-8 at the end of the first quarter and 15-13 at halftime. The Tigers extended their lead to 27-23 at the end of the third quarter. Aliceville, however, outscored Red Bay 17-9 in the fourth quarter to come from behind and win.
CLASS 5A, AREA 15
Lawrence County 57, Russellville 43
Russellville got 14 points from 10th–grader Jacey Moore and 12 from seventh–grader Ella Copeland – but Lawrence County advanced, bringing the season to an end for the Lady Golden Tigers.
The Lady Red Devils led 14-10 at the end of the first quarter and grew their advantage to 27-19 at the half. LCHS used a strong third period to outscore Russellville 17-12 and take a 44-31 lead into the fourth quarter. Lawrence County made nine free–throws on the way to outscoring RHS 13-12 in the game’s final quarter.
