By Staff
Lady Tigers defeat Cullman 51-41 in overtime to salvage season split with Lady Bearcats
Justin Schuver and Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
CULLMAN – Just call them the Sudden Death Squad.
The Lady Tigers have gone to overtime in three of their last four games, winning two of those three including 51-41 victory over Cullman Dec. 20. Hartselle improved to 9-4 with the win.
The Lady Tigers also avenged a 50-49 loss to Cullman Dec. 10 in Hartselle.
Cullman's Erin Meriwether hit one of two free throws with 33.5 seconds remaining in regulation to put the Lady Bearcats up 39-37. Hartselle's Lauren Drake answered with two free throws of her own to tie the game with just nine seconds left.
Meriwether took a running hook shot at the buzzer, but the ball bounced off the rim and the game went into overtime.
The Lady Tigers took over in the extra period, starting with Mary Virginia Reeves cleanly winning the tip-off and finding a streaking Shan Jones for an easy lay-up just five seconds into overtime. Hartselle would add six more points before Meriwether hit two free throws with 1:30 remaining for the first Lady Bearcat points in overtime.
They were the only Cullman points in the extra period.
Jones and Drake each scored 15 points to lead the Lady Tigers. Anna Reeves had nine points and Jessica Andrews added eight.
Caroline Weatherly scored 11 for Cullman. Meriwether added eight.
Cullman boys 60
Hartselle boys 38
CULLMAN – Hartselle's offensive woes hit a new low Dec. 20 as the Tigers scored just six points in the first half on the way to a 60-38 loss to No. 5 Cullman. The team bounced back with a second half where the Bearcats only outscored the Tigers 34-32, but Hartselle could not come back from the early deficit as it fell to 1-11.
"We had a nice chat at halftime, very serious about a sense of urgency with the ball, which we did not have in the first half," Hartselle coach Johnny Berry said. "And we just didn't play very hard on defense, either. That's what I told them. It's one thing not to make shots, and it's another thing to not guard. I told them, I didn't care if they won the second half; I didn't care if they got back in the game; I just wanted to see a better effort."
Cullman's zone defense and full-court pressure forced Hartselle into turnovers early, and when the Tigers had open shots they could not get them to go down. Hartselle did not get on the scoreboard until Tyler Young hit a three-pointer with 3:57 remaining in the second quarter, sparking a derisive cheer from the Cullman fans and student section.
Danville girls 67
Hanceville girls 42
The Lady Hawks improved to 8-3 overall and 4-1 in area play with their road win over Hanceville Dec. 20. Danville defeated Hanceville 60-25 in a previous meeting Dec. 6 in Danville.
Lauren Simmons led the Lady Hawks with 22 points and added eight rebounds. Alaina Fitzgerald scored 21 points and Kassie Cowart and Bethany Evans each scored eight.
Kristen Sparkman led the team with nine rebounds. Evans and Cowart each had six assists.
Falkville girls 39
Winston County girls 25
Emily Dabbs outscored Winston County by herself Dec. 20 as Falkville improved to 7-3 overall.
Dabbs, just an eighth-grader, scored 26 points to lead the Lady Blue Devils to the victory.
Hanceville boys 58
Danville boys 52
Danville trailed by 19 points before rallying late, but the Hawks still fell short and dropped an area game on the road Dec. 20 against Hanceville.
Tyree Murphy led the Hawks with 15 points and Stratton Garner and Chris Vest each had 10.
Rodney Hall had 18 points to lead the victorious Bulldogs.
Priceville boys 73
Holly Pond boys 48
The Bulldogs improved to 8-5 overall this season with a victory on the road against Holly Pond.
Josh Bedwell led the way for Priceville with 21 points and Alex Cannon scored 20. Andrew Johnson added 13 points for the Bulldogs.
Holly Pond girls 53
Priceville girls 48
Priceville dropped its first area game of the season as the Lady Bulldogs fell on the road Dec. 20 to Holly Pond by a score of 48-53.
Abbie Harris scored 14 points to lead Priceville and Adrianna Delatorre added 11. Tiffany Bracken had nine points and added nine rebounds, just finishing short of a double-double.
East Lawrence boys 47
Hartselle boys 41
Hartselle dropped to 1-11 for the season as the Tigers fell to East Lawrence on the road Thursday night.
Jackson Holmes led the Tigers with 12 points.
Hartselle girls 51
East Lawrence girls 47
Hartselle trailed 27-21 at halftime but bounced back in the third quarter to take a 38-36 lead on the way to their 10th win of the season.
The Lady Eagles, ranked second in Class 4A, lost for the first time this season to fall to 11-1.
Lauren Drake's 13 points led the way for Hartselle. Shan Jones added 11 and Jessica Andrews scored 12 points, all on three-pointers.
Jessica Young had 14 points for East Lawrence.