CULLMAN – It was a night of three-peats and repeats Thursday when the Cullman Lady Bearcats defeated the Lady Aggies of Albertville for the third straight time in the 2016-17 season. The boys were not so lucky as they fell to Albertville for the second straight time.
Cullman 62, Albertville 51 (girls)
“Give credit to Albertville,” Lady Cats head coach Josh Hembree said about the three-peat. “They prepared well for us. I think they handled our pressure much better than they did the first time. I think coach (John) Butts is doing a heck of a job with that young group that he’s got.”
Hembree could not have been more on the money as the Lady Aggies hung tough with the Lady Bearcats (10-9) in the first quarter. Albertville (3-11) held a 15-10 advantage late in the first thanks to good all-around shooting, led by Callie Bridges. However, it was the Lady Cats who ended the quarter on a 4-0 run with baskets by Anna Kathrine Eastman and Anna Bowden to pull the Lady Bearcats to within one of the Lady Aggies.
Albertville started fast in the second with back-to-back baskets from Savanah Bright and Hannah Lightsey, but Cullman quickly answered to force an Albertville timeout. Both teams traded points out of the break, with the Lady Aggies getting the best of the exchange, but as the old saying goes, ‘it’s not how you start, it is how you finish,’ and finish Cullman did. The Lady Cats went on a 10-0 run to end the half and take their first lead since the midway mark of the first quarter. After two, Cullman led 32-26.
Staying hot out of the halftime break, Cullman poured in six fast points thanks to the hot hand of Anna Evans and her back-to-back three balls that prompted another Albertville timeout to try and cull the Cullman momentum, but it didn’t work. Coming off the 30 second timeout, Cullman continued to apply pressure on defense and hit shots on offense, putting the Lady Aggies in a 13-point hole, 48-35, to start the fourth quarter.
Albertville fought hard in the fourth but the Cullman pressure was too much for the Lady Aggies. The Cullman press was like a blanket, producing turnovers and easy buckets. The Lady Cats improve to 11-9 on the season with a 62-51 victory. The next time they will be in action is Tuesday night vs. West Point. The Lady Aggies fall to 3-12 on the season and will host the Brewer Lady Patriots Tuesday.
Albertville 61, Cullman 53 (boys)
On a chilly night, it seemed as if both Cullman and Albertville were feeling the cold as the two teams combined for just five made shots in the first quarter and, unfortunately for Cullman, four of them belonged to the Aggies. Threes by Brodi Canterberry and Erick Martinez, coupled with a 3-point play by Austin White, pushed the Aggies out to the early advantage. Cullman picked up their first points on the night and their only points of the quarter on an NBA-length three by Andrew Morton. After one, the Bearcats trailed 11-3.
As cold as Cullman was in the first, they were equally as hot in the second. The Cats put up 19 big points in the second frame as they got baskets from Dylan Finch, Jayden Sullins, Jacob McAfee, Reese Harbison, Will Kress, Cooper and Morton, showing great ball movement and hitting their open looks. The Bearcats’ defense held Albertville to just 13 points in the quarter, cutting the Aggie lead to only 2, 24-22, heading to the half.
Albertville came out of the locker room clicking on all cylinders, going on a 10-2 run that pushed the lead back up to 10. Noah Bussman drained a three, one of his three on the night, to stop the run. Cullman fought back and was able to pull to within four but the Aggies hit back-to-back shots, including a three at the buzzer, to go up nine going into the final frame.
Play in the fourth quarter was about as even as you could get with Cullman scoring 21 and Albertville scoring 20, but it was the first quarter that did the Cats in as they fell to the Aggies for the second time by less than 10 points. Cullman will take on West Point Tuesday. Albertville will look to make it five wins in a row as they will take the hardwood against Brewer Tuesday.
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