HOLLY POND, Ala. – There was some exciting basketball at Felton Easterwood Gymnasium in Holly Pond Saturday afternoon. Championships for both the boys and girls at this year’s Cullman County Middle School Basketball Tournament were on the line and both matchups were worth the price of admission. Ella Minck knocked down a deep three at the buzzer to lift the West Point Lady Warriors over Parkside 24-23 and Konner Helms scored with just a few seconds remaining in the boys’ game to help Hanceville edge out Good Hope 36-32.
West Point 24 – Parkside 23 (Girls Championship Game)
Parkside got off to a dominant start in the first half, taking an early 7-2 lead after Jayla Gorham converted an and-one play at the free throw line and Peyton Salazar banked in a shot at the buzzer to make it a 9-4 game going into the second quarter. A free throw from Gorham put the Lady Panthers in front 11-4 later in the second but Liberty Shadix answered with a three-pointer on the other end that cut the lead to 11-7. Parkside put together a 5-0 run to end the second quarter and took a 16-7 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
The third quarter is when West Point began to make up some ground. The Lady Warriors trimmed the lead to 16-10 early in the third and a three from Sara Owens cut it to 16-13 midway through the period. Another three from Shadix tied the game at 16 going into the fourth quarter and West Point took its first lead of the game when Carsyn Blankenship scored to put the Lady Warriors ahead 18-16 early in the fourth.
A pair of free throws from Gorham tied the game at 18 and she later scored another basket to put Parkside back in front 20-18 with under three minutes to play. A steal from Hallie Wheeler led to a quick basket for Ella Mink and tied the game at 20 with less than two minutes to play but Gorham got another shot to fall that gave the Lady Panthers a 22-20 lead with a minute remaining in the fourth quarter.
A free throw from West Point’s Lela Fisher made it a 1-point game with just 35 seconds on the clock and the Lady Warriors got the ball back with seven seconds and a chance for the final shot. West Point turned the ball over and fouled Salazar with just 2.6 seconds remaining in regulation. Salazar knocked down one of two from the free throw line to increase the lead to two but Minck put the finishing touches on the championship game for the Lady Warriors. Minck heaved a deep three-pointer as time expired and knocked it down to give West Point a dramatic, 24-23 victory and this year’s Cullman County Tournament crown.
Shadix led West Point with six points in the win, followed by Blankenship and Minck with five, Fisher with four, Owens with three and Wheeler with one. Gorham led Parkside with 14 points in the loss, Sadie Smith added four, Salazar posted three and Allison Davis finished with two.
Lady Warriors Head Coach Hayden Voce talked about the shot after the game, praising Minck for her clutch performance and crediting her work ethic for that game-winning moment.
“I was out of timeouts and it was really just 50/50 at that point. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but she made the shot and I’m so proud of her because that little girl deserves it more than anybody,” Voce said. “She is such a deserving player and has worked hard for me for two years so I’m just so glad she made that shot, I really am.”
West Point was held to just seven points in the opening half and Voce knew some adjustments were necessary to help get her team back into the game.
“At halftime we talked about unforced turnovers and scoring because we couldn’t score and we kept throwing the ball to the other team,” Voce said. “So, we cut down on the turnovers and started scoring a little bit and found a way to make ends meet.”
Voce is proud of the way her team performed on Saturday’s big stage but knows that today’s win was made possible by the work her team has put in throughout this season.
“At the beginning of the season, if you looked at that team and this team now you wouldn’t think they’re the same team. They have improved so much since the beginning of the season and that goes to show the hard work they put in,” Voce said. “They have worked so hard for me all year long and they do everything I’ve asked them to do. If I asked them to run through this brick wall, they’ll do it. I’m just so proud of them because this is such a deserving team. They worked for it and they got it.”
2019 All-County Middle School Girls Basketball Team:
Ciara Calvert, Cold Springs
Kenady Graves, Cold Springs
Sommer Harris, Fairview
Kabri Redding, Fairview
Jolee McHan, Hanceville
Autumn Johnson, Harmony
Emma Earl, Holly Pond
Kamryn Tankersley, Holly Pond
Lexi Collins, Good Hope
Emma Bailey, Good Hope
Jayla Gorham, Parkside
Sadie Smith, Parkside
Reagan Dunkin, Parkside
Katelyn Evans, Vinemont
Lela Fisher, West Point
Hallie Wheeler, West Point
Hanceville 36 – Good Hope 32 (Boys Championship Game)
A pair of Tucker Malin free throws gave the Raiders an early 4-2 lead over Hanceville and a basket from Westin Hancock made it 6-3 as the opening quarter progressed. Carson Garrett scored down low for the Bulldogs to cut the lead to 6-5 late in the first quarter and a free throw from Konner Helms made it a 9-8 game with Good Hope on top going into the second quarter.
Garrett scored again early in the second to stay within one of the Raiders, but Good Hope managed to pull ahead 13-10 later in the period. Malin converted an and-one play at the free throw line to go up 16-12 with under two minutes to play in the half and Hancock scored another basket to make it 18-12. Konner Stevens got a shot top drop at the halftime buzzer and gave the Raiders a 21-13 lead going into the break.
Good Hope maintained a 22-15 lead midway through the third but Hanceville began to chip away. A 5-0 Bulldogs run cut the lead to 22-20 late in the third quarter but Hancock scored to put the Raiders back up by four. After Hanceville answered with another basket to trim the lead to two, Noah Jones hit a floater to tie the game at 24 going into the final frame.
The score was knotted at 26 early in the fourth until a pair of Jones free throws put the Bulldogs in front 28-26 midway through the quarter and a free throw from Garrett made it 30-26 with under three minutes to play. Jones got another shot to fall and put Hanceville up 32-26 but Malin answered with a three-pointer on the other end to cut the lead to 32-29 with 1:30 remaining in the game. As the clock continued to wind down and time began running out, Malin drilled another three to tie the game at 32 with just 10 seconds to play but the Bulldogs were ready. They inbounded the ball quickly and got it to Helms sprinting down the floor and he laid one in with just four seconds on the clock to give Hanceville a 34-32 lead. Good Hope attempted to call a timeout but was out for the game and Jones knocked down a pair of technical foul free throws in the final seconds to secure a 36-32 victory for the Bulldogs.
Jones led Hanceville with 15 points in the win, followed by Garrett with 12, Marquies Leeth with five, Helms with two and Jake Cornelius and Keiton Whatley each finished with one. Malin led the Raiders with 12 in the loss, followed by Hancock with eight, Stevens with six and Dakota Overton, Colten Whatley and Ethan McGraw each posted two.
Bulldogs Head Coach David Miller was proud of his team’s effort during the game and knew it would take a great game for them to tackle this opponent.
“These guys have been playing together for a long time and they know each other, and they knew offensively we had to get the ball down the floor. It was just instinct, they moved it down the floor, saw an opening to the basket and finished it there at the end,” Miller said. “When we played (Good Hope) in the regular season it was a game just like this, so we knew it was going to be a tough battle and Coach (Austin) Hardiman does a great job. He’s a tremendous coach and he always has his guys ready, but we knew that coming in.”
Miller reiterated the quality of Good Hope’s team and it makes him even prouder of the way his team grew and competed throughout this season on the way to another title.
“It’s tough when everything is on the line but to win a game like this with two really good teams going at each other just makes it even more meaningful,” Miller said. “I’m proud of every one of these guys, they worked hard all year long for this and it’s all about them.”
2019 All-County Middle School Boys Basketball Team:
Landon Bishop, Cold Springs
Kobe Payne, Fairview
Jameson Goble, Fairview
Cade Yeager, Fairview
Carson Garrett, Hanceville
Noah Jones, Hanceville
Braxton Broad, Hanceville
Seth Ingram, Harmony
Kolin Brown, Holly Pond
Konner Stevens, Good Hope
Weston Hancock, Good Hope
Tucker Malin, Good Hope
Trace Richardson, Parkside
Isaiah Jones, Vinemont
Kolton Perry, West Point
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