PREP BASKETBALL: Local teams tipping off sub-regionals tonight

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(Good Hope’s Drew Maddox (left) and Cullman’s A.K. Eastman (right) will help lead their respective teams in tonight’s and tomorrow’s sub-regional matchups. (Martha Needham for The Cullman Tribune)

CULLMAN, Ala.- Sub-regionals are here and several local teams are looking to keep their respective seasons alive. Everyone is in “win or go home” mode from now on. On the girls’ side, Addison, Cold Springs, Cullman and West Point will host their games while Fairview, Hanceville and Holly Pond travel. In the boys’ bracket, Hanceville will host its sub-regional game while Good Hope and Vinemont will hit the road. The winners will play in Regional Tournaments at Wallace State Community College or at Jacksonville State University later this week.

Girls (Cullman will tip at 6 p.m. Others will tip at 7 p.m.)

Class 2A, Area 13: Tanner (13-12) @ Addison (21-2)

The Addison Lady Bulldogs defeated Sulligent and Red Bay to claim the Class 2A, Area 13 tournament championship. They are 21-2 so far this season and will host their sub-regional game against the Area 16 runner-up, Tanner, tonight. They’ve gotten some huge performances from seniors Kaylee Brummett, Savannah Manley and Macey Butler to name a few and will look to do the same against the Lady Rattlers, plus get some help from their bench. If they can get off to a fast start and stay strong on the defensive end, Addison will have a good chance to clinch a spot in the next round.

Class 2A: Sumiton Christian (9-12) at Cold Springs (27-4)

The Cold Springs Lady Eagles are picking up right where they left off last season, rolling to a 27-4 record so far, including wins over Southeastern and Cleveland to win the Class 2A, Area 12 tournament championship. They are led by the reigning Class 2A MVP, Elizabeth Hill, who’s having another monster season despite being injured early in the season, along Neely Ellison, Toni West, Kylon Hamby, Brooke Crider and Lacey Rice to name a few. Cold Springs will host the Class 2A, Area 14 runner-up, Sumiton Christian, tonight. The key for the Lady Eagles will be to get the three-point ball going early and often and their smothering defense will look to get Sumiton Christian off-balance. If they can do all of that, they’ll earn another spot in the Northwest Regional this season.

Class 3A: Hanceville (10-13) at Midfield (22-8)

The Hanceville Lady Bulldogs have been up and down this season, but have collected a big win against Glencoe in the postseason before falling short against Susan Moore in the area tournament finals. They’ll travel to take on a Midfield squad tonight that was hard to slow down in the last 12 games of the regular season and the area tournament. Hanceville is led by star point guard Kelly Pickett, Jessica Thompson, Cassidy Campbell, Victoria Stanley and Savana McAnnally. The Lady Bulldogs’ defense has to be on point if they want to slow down Midfield’s offense and the Lady Bulldogs will need a strong offensive performance if they want to move on to Regionals.

Class 3A: Holly Pond (11-17) at Winfield (22-7)

The Holly Pond Lady Broncos have had an up-and-down season to this point at 11-17 but they’ve battled in some very tough games under head coach Andrew Kelley and finished as the Class 3A, Area 13 tournament runner-up after fulling just two points short against New Hope. They’ll take on a very tough Winfield squad tonight and are led by Elizabeth Miller, Sarah Finley, Tate Duke, Kennedy Twilley and Kaylee Stallings to name a few. The keys to this game for Holly Pond are to cut down on the turnovers, get the inside game going early and often, and play sound defense from beginning to end. If they can do all three of those things, The Lady Broncos will have to shot to move on to Regionals.

Class 4A: Fairview (17-11) at North Jackson (19-7)

After advancing to the elite eight last season, Fairview is looking to top itself this time around after another great season under second-year head coach Justin Billings, going 17-11 so far this season. They fell to Oneonta in the 4A, Area 12 tournament championship game 60-47 and will travel to take on North Jackson tonight in a rematch of last year’s sub-regional round, a game that Fairview wound up won 69-57. They’ve had some injuries this year, but now everyone’s healthy and looking to make even more noise this season behind Payton Golden, Katie Ball, Maddie Yeager, Daisy Manasco and Molly McKelvy to name a few. The Lady Aggies defense has been the key to their success this year and will be critical against a high-powered North Jackson offense if they want to make another trip back to Regionals.

Class 5A: East Limestone (25-4) at West Point (27-5)

West Point is having another fantastic season so far, dominating the regular season and is now on a 14-game winning streak. They dominated Russellville and Hamilton in the Class 5A, Area 14 tournament to become the area tournament champions and will host East Limestone in the sub-regionals tonight in a rematch of last year’s sub-regional showdown. The Lady Indians have played stout defense so far this season and West Point will definitely be tested in this contest, but the Lady Warriors have a defense of their own and will look to use that to their advantage. If they can continue to put together big performances on both ends of the floor, the Lady Warriors will punch their ticket to the Northwest Regional.

Class 6A: Athens (22-5) at Cullman (22-8)

The Cullman Lady Bearcats are playing hot at the right time of the season, winning 11 in a row, and will be hosting their sub-regional matchup against Athens tonight after their 46-37, area tournament championship win over Hartselle. The Lady Bearcats split their two games against the Lady Golden Eagles in the regular season, and won their last game against Athens at home, 61-54. Cullman is led by A.K. Eastman, Jaden Winfrey, Regan Quattlebaum, Hannah Hoffman and Alexandria Barker to name a few and will look to move on to Regionals for the first time since 2014. If they can play sound offensively and defensively against Athens, the Lady Bearcats will have a great chance to advance to the Northwest Regional at Wallace State.

Boys (All games will start at 7 p.m.)

Class 1A: Meek (5-23) at Pickens County (16-2)

The Meek Tigers have been inconsistent this season but kept their season alive with a 60-51 win over Lynn in the Class 1A, Area 13 tournament before falling to Decatur Heritage Christian Academy in the area tournament championship game. Meek will travel to take on Pickens County Tuesday night. The Tornadoes have been really hard to slow down offensively this season and the Tigers will look to slow them down on the defensive side, and are led by Stuart Waldrep, James Brown, and Bryan Phillips, to name a few. Their offense has to be on point from the word go if they want to advance to Regionals.

Class 3A: Locust Fork (15-12) at Hanceville (15-12)

The Hanceville Bulldogs got hot at the right moment this season, going on a couple of mini-winning streaks, and broke a three-game losing streak during the Class 3A, Area 12 tournament, defeating J.B. Pennington and Glencoe to take home the area tournament crown. They’ll host Locust Fork in the sub-regional round Tuesday night and will look to keep things going offensively while their defense is tasked with stopping a solid Hornets team if they want to advance to Regionals.

Class 3A: Vinemont (11-19) at Winfield (28-4)

The Eagles knocked of Holly Pond in the 3A, Area 13 tournament 70-53 to advance to the finals before falling to New Hope 52-39 and finishing as area tournament runner ups. Now, Vinemont will hit the road and travel to take on Winfield Tuesday night with in the Regionals on the line. Winfield has had a stellar season to this point and is currently riding a 10-game winning streak so the Eagles will certainly have their hands full in the sub-regionals Tuesday night.

Class 4A: Good Hope (25-4) at D.A.R. (16-13)

The Good Hope Raiders have had another amazing season under head coach Drew Adams, dominating in the regular season. Good Hope looked to win the Class 4A, Area 12 championship after defeating Fairview, but fell short against the Oneonta Redskins in the area tournament finals and will travel to play D.A.R. in the sub-regional game for the second straight year after falling to the Patriots 64-62 last season. The Raiders are led by Cole Maddox, Drew Maddox, Michael Lowe, Tanner Malin, and Dawson Turner to name a few. They are hard to slow down offensively, relentless defensively and they’ll be looking for revenge Tuesday night at D.A.R.

Class 6A: Cullman (15-14) at Muscle Shoals (21-7)

The Cullman Bearcats got off to a fast start, going 9-3 in their first 12 games and went back-and-forth the rest of the way, finishing the regular season at 14-13. Cullman kept its season alive with a 70-64 win against Decatur before falling in the Class 6A, Area 14 championship game to Hartselle and will now travel to take on Muscle Shoals for a sub-regional showdown Tuesday night. The Cats will have their hands full trying to slow down a pretty good Trojan offense with some really strong defense and will have to play solid offensively if they want to move on to the Regional Tournament at Wallace State.

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