WEST POINT, Ala. – Holly Pond and West Point tipped off JV Girls tournament action Saturday afternoon and after a slow first half on the offensive end, the Lady Broncos came from behind to topple the Lady Warriors 25-21.
West Point’s Lela Fisher scored the game’s first basket to give the Lady Warriors an early lead, but Emma Earl answered with a three-pointer on the other end to put the Lady Broncos up 3-2. However, Holly Pond was unable to score again in the first quarter and West Point was able to pull ahead with a basket from Carsyn Blankenship and a pair of three-pointers from Hallie Wheeler to take a 10-3 lead into the second.
Both teams struggled to find offense in the second quarter. Fisher knocked down a pair of free throws to add to the lead early in the second but a basket by Samantha Giles on the other end trimmed the lead to 12-5 later in the period. Lauryn Hoffman kept the momentum going for the Lady Broncos, netting a pair of free throws and drilling a three to cut the lead down to 12-10 going into halftime break.
Things stayed tight in the third quarter. Wheeler and Hoffman exchanged three-pointers to make it a 15-14 game with five minutes to play in the third. Hoffman added a free throw to tie the game at 15 with three minutes remaining in the period and Ellie Burks and Ella Minck traded buckets in the final moments of the third quarter to tie the game at 17 going into the final frame.
Giles drilled a free throw to give Holly Pond a 1-point lead but Minck responded with a pair from the line on the other end to put West Point back on top 19-18 with less than five minutes to play. After Maycie Black and Blankenship exchanged buckets to make it a 21-19 game with West Point in front, but the Lady Warriors were kept off the scoreboard the rest of the way, allowing the Lady Broncos to pull away from the free throw line. Hoffman, Giles and Earl all scored from the line in the final two minutes and secured a 25-21 victory for Holly Pond.
Hoffman led the Lady Broncos with 12 points in the come from behind win. Giles added five and Earl posted four. Wheeler led West Point with nine points in the loss, followed by Minck, Blankenship and Fisher with four.
The Lady Broncos will play top-seeded Good Hope Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Holly Pond High School.
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