FAIRVIEW, Ala. – The West Point Warriors and Lady Warriors traveled to Fairview for a pair of varsity matchups Friday night and both games were heated battles between the county rivals. It took a pair of overtimes, but the Lady Warriors topped the Lady Aggies 45-44 and in the boys’ game, Fairview put together a massive fourth quarter to pull away late and defeat West Point 55-42.
West Point 45 – Fairview 44 (2OT) (Varsity Girls)
The first quarter was a defensive one as there were a combined two made baskets in the opening quarter. Morgan Lindsay got Fairview on the scoreboard with a free throw almost two minutes into the game, then later on, Emma Garcia hit a layup to make it 3-0. West Point got on the scoreboard on a Liberty Shadix short jumper almost halfway through the first period. The final points of the quarter came on a pair of Jayla Gorham free throws as the Lady Aggies went into the second period up, 5-2.
The Lady Warriors slowly started to get things going offensively. Ryleigh Jones hit just one-of-three from the free throw line to make it 5-3, then back-to-back layups by Braelee Quinn and Hallie Wheeler gave West Point a 7-5 lead with 6:03 remaining in the first half. Fairview countered with six straight points to give them an 11-7 lead. After a Lindsay trey gave the Lady Aggies a 14-10 lead, Jones hit two-of-three from the free throw line with less than two minutes to go in the first half to make it a two-point game. Quinn then drilled consecutive threes to put West Point up, 18-14, and the Lady Warriors went into the half with the four-point advantage.
The Lady Aggies got the lead right back to start out the second half as a Sadie Smith three and a Lindsay layup gave them a 19-18 lead. Summer Mendoza hit a pair of free throws to give West Point the lead once again at 20-19, but baskets by Lindsay and Smith saw Fairview grab a 25-20 lead. Then late in the third period, Jones got red-hot from the field, scoring her team’s final nine points of the quarter, including back-to-back baskets down low, and both teams would go into the final period tied at 29-29.
Each team traded threes to keep the game tied almost midway through the fourth quarter. The Lady Warriors broke the tie with back-to-back baskets by Quinn and Ella Minck and that gave them a 34-30 lead with 3:44 to go in the game. Quinn stretched the lead to 37-32 with a trey with a little over two minutes to go in the contest, but Fairview’s Jayla Gorham hit a pair of huge free throws to make it a three-point game. After getting possession on a jump ball, the Lady Aggies had a chance to tie the game and send it into overtime. Garcia would oblige as she drilled an enormous shot from deep just before the buzzer sounded to tie the game at 39.
Each team would hit three-of-four from the charity stripe to keep the game tied at 42. Fairview would get a shot to end the game, but Lindsay’s shot bounced off the rim and the game would go into double overtime. Quinn drilled a three from the left wing to give West Point a 45-42 lead, but a pair of Smith free throws made it a one-point game with less than two minutes to go in double overtime. After a pair of West Point missed free throws, the Lady Aggies looked to win the game on its final possession. Mendoza had other ideas, though, as she got the steal that would help clinch the Lady Warriors’ 45-44 win over the Lady Aggies.
Quinn finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and six steals for West Point (7-3). Jones added 12 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Mendoza ended up with eight points, six rebounds and a pair of steals. Wheeler added five points. Liberty Shadix ended up with two points, six rebounds and six blocks. Minck also finished with two points and six rebounds. For Fairview (9-1), Smith finished with 14 points, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Gorham added 11 points, 12 rebounds, and a steal. Lindsay ended up with 10 points and five steals. Garcia ended up with seven points, nine rebounds, and a block, while Reagan Dunkin chipped in with two points.
Fairview 55 – West Point 42 (Varsity Boys)
Both teams had the hot hand shooting-wise to start out the game. West Point’s Jay Lamar and Andrew Lynn each hit a three to give them a 6-2 lead, but the Aggies’ Cylas Yarbrough hit a free throw to make it a three-point game, then back-to-back baskets down low by Landon Tweedie gave them a 7-6 lead very early in the first period. Another Lynn trey gave West Point the lead right back at 11-9 with 4:34 remaining in the opening quarter. Parker Martin hit a driving layup late in the first period as that gave Fairview a 13-11 lead. The Aggies would hold a 13-12 lead going into the second period.
Each team would trade the lead for a little bit to start out the second quarter. After a Yarbrough trey gave Fairview an 18-16 lead, a layup by Sam Wheeler and another Lynn three saw the Warriors get the lead right back at 21-18. An Ethan Fraiser basket down low made it a one-point game, but Kanen Trussell answered with a basket of his own on the other end and West Point went into the half up by three at 23-20.
Back-to-back baskets by Kolten Perry and Wheeler helped increase the Warrior lead to 27-23 with 5:33 remaining in the third quarter, but Fraise hit back-to-back shots down low and Yarbrough nailed one from long range to give the Aggies a 30-27 lead with a little over four minutes to go in the period. A Tweedie trey made it a 33-29 contest, but Lynn and Jayden Laney each hit a three to give the Warriors the lead right back at 35-33. An Aiden Dujoud layup made it 37-34, but Fairview trimmed the deficit to one at 37-36 on an Austin Johnson layup. West Point held the one-point lead going into the final period.
Fairview started out the final period red-hot as a Tweedie made basket gave them a 38-37 lead. He, along with Kobe Payne, and Yarbrough hit a combined four free throws, to help stretch the Aggie lead to 42-37. A Payne trey helped increase Fairview’s lead to 47-37. Trussell finally got West Point on the scoreboard on a made shot that made it an eight-point game with 3:19 remaining in the contest, but the Aggies would prove to be too much for the Warriors in the end as they ended up winning the game, 55-42.
Tweedie finished with a double-double for Fairview (6-3): 17 points, 12 rebounds, and two steals. Yarbrough added 12 points, four rebounds, and two steals. Payne ended up with 12 points as well, along with four rebounds. Fraiser ended up with eight points and eight rebounds. Johnson added four points, four rebounds, and a block. Martin added two points and four rebounds.
For West Point (3-8), Lynn finished with 12 points and a steal. Trussell added 11 points, four rebounds, four steals and a block. Laney ended up with six points. Wheeler added four points and six rebounds. Lamar added three points, while Cade Simmons (four rebounds), Perry and Dujoud each chipped in with two points.
Fairview will travel to New Hope Monday and West Point will go to Priceville to play the Bulldogs Tuesday.
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