ADDISON, Ala. — Addison hosted the 3A Danville Hawks for a pair of varsity games at Allen Stephenson Gym on Monday night and came away with a split decision. The Lady Dawgs overwhelmed the young Lady Hawks 66-38 to improve to 7-3 but the men lost a 48-46 heartbreaker to the Hawks that wasn’t decided until .01 seconds were left on the clock.
Addison 66 – Danville 38 (Varsity Girls)
The ladies of Addison are off to a good start on the season and were looking for their seventh win on the season. The Lady Hawks, a very young team, came into the game struggling and looking to come away with an upset. Well, it wasn’t the Lady Hawks night as Addison, with a rare height advantage, dominated the ladies from Danville with a 66-38 victory.
The first period opened with Addison’s Bracie “Tiny” Rodgers and “Magic” Molly Gilbreath striking from deep with two threes apiece. Addison led 18-11 after one. Danville’s Reagan Prater kept the Lady Hawks close as she put in eight points.
The second quarter actually saw the Lady Hawks stepping up and winning the period 16-15. Danville’s Maddie Sherrill had all 10 of her points in the period to lead the Hawks. Addison’s Miss Everything, Gracie “Bug” Manley was fed the ball in the post all night but especially in the second. Manley had 10 points and six rebounds in the period. Anna Grace “The Glove” Luker chipped in five big boards of her own. Addison actually went into the half with the score much closer than most expected, leading only 33-27.
Addison’s Head Coach Bailey Boland must have inspired the Lady Dawgs at halftime as they came out and did what they were expected to do from the start. The Ladies from Addison dominated the second half in every way possible. Addison dominated the third period 17-4 to take a 50-31 lead. Gilbreath and Manley scored five points apiece. Lydia “Barbie” Ergle led several teammates with two boards in the period.
The fourth was a little better for the Hawks but it wasn’t enough as Addison closed the game out winning 66-38.
Coach Boland, happy with her team’s effort after the game said,
“We watched them on film, and we knew we had the height advantage. We were going to let Gracie (Manley) dominate in the post all night due to her matchup advantage,” Bailey Boland said. “We shot the ball really well and when we missed, we were able to grab the rebound. If we keep shooting well all the other things can fall into place.”
Unofficial stats:
Addison was led by Manley’s game high 27 points, 13 boards and five assists. Hadley “Shooter” Butler had her usual 11 points, five boards and three assists. Gilbreath had 10 points, three assists and two steals. Rodgers had eight points, seven boards and three assists. Ergle had six points and six boards. Luker had two points, eight boards, two assists and three steals. Brilyn Dover had two points and two assists. Emma Ridgeway had two boards.
Danville was led by Alyssa Brooks with 10 points and four boards. Maddie Sherrill had 10 points. Natalee Felong had six points. Prater had four points and six boards.
Addison improves to 7-3 and will travel to Falkville Thursday night.
Danville 48 – Addison 46 (Varsity Boys)
The young men from Addison are a talented squad but are going through some growing pains as they have lost three games in a row and were up against a red-hot Danville Hawks team that was senior led and has only lost one time all season.
Addison led by Eli “Curly” Howse and Brady “Sticks” Gilbreath six points apiece, jumped out to a fast 17-6 lead to finish the first period. Addison’s suffocating defense proved problematic for the Hawks. Addison had five steals in the period and forced the Hawks into numerous bad shots.
The second frame had the veteran Hawks settle down and take control of the period. Danville outscored Addison 12-6 for the period to go into the half trailing 23-18. Danville was led by Whitten Morgan with five points and Cole Waddell had a three-pointer. Usually, a low scoring period is the result of bad offense but not on this night. The defense for both teams was amazing forcing tough shots and numerous turnovers.
The second half started out with the Dawgs being hot from outside. Addison went on an 8-0 run to take a 36-26 lead. Howse had eight points in the frame with Gilbreath having five. Kohl Randolph led the Hawks with four points.
Going into the fourth and final period, the hometown Dawgs led 40-28 and were in total control of the game, but it was not to be. Danville’s pressure defense totally took the Dawgs out of their offense. The old saying is that teams that press don’t like to be pressed. Well, I don’t know if Addison liked it or not, but they were pressed the rest of the game and didn’t handle it well. Danville forced numerous turnovers, both forced and unforced. The Hawks went on a 17-3 run and led 46-43 with 50.5 seconds left in the game. Howse drained a three pointer to tie the game with only 10 seconds left on the clock. Danville’s Carter Holiday attempted a layup but was fouled with only a tenth of a second left on the clock. Holiday who dominated the fourth period by outscoring the Dawgs all by himself. Holiday went to the free throw line and with the crowd yelling and screaming at him, calmly drained two free throws to put Danville up 48-46. A last second half court heave was short, and Danville came away with a 48-46 win.
It was Addison’s fourth consecutive loss, all being very close games. After the game, Bulldogs Head Coach Ben Mastin talked about what they need to do to move past the close losses.
“We have to stop giving games away. We aren’t taking care of the basketball and that has to change. If you don’t take care of the ball, it’s simple, you lose. We had control of this game and let it slip away. We shot the ball well tonight, just kept turning the ball over,” Mastin said. “Danville deserves all the credit. They got down and they didn’t quit. They deserve the win. We will get through this. We are a good team, and we will show it before this season is over. The season is still young.”
Unofficial stats:
Addison was led by Howse with a game high 20 points, three assists and three steals. Gilbreath had 14 points, three assists and three boards. Christian “Ice Man” Roberts had five points and five boards. Justin “Rocky” Mather had two points and six boards. Bradley “Big Foot” Willette had two points, three boards and two assists. Briley Hayes had two points and three boards.
Danville was led by Holiday with 18 points. Morgan had 16 points and three boards. Kohl Randolph had six points and seven boards.
JoJo Whisenant had three points, seven boards and four steals. Addison travels to Falkville Thursday night for an area matchup.
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