DOUBLE SPRINGS, Ala. – Addison traveled to take on their arch-rival county foes, the Winston County Yellow Jackets Thursday night and came away with a little payback. The Jackets had swept the Bulldogs in Addison approximately one month ago and the Bulldogs came home with a pair of wins this time around. The Lady Bulldogs knocked off the fourth-ranked and undefeated Lady Yellow Jackets in a 54-48 thriller and the Addison men followed them with a 33-30 overtime win over the Winston County in the nightcap.
Addison 54 – Winston County 48 (Varsity Girls)
Coach Bailey Boland brought her seasoned Addison Lady Bulldogs 17 miles across the lake to take on the No. 4 ranked and undefeated (20-0) Winston County Lady Yellow Jackets in their packed and boisterous gym. Addison was looking to avenge an early season home loss to the Jackets.
The first period was an up and down affair, as both teams employed the in-your-face woman to woman defense which puts maximum pressure on the opposing teams ball handlers. Addison’s “Magic” Molly Gilbreath knocked down two threes and Gracie “Bug” Manley put in eight points to give the Lady Dawgs the 19-14 lead. Jacket Senior Makayla Lindsey did her part to keep the Lady Jackets close as she put in six points. Olivia Wright and Bailey Kelley each added a three pointer to keep the Jackets in the game.
The second period belonged to the Lady Jackets as their size advantage controlled the boards and led to many second chance points. Winston County eighth grader, Lynleigh Cobb put in four points and three boards, while Madison Comeens drilled two three pointers. Addison’s Bracie “Tiny” Rodgers tallied five of the Bulldogs eight points in the period, but it wasn’t enough. The Jackets outscored the Dawgs 13-8 and tied the game up at 25 going into the half.
The defense to start the second half was very intense and both teams came out playing like the other team owed them money. There were hard fouls, girls diving on the floor and just general mayhem as neither team could muster much offense. The fouls piled up on both teams, especially the Bulldogs, as Winston County outscored Addison 9-8 in the period to take a 36-35 lead going into the final period.
The final frame was very exciting as the game went back and forth. Neither team could muster more than a four-point lead on the other. With only 53 seconds to go in the game, Lady Jacket Lindsey put in a lay-up to give the Jackets a 46-45 lead. Addison’s Manley was not to be denied as she drove to the lane and put in a basket to give Addison the lead at 47-46. Manley then hit a free throw to give the Lady Dawgs the two-point lead at 48-46. Lady Jacket and eighth grader, Emma Kate Veal put in a basket to tie it up at 48-48. Gilbreath notched a basket and Rodgers calmly sank four consecutive free throws to ice it, giving the Lady Dawgs the upset at 54-48 win.
The difference in the game, as in most games came down to free throw shooting and while Addison wasn’t spectacular going 10-19, they were immensely better than the Lady Jackets who were an abysmal 9 out of 27 for the game.
Addison Head Coach Bailey Boland,
“This is a huge win for us. Double Springs is a great team and Becky (Cobb) has down an incredible job with her girls. This was the win that we needed. I mean it was big for our community and a big area win for us,” Boland said. “This puts us in a position to host the area tournament. We will have a coin flip to determine who hosts, us or Double Springs since we are now tied for the area lead. I just want to emphasize how proud I am of our girls. They stepped up when we had foul trouble and even though Double Springs has a huge height advantage over us, I thought we held our own on the glass tonight.”
Unofficial stats:
Addison was led by Manley with 20 points, 11 rebounds and three steals. Gilbreath had 14 points, five boards and two assists. Rodgers had 13 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals. Anna Grace “The Glove” Luker had five points, six boards and three steals. Hadley “Shooter” Butler had three points and two boards. Lydia “Barbie” Ergle had three boards and a steal.
Winston County was led by Lindsey with 14 points and 10 boards. Cobb had nine points and eight boards. Kelley had seven points and six boards. Comeens had six points and two steals. Bella Wakefield had five points, nine boards, three steals and three blocks. Veal had two points and two boards.
Addison moves to 14-6 on the season and will host county rival Lynn Saturday.
Addison 33 – Winston County 30 (OT) (Varsity Boys)
Well, if you thought that the girl’s game was a nail-biter, the men’s game was even closer. This game had points at a premium. Points were harder to come by on this night than free donuts at a weight watcher’s convention. Addison also had two of their starters playing with heavy hearts. Christian Roberts and Jed Wilkins grandfather, the Legendary Addison Sports star Danny Lee Stallings passed away today, and both young men took the court to honor their granddad. At the end of the first period, Addison only led 8-5. Brady Gilbreath put in five points and Bradley Willette took down three boards. Winston County was led by Ethan Morgan and Braden Hudson with two points apiece.
The second period was another rough and tumble affair as Addison won the frame 8-7 to take a 16-12 lead at the half. Gilbreath put in four points and Justin Mather took down 5 boards. Roberts had two points and three rebounds in the frame. Winston County was led by Cameron Thompson, Hayden Jackson and Eli Moore with a bucket apiece.
The third period had Winston County playing outstanding defense and holding Addison to only six points, while the Jackets tallied 11 to take a 23-22 lead going into the fourth period. Roberts had four of Addison’s points to go along with three boards and three steals. The Jackets had Morgan tossing in four points and four boards, Sy Blanton had three points.
The fourth period was not for you if you had heart problems. A grand total of 9 points were scored in the entire fourth period. Nothing of note occurred until about 2:17 was left in the game, unless you count a lot of missed shots and turnovers. With the Jackets up 25 to 22, Roberts drained a three to tie the game up at 25. After a defensive stop by the Bulldogs, Gilbreath calmly dropped in a runner for two and Addison had a 27-25 lead with only 10 seconds to go in the game. Addison forced another turnover and it looked like the game was done. The Jackets didn’t agree, and the Jackets Blanton got a steal and found Eli Edgil streaking down court. Blanton hit him with a nice pass and Edgil laid it up and in for the bucket and tie. After a last second heave by the Dawgs, which was no good, it looked like the momentum was on the Jackets side.
When overtime started, Gilbreath scored a bucket to give Addison the lead again at 29-27. Jacket Ethan Morgan hit a free throw to cut the lead to 29-28. As Addison attempted to run out the clock, the ball was stolen, and Blanton drove the lane and in heavy traffic got the shot to fall to give Double Springs the miraculous 30-29 lead with only 16.3 seconds to go in the game. Call me crazy or just a sucker for a great story but with only 2.1 seconds to go in the game, Christian Roberts, the man who lost his grandfather on game day, nailed a deep corner three pointer to give his Addison Bulldogs the lead back at 32-20. I am sure that Mr. Danny Lee Stallings was smiling down on his grandson on that shot. The gym went crazy and after forcing another turnover, Lane Tubb hit a free throw to make the final score 33-30.
Addison Head Coach Ben Mastin,
“This is a big win in one of the toughest and loudest gyms we play at. Their crowd is always crazy, and they get super loud. We needed to win a game like this because it makes us better. I think that this shows that we can win in numerous ways,” Mastin said. “They slowed the tempo down tonight and I will give Coach (Adam) Gray credit, he has a solid team, and they played a completely different defense than they did the first time we played each other. Just glad to get out of here with a win. I would like to thank Christian (Roberts) and Jed (Wilkins) for playing tonight. I know it was tough for them, but it just shows what kind of young men they are. They both played outstanding tonight.”
Unofficial stats:
Roberts led the Bulldogs with 13 points, nine boards and three steals. Gilbreath had 13 points. Eli Howse had four points, three boards and three steals. Justin Mather had 12 rebounds. Willette had five boards.
The Jackets were led by Morgan’s seven points and four boards. Blanton had six points, two boards and four steals. Eli Edgil had four points and five boards. Braden Hudson had four points and eight boards. Eli Moore had four points and two boards. Cameron Thompson had two points, three boards and two steals. Hayden Jackson had three points and four boards.
Addison goes to 10-10 and will host the Lynn Bears Saturday.
Copyright 2022 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
