HANCEVILLE, Ala. – Several local squads were in the field competing at this year’ MLK Day Classic at Wallace State’s Tom Drake Coliseum early Monday and each of them collected impressive victories. The Cullman Lady Bearcats tipped things off with a 48-20 win over Jasper, the Good Hope Raiders followed them with a 77-68 win over Deshler and the Good Hope Lady Raiders picked up a 67-44 win over Scottsboro just after them. The West Point Warriors will be on the court tonight at 6 p.m. to take on Cordova.
Cullman 48 – Jasper 20 (varsity girls)
An Ally Sharpe trey gave Cullman a 3-2 lead early in the first quarter. Jasper, though, scored five straight points to give them a 7-3 lead. The Lady Bearcats got the rest of their points from the free throw line. Ava McSwain drilled a pair from the line to make it 7-5, then Sharpe got fouled while shooting a three. She ended up hitting two of three to tie the game up at seven with a little over two minutes to go in the first quarter. Alli Grace Hembree hit two more from the line to help give Cullman a 9-7 lead going into the second period.
The Lady Bearcats would increase their lead in the second quarter. A driving layup by Sharpe made it 11-7, then Jaden Winfrey and Ava McSwain each added a basket down to push their lead to 15-7. The Lady Vikings cut the Cullman lead to 15-9 on a layup with a little over two minutes to go in the first half. With 42 seconds left in the first half, Sharpe hit a pair from the line and then a huge three-point play by Winfrey would give the Lady Bearcats a 20-9 lead at the half.
Jasper made it 20-11 to start the third quarter, but Cullman would take over the game after that. Winfrey drilled an outside shot and McSwain added a shot down low to make it 25-11, then Maci Brown hit one from long-range to push the Lady Bearcat lead to 28-11 early in the third period. McSwain and Sharpe each added another layup to make it a 32-11 game. Later on, Sharpe hit another three and Regan Quattlebaum knocked down a layup as the Lady Bearcats would take a commanding 38-15 lead into the final quarter.
Winfrey and McSwain each hit another basket down low to make it 42-17. McSwain added another layup, as did Quattlebaum, and Hembree drilled a short jumper as the Lady Bearcats would go on to defeat the Lady Vikings, 48-20. Cullman ended up outscoring Jasper, 28-11, in the second half as they held the Lady Vikings to just nine made baskets for the entire game.
Sharpe led the way for Cullman (18-6) with 14 points and two steals. McSwain added 12 points, eight rebounds, and two steals. Winfrey ended up with 11 points. Quattlebaum (six rebounds) and Hembree each added four points and Brown ended up with three points and nine rebounds. The Lady Bearcats will travel to Decatur for an area showdown Friday.
Good Hope 77 – Deshler 68 (varsity boys)
Deshler was the team that got off to a very strong start in this one, jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead. A layup by Tyler Cone got Good Hope on the scoreboard less than two minutes into the game. The Tigers would stretch their lead to 12-4 with a little over five minutes to go in the opening period, but the Raiders answered right back with an enormous run of their own. After a missed free throw, K’mal Bell got the rebound and knocked down a floater to make it a 12-7 game. Charlie O’Neil, Tyler Cone, and Bell each hit a three to give the Raiders a 16-12 lead. Colton Lindsey and Weston Hancock each added a basket down low and Tanner Malin nailed a pair from the line as Good Hope would take a 24-14 lead into the second period.
The Tigers started to cut into Good Hope’s lead as a 7-2 run made it a 26-21 game early in the second period. Deshler scored five straight points as the Raider lead was now cut to one at 27-26. Malin nailed a pair of treys to push Good Hope’s lead to 33-26 with 3:31 remaining in the first half. A Hancock basket made it a 37-29 game with a little over a minute to go until halftime, but a pair of Tiger treys trimmed it to 37-35 at the half.
A Malin layup gave Good Hope a 41-39 lead early in the third quarter, but a 7-0 Deshler run gave them a 48-41 lead. A Hancock basket and a pair of Malin free throws made it a 48-45 game. The Tigers later scored six in a row to push their lead to 59-51, but a huge basket down low by Noah Barnette trimmed the Raider deficit to just six at 59-53 going into the final period.
Good Hope got off to a strong start on both sides of the ball in the fourth quarter. A pair of Barnette free throws made it a four-point game, then Malin scored five straight points to give the Raiders a 60-59 lead early in the final period. A Deshler free throw tied the game up at 60, but Good Hope went on yet another big run to break the game wide open. Cone hit a layup, then Barnette added a pair of baskets down low to push Good Hope’s lead to 66-60. Bell scored five straight points to push the Raider lead to double-digits at 71-60, then Malin and Lindsey each added a basket down low to make it 75-60. The Tigers scored eight straight points to trim the deficit to seven at 75-68, but it was too little, too late, for Deshler as the Raiders would go on to win the game, 77-68. Good Hope outscored Deshler, 24-9, in the final period to take home the nine-point win.
Malin finished with a game-high 27 points for Good Hope (12-9). Bell added 14 points and six rebounds. Barnette ended up with 11 points. Lindsey added seven points and 12 rebounds. Cone also finished with seven points. Hancock ended up with six points, seven rebounds, and two steals, while O’Neil added five points. The Raiders will travel to take on Hanceville in another massive area matchup Thursday night.
Good Hope 67 – Scottsboro 44 (varsity girls)
Scottsboro got off to a fast start against the second-ranked Lady Raiders, building a 5-0 lead to start the game. However, Good Hope responded and tied the game at 9 midway through the first thanks in large part to five points from Bailey Tetro. The Wildcats pulled back in front 12-9 but two more baskets by Bailey Tetro and a three-pointer from Ivey Maddox put the Lady Raiders in front 16-14 late in the first quarter. Kyndall Seal drilled a three of her own in the final seconds of the period and Good Hope went into the second with a 19-16 lead.
The Lady Raiders began to widen the gap in the second quarter, starting with baskets from Heather Tetro and Maddox that made it a 23-16 game. A Bailey Tetro basket and a pair of Rudi Derrick free throws stretched the lead to 11 and Derrick finished an and-one play the line on the next possession to give Good Hope a 30-16 advantage midway through the period. Maddox knocked down another three to add to the lead and a pair of Charly Johnson baskets just before the half put the Lady Raiders on top 37-22 at the break.
A pair of Bailey Tetro free throws and a basket by Maddox made it a 41-24 game early in the third and Heather Tetro drilled a corner three to make it 44-27 midway through the period. The Scottsboro made some three-point shots on the other end, but Good Hope was dominant in the final two minutes of the quarter, capping off a 14-5 run with a three at the buzzer from Seal to extend the lead to 58-35 going into the fourth quarter.
Scores by Renee Mcleod and Heather Tetro gave the Lady Raiders a 62-38 advantage early in the fourth and Desiree Odachowski drilled a three-pointer to make it 65-38 midway through the final frame. A Lexi Collins bucket kept Good Hope in front 67-40 with just over two minutes to play and the Lady Raiders cruised the rest of the way to a 67-44 win over the Wildcats.
Bailey Tetro led Good Hope with 17 points in the win. Derrick and Maddox each posted 11, Heather Tetro added nine and Seal finished with six. The Lady Raiders will travel to Hanceville Thursday night for another area matchup with the Lady Bulldogs.
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