HANCEVILLE, Ala. – Championship Saturday at the Cullman County Tournament tipped off with the JV Girls title game between the Lady Warriors of West Point and the Good Hope Lady Raiders. It was a very tight contest between the two squads in which neither led by more than four at any point, but West Point was able to get just enough stops and sink just enough free throws late in the game to pull away and win thus year’s JV Girls Championship 33-29.
After a scoreless three minutes, West Point’s Kealie Harbison split a pair of free throws to give the Lady Warriors a 1-0 lead midway through the first, but Reese Fox responded with a pair of free throws on the other end to put Good Hope in front 2-1. The Lady Raiders pulled ahead 5-2 later in the opening period but Jaelyn Faulkner drove to the basket and scored to make it a 5-4 game. Lela Fisher knocked down a three to put West Point in front 7-5 with just under two minutes to play in the quarter until an Emma Thompson jumper tied things up at 7. Good Hope got one more look at the basket before the buzzer but couldn’t the shot to fall and the score stayed knotted at 7 going into the second quarter.
Bailey Keef scored from underneath the basket to give the Lady Raiders a 9-7 lead early in the second and Emma Bailey banked one in to stretch the lead to 11-7. Carsyn Blankenship sank a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 11-9 midway through the period and Patton Fell drilled a corner three to put the Lady Warriors ahead 12-11. Rylee Fox laid one in on the other end to retake a 13-12 lead for Good Hope but Fell split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 13 with less than two minutes remaining in the half. Baskets by Jaelyn Faulkner and Blankenship gave West Point a 4-point lead with a minute to play in the second quarter, but Zoey Keller knocked down a big three-pointer at the buzzer to trim the lead to 17-16 at the break.
Keef scored inside to put the Lady Raiders in front 18-17 at the start of the third quarter and Jaelyn Faulkner traded baskets with Emma Bailey to make it a 20-19 game. Fell drained a mid-range jumper to put the Lady Warriors back ahead 21-20 but Reese Fox buried a three-point to retake a 23-21 Good Hope lead with a minute to play in the third. Katie Beth Yovino drilled a three on the other end to take the lead back for West Point put another Fox basket just before the buzzer gave the Lady Raiders a 25-24 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
Keller netted a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 27-24 early in the fourth but Fell answered with a three on the other end to tie the game at 27. Keef and Jaelyn Faulkner traded baskets to keep things tied at 29 with just over three minutes remaining and Camryn Faulkner added a free throw to give the Lady Warriors a 1-point lead. West Point maintained a 30-29 lead with less than a minute on the clock and Jaelyn Faulkner split a pair of free throws with 12 seconds to make it 31-29. Good Hope was unable to score on its next possession and Fell added two more foul shots to stretch the lead to four with four seconds to play, securing a 33-29 win and this year’s JV Girls County Championship for the Lady Warriors.
Fell led West Point with 11 points in the win, followed by Jaelyn Faulkner with 10. Reese Fox posted nine points for the Lady Raiders in the loss and Keef added seven.
2022 JV Girls All-County Tournament Team
Alana Phillips – Holly Pond
Caitlee Simmons – West Point
Jaelyn Faulkner – West Point
Patton Fell – West Point
Emma Thompson – Good Hope
Reese Fox – Good Hope
Presli Carr – Holly Pond
Darby Nichols – Fairview
Camryn Faulkner – West Point
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