COUNTY BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: Good Hope downs West Point 60-39 to win 3rd straight county championship

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The Good Hope Lady Raiders defeated West Point 60-39 Saturday night to claim their third straight county championship. (Martha Needham/The Cullman Tribune)

HANCEVILLE, Ala. – For the third consecutive season, the Good Hope Lady Raiders are Cullman County Champions. Good Hope built a 34-22 lead in the first half and pulled away in the final two periods to earn a 60-39 win over West Point and a third straight county title. After the game, Raider standouts Bailey Tetro and Ava McSwain, along with head coach Justin Aby, shared their thoughts on the latest county title.

“It feels great. I love this team very much and I’m just proud of us,” Tetro said. “I think it just shows that all the hard work we’re putting in is paying off and I’m excited for the rest of this season to see what we can do.”

“It means a lot,” McSwain said. “It was a great win and we’ve been preparing really hard for this but this is not our end goal.”

“Like the girls said, this means a lot to us and I’m extremely proud of them,” Aby said. “This is the third one in a row that we’ve won and it’s really a reflection of how much work and time these girls put in. It’s a great group of girls who love the game of basketball.”

The Lady Raiders got off to a great start. Baskets by Ivey Maddox and Ava McSwain put Good Hope in front 4-0 and Maddox added back to back three-pointers to make it a 10-0 game. Bailey Tetro laid one in and split a pair of free throws to give the Lady Raiders a 13-0 lead, but Laklin Shadix scored the next five points on the other end to get West Point on the board and cut the lead to 13-5. However, Good Hope capped the opening period with a 9-0 scoring run and went into the second leading 22-5.

Camryn Faulker drilled a three-pointer and Kylee Quinn scored in the paint to bring the lead down to 22-10 early in the second but baskets by Heather Tetro and Jolee McHan helped keep the Lady Raiders in front 26-11. Quinn sank a pair of free throws and Liberty Shadix laid one in to make it a 26-15 game with three minutes remaining in the half. Baskets by Maddox and McSwain gave Good Hope a 30-17 lead with less than two minutes two on the clock and Charly Johnson scored a pair of buckets in the final minute of the period to put the Lady Raiders ahead 34-22 at the halftime break.

A basket from Liberty Shadix and a free throw from Laklin Shadix made it a 34-25 game early in the third but baskets by Johnson and Maddox on the other end kept Good Hope in front 38-25. A Kealie Harbison bucket helped trim the lead to 40-27 midway through the third quarter but three-pointers by Maddox and McSwain helped build the Raider lead back up to 48-29 later in the period. Harbison exchanged scores with McHan in the final two minutes of the third to make it a 50-31 game with just eight minutes to play.

Maddox laid one in to give Good Hope a 52-31 advantage early in the fourth quarter and later in the period, Heather Tetro buried a three-pointer to make it a 56-35 game. Maddox knocked down another three to give the Lady Raiders a commanding, 60-37 lead with a minute to play and Good Hope went on to claim its third straight county crown with a 60-39 win over the Lady Warriors.

Maddox led the way for the Lady Raiders with 22 points in the win, followed by McSwain with 13. Quinn and Laklin Shadix each posted 10 points for West Point in the loss.

Varsity Girls All-County Tournament Team

Ivey Maddox, Good Hope

Ava McSwain, Good Hope

Heather Tetro, Good Hope

Liberty Shadix, West Point

Laklin Shadix, West Point

Hallie Wheeler, West Point

Malaya Taylor, Cold Springs

Maci Brown, Cold Springs

Whitney Quick, Vinemont

Maggie Burks, Vinemont

Varsity Girls All-County Basketball Team

Bailey Tetro, Good Hope

Heather Tetro, Good Hope

Ivey Maddox, Good Hope

Ava McSwain, Good Hope

Liberty Shadix, West Point

Hallie Wheeler, West Point

Jaelyn Faulkner, West Point

Ella Bruer, Cold Springs

Maci Brown, Cold Springs

Ella Dickerson, Cold Springs

Ava Thomas, Holly Pond

Madison Butts, Holly Pond

Reagan Robinson, Vinemont

Whitney Quick, Vinemont

Kate Sterling, Hanceville

2024 Charlotte Cummings Memorial Scholarship Winner

Kamryn Tankersley, Holly Pond

2024 Bill Shelton Award Winner

Ivey Maddox & Bailey Tetro, Good Hope

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