VINEMONT, Ala.- A pair of top ten teams took the court at Vinemont on Monday night, as the no. 6-ranked Lady Eagles hosted the no. 2-ranked Good Hope Lady Raiders. The winner of this game was set to take home the no. 2 seed in this year’s Cullman County Basketball Tournament. It was an exciting back-and-forth affair from start to finish, as Good Hope held the lead at the half, but Vinemont rallied to tie the game up at 44 going into the fourth quarter. In what ended up being a thrilling final period, Caroline Miller provided the heroics for the Lady Eagles, as her late basket gave Vinemont the 61-59 win over the Lady Raiders.
Reagan Robinson dropped in a floater to give the Lady Eagles the early lead, but Sophie Konrad and Ella Gossett each drained a three on the other end to give Good Hope a 6-3 lead. A trey by Miller and a layup by Robinson gave Vinemont the lead right back at 8-6. Later in the quarter, Miller and Robinson hit back-to-back baskets to put the Lady Eagles ahead, 14-10 late in the first period. Lexi Marshall knocked down a short jumper, and Konrad dropped in a floater to tie the game up at 14. Haley Millwood banked in a trey from the right wing to break the tie and give Vinemont a 17-14 lead going into the second period.
A rebound and putback by Addison Holcomb and a basket down low by Vayda Yarbrough widened the Lady Eagle lead to 21-16 early in the second. Gossett buried a short jumper, and Marshall ended up hitting a pair of threes from the left corner to put the Lady Raiders up, 24-23. Konrad got red-hot from behind the three-point line, as she drained a trio of treys to give Good Hope a 33-25 lead late in the first half. Both teams traded baskets to end the first half, and the Lady Raiders would take a 35-27 lead into the locker room.
Vinemont went on a huge run to start out the second half. Holcomb drove to the basket and laid it in to cut it to 35-29, then Robinson and Miller each knocked down a three to make it a 37-36 game. Ella Davis drained a pair from the free throw line to give the Lady Raiders a three-point lead, but Holcomb’s three from the right corner knotted it up at 39 with a little over four minutes to go in the third period. Both teams each hit a pair of baskets to close out the third, and it was a 44-all game going into the fourth quarter.
A pair of rebounds and putbacks by Lucie Adams and Molly Johnson gave Good Hope a 48-46 lead early in the fourth. Miller knocked down yet another three, and Arleigh Thomason drained a short jumper to put Vinemont ahead, 51-49. A driving layup by Marshall and a reverse layup by Gossett gave the Lady Raiders the lead right back at 53-51. Both teams hit clutch shots late. Robinson knocked down a huge three to put the Lady Eagles up, 54-53 with a little over two minutes to go in the contest. Robinson and Holcomb each added a free throw to make it a three-point game, but Adams drilled a three from the right wing to tie the game up at 56 with 1:19 remaining in the game.
After Robinson’s jumper gave Vinemont a two-point lead, Adams buried her second straight trey from the exact same spot to put Good Hope ahead, 59-58, with 38 seconds remaining. That set the stage for Miller’s heroics. She drove to the lane and hit a huge layup to give the Lady Eagles a 60-59 lead, then Robinson added a free throw to make it a 61-59 game. A last-second heave by Good Hope fell just short at the end, and the Lady Eagles ended up holding off the Lady Raiders, 61-59. With the win. Vinemont (14-8) will be the no. 2 seed in this year’s Cullman County Basketball Tournament.
Robinson led the way for the Lady Eagles with 22 points. Miller added 17 points, Holcomb ended up with eight points, and Thomason posted seven points. For Good Hope (16-4), Konrad finished with 19 points. Marshall posted 17 points. Gossett ended up with nine points, and Adams added eight points.
Vinemont will host Holly Pond, and Good Hope will head home to take on East Lawrence in a pair of area games on Tuesday night.
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