HANCEVILLE, Ala.- No. 2 seed in the JV girls bracket, the Cold Springs Lady Eagles, faced the no. 7 seed Hanceville Lady Bulldogs in the first round of the Cullman County Basketball Tournament on Saturday evening. From the jump, two things were obvious: that head coach Paige Adams had the Lady Eagles tournament ready, and that freshman guard Hagen Ellis was going to have an impact. What wasn’t obvious, was that Ellis would go on to have the most jaw-dropping performance of the tournament thus far, dropping 35 points and adding five rebounds, three assists and five steals.
An effortless shooting stroke, cool demeanor and selfless play all contributed to her box score-stuffing performance, and gave her team a springboard for an offensive explosion. The Lady Eagles would go on to to defeat Hanceville 78-24 to advance to the semifinals to take on no. 3 seed Good Hope on Monday.
“Hagen? She’s just a dog. She’s one of the best shooters in our program and she’s only a freshman. I’m just excited to see her grow and make an immediate impact next year on our varsity team. She showed out today for sure,” Adams said after the win.
Before Ellis’ big night began, Hanceville opened the night with a layup from Layla Lewis, who had a nice game herself. After her bucket, Cold Springs would respond with a 15-0 run to open their scoring. Zoe Miller and Kalloway McKinnon both drained pairs of free throws, and guard Joli Williams’ ball movement had the Lady Eagles offense rolling alongside Ellis’ two first quarter three pointers. Lewis’ seven points were the only that Hanceville scored in the first, going into the first break down 21-7.
Opening the second quarter, Cold Springs built on their lead with a 13-point scoring streak, 11 of which came from the backcourt pairing of Ellis and Williams. A Lewis and-one would break the streak for Hanceville, but Cold Springs’ tight perimeter defense, quick scoring ability and 21 first half points from Ellis would drive them to an 11-2 run to go into the half up 45-13.
In the third, Cold Springs’ ball movement popped, with passes flying left and right, always landing on an open shooter on the wing or a cutter who’d put in a lay. Ellis starred once again, but the Lady Eagles got contributions from Williams, McKinnon and Miller, too. McKinnon opened the half with a nice layup, followed by a deep three. While Lewis and forward Abby Black fought hard, the Lady Bulldogs’ offense just couldn’t find traction.
The fourth quarter saw much of the same, with Ellis putting the finishing touches on her big game. Alongside her, Miller scored 12 points and grabbed three rebounds and blocked a shot. On the wing, McKinnon scored nine points and recorded two rebounds and a steal. In the backcourt, Williams scored seven and had three rebounds and assists each.
Hanceville’s scoring came almost exclusively from two players, with Lewis scoring 18, grabbing six boards and stealing three balls. Black also put in five, grabbed four boards and recorded an assist.
Facing the no. 3 seed, Good Hope, on Monday with a chance to advance to the championship has extra meaning for Cold Springs, who came up short in the county championship vs. the Lady Raiders last year.
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