HANCEVILLE, Ala.- The 2026 Cullman County Basketball Tournament tipped off on Saturday afternoon at Wallace State with a gritty defensive battle between the no. 4 seed, West Point, and the no. 5 seed West Point Lady Warriors. The game stayed close throughout, with a stellar backcourt battle between West Point’s Beckitt Nunnelley and Holly Pond’s Dallas Mayfield. In the end, with the Lady Warriors in foul trouble late, the Lady Broncos pulled off a 32-27 upset.
As both teams gained their footing, the first period saw a slow start from both squads. Standing out, however, was Nunnelley for the Warriors. She made an instant impact, with a layup, a pair of free throws and a steal in the first half to put the Lady Warriors up 4-0 to start the game. In the waning seconds of the first quarter, Holly Pond’s Mayfield answered in a big way, hitting a deep three from the top of the key to make it 4-3 West Point going into the second.
Mayfield would keep her foot on the gas to start the second, coming out with a driving layup attempt that resulted in a pair of free throws, which she made, then striking again on a layup over three West Point defenders. On the other end, West Point’s Mylee Echols began what would be an excellent outing, with a short jumper on one possession, a block on defense and a three from the wing just one minute later. Echols’ effort would put the Lady Warriors back in the lead at halftime, 11-10.
The third quarter saw the Lady Broncos get a secondary scorer heating up next to Mayfield, with forward Mallory Hartline settling in with a basket through contact and two putback layups in the period, while playing the boards on the other end. Her matchup on defense, West Point’s Echols, continued having a great game but picked up two fouls, setting the stage for potential trouble in the fourth. After a back and forth scoring stretch, West Point still led going into the final frame.
With the game tied at 22 early in the fourth, Nunnelley drove down the court on a breakaway, looking to take the lead, but Mayfield swooped in, stole the ball and passed a dime downcourt that resulted in a foul and two made free throws by Hartline. Holly Pond wouldn’t trail for the rest of the contest, helped by Echols eventually fouling out late, and free throws by Mayfield and Bella Gambrill put the finishing touches on the upset win for the Lady Broncos, who will go on to face the no. 1-seeded Fairview Aggies on Monday at noon.
Leading the Broncos was Mayfield with 12 points, two rebounds, an assist, two steals and a block. Hartline also scored 11 and grabbed six rebounds and picked off a pass in the second.
“Dallas is just in the seventh grade, and she’s improved a ton this season. I look to her to handle the ball for most of the game, she showed up today ready to compete and win this ballgame. We only have five kids, so I told her she’d need to step up and she did just that,” Lady Broncos coach Jada Golden said after the win.
West Point’s Echols led the game with 14 points, and had nine rebounds and a pair of blocks, and Nunnelley had 11 points, two rebounds, an assists and a steal.
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