PRICEVILLE, Ala. – The fourth-ranked Good Hope Lady Raiders took the court for the first time since the county championship game on Tuesday night, as they traveled to take on the sixth-ranked Priceville Lady Bulldogs. Both teams started out strong offensively, with Good Hope holding a slim lead at the half. The game continued to be close throughout the second half, but a late run by Priceville helped them get past the Lady Raiders, 52-49.
The Lady Raiders’ first two possessions resulted in threes from Ella Gossett and Lucie Adams and gave them an early 6-2 lead. Ella Davis collected a rebound and putback and later added a trey to put Good Hope ahead 11-7 with 5:20 remaining in the first period. A pair of baskets down low by Priceville tied the game up at 11, but Good Hope quickly broke the tie with a 7-0 run, as a basket in the paint by Davis, a pair of free throws by Sophie Konrad, and a trey by Adams gave them an 18-11 lead with 3:24 remaining in the first quarter. The Lady Bulldogs went on a 7-3 run to trim it to three at 21-18, but Konrad hit a lefty layup to put the Lady Raiders ahead, 23-18, going into the second.
Gossett’s third trey of the game gave Good Hope a 26-18 lead early in the second period. Priceville, though, drilled a trio of treys as part of an 11-5 run to put them ahead, 29-28, with a little over three minutes to go in the first half. Davis knocked down a basket to give the Lady Raiders the lead right back at 30-29 at the half.
Priceville’s 8-3 run to start out the second half gave them a 37-33 lead. Marshall’s steal and layup cut it to 37-35, then later in the third, Konrad and Davis each drained a trey to give Good Hope a 41-37 lead. A late basket by the Lady Bulldogs cut it to 41-39 going into the final period.
For the second straight quarter, Priceville went on a run, as their 6-0 run put them ahead, 45-41. A rebound and putback by Konrad and a driving layup by Adams tied things up at 45. The Lady Bulldogs, though, countered with their biggest run of the game, as they scored six straight points to take a 51-45 lead late in the fourth. The Lady Raiders, though, made things really interesting in the end. Davis knocked down a pair of free throws to trim it to four at 51-47, then Konrad collected a huge steal and hit a basket down low to cut it to two. Priceville split their free throws to make it a 52-49 game, and Good Hope’s three at the end was off the mark, as the Lady Bulldogs ended up holding off the Lady Raiders at the end, 52-49.
Davis led the way for Good Hope with 16 points. Konrad added 11 points. Gossett put in nine points. Adams collected eight points, and Marshall posted five points.
The Lady Raiders will be hosting the Class 4A, Area 13 tournament on Friday night, and will take on Danville at 5:30 p.m.
