Good Hope, Ala.- A pair of top five teams in their class faced off against each other on Monday night at Good Hope, as the 4A second-ranked Lady Raiders hosted the 5A fourth-ranked West Point Lady Warriors. It was close in the first half, but West Point held a double-digit lead early in the fourth quarter and held off a late rally by Good Hope to win the game, 56-52.Â
The Lady Warriors got on the board first with a free throw from Jaelyn Faulkner. Then, later in the quarter Laklin Shadix hit a pair of baskets to give them a 5-2 lead. Ella Gossett put in a driving layup, Lucie Adams drained a three from the top of the key, and Sophie Konrad knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Lady Raiders a 9-5 lead. Four straight points by Faulkner gave West Point the lead right back at 10-9. Patton Fell buried a pair of threes off the bench, and Kealie Harbison answered with one of her own from long range to put West Point ahead, 19-10. Gossett buried a trey from the left corner to cut it to 19-13 going into the second quarter.
It was a battle of the defenses to start out the second quarter, as both teams hit a combined two baskets midway through the second. Ella Davis scored four straight points to make it a 21-17 game with 3:51 remaining in the first half. Later in the first half, Adams drained a three from the top of the key to cut it to 25-22 with less than two minutes to go until halftime. Harbison put in a driving layup, then Camryn Faulkner knocked down a three to give the Lady Warriors a 30-24 lead. Shadix got fouled before the half ended and she split her free throws to put West Point ahead 31-24 at the break.
A quick basket by Adams in the paint cut it to 31-26 early in the third quarter. A three on the other end by Camryn Faulkner made it a 35-26 game, then Caitlee Simmons scored off of a Good Hope turnover to stretch the Lady Warrior lead to 37-26. Camryn Faulkner got fouled while shooting a three and ended up hitting two of three to make it a 39-26 game. Five straight points by Lexi Marshall trimmed the deficit to ten at 41-31. Harbison hit a basket in the paint, and a rebound and putback by Shadix gave West Point a 45-34 late in the third. Molly Johnson nailed a three from the left corner to cut it to 45-37 going into the final period.
A driving layup by Faulkner and another rebound and putback by Shadix increased the Lady Warrior lead to 49-37 early in the fourth. Both teams traded treys to keep it at a 12-point contest at 52-40. The Lady Raiders went on a big run to get back in the game. Davis got Good Hope’s big run started with a pair of free throws, then she hit back-to-back baskets in the paint, including a rebound and putback off of her missed free throw, as that made it a 52-46 contest. Konrad and Marshall each added a basket of their own down low to make it a 52-50 game. Each team traded baskets to keep it at a two-point game at 54-52 with 1:21 remaining in the contest. Simmons scored on a wide-open basket in the paint to put the finishing touches on a 56-52 win for West Point, who is now 14-1 on the season. With the win, the Lady Warriors will be the no. 1-seed in the 2026 Cullman County Basketball Tournament next month.
Shadix led the way for the Lady Warriors with 14 points. Jaelyn and Camryn Faulkner each added 10 points, while Fell and Harbison each chipped in with nine points of their own in the win. For Good Hope (14-3), Davis finished with 14 points. Adams added 13 points. Konrad put in 10 points, and Marshall ended up with seven points.
West Point will travel to Athens next Monday and Tuesday to play Montgomery Academy and Oxford, respectively, while Good Hope will take on Marion County January 2nd at Tom Drake Coliseum.Â
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