HANCEVILLE, Ala.- The first varsity girls semifinal game took place on Wednesday, as the top-seeded West Point Lady Warriors faced off against the fifth-seeded Cold Springs Lady Eagles with a spot in the county championship game on the line. West Point got out to a quick lead and controlled the game after the first quarter, and behind the trio of Jaelyn and Camryn Faulkner and Laklin Shadix and a smothering defense, the Lady Warriors ended up routing the Lady Eagles, 70-29, to move on to the championship game.
Macie Huffstutler found Hollyn Bruer over the middle for a layup to give Cold Springs the early lead, but Jaelyn and Camryn Faulkner quickly got West Point going offensively, scoring their first eight points of the game to give them an 8-2 lead. Kealie Harbison drilled a pair of free throws, then later in the quarter, a rebound and putback by Laklin Shadix stretched the Lady Warrior lead to 12-2 more than midway through the opening quarter. Huffstutler put in a basket down low, then Bruer added a couple of baskets of her own in the paint to cut it to 15-8 going into the second.
A pair of baskets by Camryn Faulkner and one by Caitlee Simmons put West Point ahead, 21-8, early in the second quarter. Aleah Addison drained four straight free throws to trim the Lady Eagle deficit to 11 at 23-12, but the Lady Warriors quickly turned up the pressure on both sides of the ball. It all started with a rebound and a putback by Simmons, then Jaelyn Faulkner followed that up with a steal and a layup to make it a 27-12 game. Shadix started to catch fire offensively, scoring the Lady Warriors’ next seven points to give them a commanding 34-15 lead. Jaelyn Faulkner’s basket down low made it a 36-15 contest at the half. The trio of Jaelyn and Camryn Faulkner, and Laklin Shadix combined to score 30 of West Point’s 36 points in the first half.
Shadix continued her strong game in the post, as she hit another basket down low to give West Point a 38-16 lead early in the third. Paizley Whitlow drilled a three to cut it to 38-20. Jaelyn and Camryn Faulkner and company took over for not only the rest of the quarter, but the rest of the game. Jaelyn Faulkner scored the Lady Warriors’ next seven points to widen their lead to 45-22. Baskets by Harbison and Jaelyn Faulkner made it a 49-22 game, then a Shadix three-point gave West Point a 52-24 lead. Chloe Hale hit a free throw, Patton Fell knocked down two from the free throw line, and a steal and a layup by Jaelyn Faulkner gave the Lady Warriors a commanding 59-28 lead going into the final quarter.
Camryn Faulkner took over to start out the fourth, scoring West Point’s first seven points of the quarter to give them a 66-28 lead. A rebound and putback by Harbison and a short jumper by Hale put the finishing touches on a 70-29 win for the Lady Warriors, as they will be moving on to the county championship game on Saturday.
Jaelyn Faulkner finished with a game-high 20 points for West Point. Her sister, Camryn Faulkner, wasn’t too far behind with 19 points, and Shadix posted 16 points. For Cold Springs, Bruer and Addison each finished with seven points in the game, while Kaydance Williams and Whitlow each added five points.
The Lady Warriors will face the Vinemont/Good Hope winner on Friday night at 5 p.m.
