HANCEVILLE, Ala.- In the second semifinal matchup of Wednesday afternoon, no. 3 Good Hope and no. 2 Vinemont met for a shot at no. 1 West Point in the championship. It was all Lady Raiders early, but after Vinemont took control, Good Hope stormed back late, winning 48-44. They’ll move on to take on the Lady Warriors for the county championship on Friday evening at 5 p.m.
Vinemont’s success this season has been largely due to one of the best backcourt tandems in the county in Caroline Miller and Reagan Robinson. After an early lay by Robinson, the duo went cold, and with no other source of scoring, Good Hope took control. Forward Ella Davis began the night, scoring down low then hitting a pair of free throws to begin a 16-2 tear that included a three from Sophie Konrad and two trips to the line for defensive-minded guard Ella Gossett, who was tasked with defending Robinson. Closing out the quarter and ending the run, Miller hit a pull up jumper to make it 16-7 going into the second.
It was clear that if Vinemont didn’t respond quickly, it could’ve gotten out of hand, like many games with similar starts have this tournament. A flip switched, however, and the Lady Eagles backcourt shot into form, with Miller hitting a quick three followed by a Robinson putback lay. They still trailed 12-16, but they had life. After a Konrad three extended Good Hope’s lead not he other end, Arleigh Thomason hit a deep three to make it a one possession game. As Vinemont heated up, the Lady Raiders had gone cold, and coupled with some sloppy turnovers, they were in trouble. After Thomason’s three, the Lady Eagles went on a 14-3 run to close out the quarter and go into halftime up 29-20, flipping the script on Good Hope.
In the third, Good Hope got a clear message at halftime and came out swinging. Davis battled down low for a layup, something she excelled at against Vinemont’s frontcourt. She and forward Lucie Adams singlehandedly dragged Good Hope back into the game in scoring, with a 9-2 run to make it a one bucket game. Needing to capitalize on this momentum, they stuck with a hot hand. Adams ended up alone at the top of the key, and drained one from beyond the arc to tie the game up at 32. In response, Robinson went down and sidestepped a defender, drilling a three of her own. It was a sign of a back and forth fourth quarter to come, which Good Hope entered trailing 35-34.
The Lady Raiders’ spark off the bench, Sophie Konrad, drilled a three to open the quarter and put Good Hope ahead, where they’d stay. Robinson continued her hot shooting night, hitting one on the other end. In the end, Vinemont’s secondary scorers didn’t complement Robinson like they often do, with Miller having a cold shooting night from deep. The game was physical in the end, with Vinemont clinging on to life, which resulted in five trips to the free throw line for Good Hope in the closing minutes. Robinson refused to quit, though, finishing a tough and-one and hitting another huge three to keep it a one score game, but Adams’ final trips to the free throw line put it away, and Good Hope earned a trip to the varsity girls championship.
Leading Good Hope was Davis, who scored 14 and added 10 rebounds and one assist, steal and block each. Behind her, Adams finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and a block.
Vinemont’s Robinson led the game with 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. Miller and Thomason both finished with seven points, with Thomason also grabbing a team-high eight rebounds.
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