HAYDEN – Good Hope’s Lady Raiders have been a regular participant to the Hayden High School Christmas Tournament.
They made their presence felt as a championship contender in defeating Cordova 73-49 during the quarterfinal round Saturday afternoon.
Good Hope adjusted at halftime in which the Lady Raiders trailed 32-31 by going to work on offense with 17 second half field goals that led to 42 points. The defense also stood out by allowing Cordova just 17 points on four second half field goals.
A 23-10 advantage in the third period by the Lady Raiders with 17 coming from the talented duo of forward Kaylee Maddox and center Kate Kent enabled Good Hope to move in front and pull away by a final margin of 24 points.
They would finish with a 19-7 edge in the fourth quarter and move on to the semifinal round against Cleveland. Cleveland went on a 8-0 run in the final minute to defeat Mortimer Jordan 68-63 in the first game on Saturday’s agenda.
Maddox got her offense rhythm late in the third after she was unable to score in the first half for Mike Oldacre’s ball club. It created a problem for Cordova who couldn’t contain Kent.
The sophomore in the post had four short range field goals in the third and closed out a 20-point outing with two in the final period. Kent would pound her way for nine field goals and dropped in two from the line to help Good Hope even its record to 8-8.
Maddox was joined by Skylar Hembree with 12 while Micah Oldacre delivered 11 and Miriam Oldcare chipped in with 10. Kelly Pickett just missed double figures and she tallied nine.
Hueytown 68, West Point 58
Trailing 38-20 at halftime, the Lady Warriors never stopped playing. They were able to utilize Baliee Yearwood’s three-point stroke as she hit five in the third to get the team within three points at 51-48 as the quarter concluded.
Producing 28 points in an eight-minute span was pleasing for West Pointcoach John Welborn. His concern was would they have enough energy left in their attack during the final period.
Jeri Beasley evened the score at 51-51 on a three, just seconds into the stanza. Then Hueytown went back on top, only to see the Lady Warriors close to 58-56 with under 2:00 to go on a three-pointer from Olivia Ball.
But Hueytown held on by ending the game with a 10-2 run and preventing the Lady Warriors from an entrée into the semifinal round.
Hueytown faces Hayden in the second semifinal round Monday at 8:30. The tournament host ran away from Hamilton 72-44.
Yearwood delivered 24 with all eight shots from downtown including the five she made in the third. Beasley pumped in 11 with Lillie Burdette scoring eight.
The schedule for Monday at the Hayden Christmas Tournament:
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Mortimer Jordan vs. Cordova 4 p.m.
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West Point vs. Hamilton 5:30 p.m.
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Good Hope vs. Cleveland 7 p.m.
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Hayden vs. Hueytown 8:30 p.m.
The tournament is in its eighth year of existence.
