HANCEVILLE – Kelly Pickett might be an eighth grader by the roster, but the starting point guard for the Good Hope Lady Raiders played like a seasoned veteran Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Cullman County Tournament against Hanceville.
With others struggling on offense, Pickett picked up the slack by scoring 15 points, eight in the second half and helped her team come from behind to defeat the Lady Bulldogs 42-32 at Tom Drake Coliseum.
The fourth seed Lady Raiders were given a challenge by No. 5 seed Hanceville. Hanceville led 20-16 at the half with the game a one-point difference going into the final quarter.
However, early in the fourth, the Lady Raiders got control and finished with a 12-2 run to snap a tie, giving them a chance to return to the Coliseum Thursday to meet No. 1 seed Fairview in the semifinals.
Pickett had five rebounds and several steals to display an all-out effort in her first Cullman County Tournament game. She was part of a 16-7 spurt in the fourth to give Good Hope its 12 victory of the season and second against a determined Hanceville team that lost 66-37 to the Lady Raiders November 13 in the season opener.
Kate Kent added 10 points and collected 10 rebounds for a double-double while Kaylee Maddox scored just seven, but got eight rebounds and blocked three shots.
Taylor Hollingsworth led Hanceville (9-8) with 13 and 11 rebounds, Karmen Johnson scored eight and snared seven boards.
Hanceville 61, Vinemont 18
Second seed Hanceville led 15-5 eight minutes into the game, 25-5 at halftime and 45-11 heading into the fourth period. The Bulldogs won their fourth in a row and now face West Point Friday in the second semi at 7:30 p.m.
Hanceville was 10 of 24 from the field in the first half and improved that by shooting 16 of 31 for the final two quarters. The Bulldogs would score nine times from three-point range and had to get into the scoring column.
Leading the way for the 15-6 Bulldogs was Xavier Malcom with 18, followed by RJ Evans and Issac Weissend 11 each and eight by Jose Orozco.
Weissend led the Bulldogs’ three-point attack by hitting three of four opportunities.
Garrett Boland got eight for Vinemont and Jaython Blanton delivered four.
Good Hope 47, West Point 44 (OT) (Freshmen)
A dandy first game in semifinal play of the freshmen division, Good Hope rallied from an 18-13 deficit after the opening period and had the game tied at 34-34 following play in the third period.
A free throw from Matt Dixon with 19 seconds left evened the numbers at 38-38 and created an extra four minutes. Matt Hancock scored six in the OT, but had an assist to Peyton Hill for the go-ahead bucket with 9 seconds showing on the clock.
Hancock was on fire for the Raiders with 20 while Dixon scored 14 rebounds and ripped down 12 rebounds.
Rylan Jones was the leader for West Point with 18, hitting four of eight treys. Noah Allison chipped in with 11.
Fairview 46, Hanceville 42 (Freshmen)
Top seed Fairview was led by Luke Yarbrough’s 18 points, 13 in the second half to key the Aggies to a come-from-behind verdict against 5thseed Hanceville.
The Aggies tied the game at the half at 25-25 and went on top in the third period 39-34. Caleb White supported Yarbrough’s scoring with nine while Brady Brooks tallied eight and Conner Tipton seven.
For Hanceville, Alex Campbell knocked down seven of 10 field goals and produced 18 points with Damien Johnson scoring 14 and Fred Ellis getting seven.
No. 1 Fairview now faces No. 3 Good Hope for the freshmen championship Saturday at 2:00 p.m. on the Wallace State campus.
