WEST POINT – Cold Springs' offense, tempo and quick hands proved to be too much for Oakman to handle Wednesday afternoon in the inaugural West Point Girls’ Thanksgiving Tournament.
Cold Springs, who had a game Wednesday morning against Guntersville canceled due to Guntersville's team severely affected by the flu, wore down the Lady Wildcats 68-27 and finished the tournament 3-0.
The host of the tournament, West Point, defeated Phil Campbell 71-46 and shared an undefeated record in the event with its rival from the southwest part of the county. The Lady Warriors were 4-0 for the three-day adventure before Thanksgiving with Cold Springs victorious through three opponents from Marshall, Franklin and Walker counties.
Oakman gave the Lady Eagles a challenge for the first 6:00 of the contest. The Lady Wildcats were down 10-7.
For the rest of the half, the game became a Cold Springs demonstration of scoring, aggressive defense and a 35-2 run. The scoreboard told the story at the break with Tammy West's Lady Eagles enjoying a 45-9 advantage by scoring six treys, seven field goals and 13 of 17 from the foul line.
Leading 16-8 when the first ended, the Lady Eagles allowed Oakman a free throw for its total in the second and buried the Lady Wildcats with 29 points and eight field goals, three from long distance.
Oakman ended a drought of 15:00 without scoring a basket when the Lady Wildcats knocked down a three at the 3:00 mark of the third. The Lady 'Cats were down at the time 56-14.
The third ended with the Lady Eagles in control, leading 62-17. The starters became spectators for the final 8:00.
Emme Willoughby was again sharp in tournament play, scoring 20 to send Cold Springs to Thanksgiving 5-0. Camryn Crider had 15, scoring three treys, Elizabeth Hill added 14, Sadie Terry nine, Neely Ellison and Prista McAnally three each, Zoe Strawbridge one.
Oakman was led by Heather Thompson with eight. The Lady Wildcats are 1-2 after opening their season in the West Point Classic.
West Point 71, Phil Campbell 46:
Playing their second game on Wednesday, Phil Campbell challenged host West Point for most of the first quarter. But the closing moments of the stanza were controlled by the Lady Warriors and a 10-9 lead grew to 19-11 when time expired.
The Lady Warriors didn't show signs of fatigue after playing twice Tuesday at Jim Boyd Gymnasium. A basket in transition by a pass from Miram Oldacre to Bailee Yearwood resulted in a layup and a 32-16 lead for West Point with 4:00 to go in the half.
The score at the half was Lady Warriors 38, Lady Bobcats 25. The start of the third period was a different story. Phil Campbell began to connect from the outside and cut into the deficit, trailing 40-35 with 4:30 to go.
A three by Olivia Ball from the left baseline created a little breathing room with West Point taking a 43-35 lead at the 3:30 mark. The run continued with a basket by Lillie Burdette, forcing a Phil Campbell timeout and West Point was back in the double-digit status, ahead by a 48-35 count with 1:11 showing in the third.
Ball landed back-to-back treys in the final seconds to send John Welborn's Lady Warriors to the fourth in command 56-37. West Point closed out the third on a 16-2 run.
Miriam Oldacre had the exclamation point on the victory with a four-point play at the 2:15 mark and West Point led 68-46.
Ball was on fire with four treys and a 20-point performance for the Lady Warriors. Miriam Oldacre scored 14, Micah Oldacre had 12, Lexi Shaddix nine, Bailee Yearwood eight, Burdette four, Mackenzie Carter three and Jessica King one.
The Lady Warriors break for the holidays at 7-0. They have games to start next week with Walker, Good Hope and Curry before December arrives.
Darby Elliott produced 20 for the 4-2 Lady Bobcats with Abby Davis scoring 12.
Phil Campbell 67, Hanceville 30:
The Lady Bobcats started with an 8-0 run less than 2:00 after tip off. Hanceville was able to get a couple of field goals and trailed 8-4 by the 5:00 mark. From that point, Phil Campbell controlled the game. A 21-6 lead at the conclusion of the first became a 41-18 margin at the break.
Phil Campbell's transition game was in full force during the third with the Lady Bobcats moving the advantage to 60-26. The fourth quarter was played under the NFHS rule of a running clock with the visitors from Franklin County ahead by more than 30 points.
Darby Elliott pumped in 17 with Abby Davis scoring 16 for the Lady Bobcats, now 4-1 on the season.
Carmen Johnson led Hanceville with nine, Brooke Barnett six, Emma Chambers, Jade Hollingsworth, Kierra Merriweather, Malia Howell and Cassidy Campbell each scored two points. Lady Bulldogs dropped to 1-5.
Albertville 56, Hanceville 30:
The Lady Bulldogs could not contain their 9-8 first-quarter lead, as Albertville finished the first half on an 8-0 run, scoring twice from 3-point range and headed for the locker room on top by the score of 24-16.
A baseline shot from the left side by Grace Kelly gave Albertville a 37-20 lead. Seconds later, she followed that with a 3-pointer and the Lady Aggies doubled the margin to 40-20 with 3:45 left in the third. Albertville led after the third 46-26.
Savanna Bright scored 13, McCall Rowe had 10 and Hannah Lightsey eight for Albertville, now 2-4.
Leading Hanceville was Karmen Johnson with nine, Emma Chambers six and Kierra Merriweather four. Lady Bulldogs go into the holidays 1-6.
FINAL RECORDS IN WEST POINT TOURNAMENT:
West Point 4-0
Cold Springs 3-0
Phil Campbell 1-2
Albertville 1-2
Oakman 1-2
Guntersville 1-1
Hanceville 0-4
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