WEST POINT – Balanced scoring to begin the third period lifted the West Point Lady Warriors from the clutches of an upset bid by Hayden, turning back the Lady Wildcats 51-43 Friday night, as West Point moves to 2-0 in 5A, Area 12 and 11-1 for the season.
Hayden, with one win against five losses coming in after getting routed by a score of 57-13 to Fairview last Friday in its area opener, slowed down West Point's offense enough in the second quarter to stay in contention, trailing by only 28-22 at halftime.
The Lady Warriors managed just two field goals in the second, a trey by Bailee Yearwood and a layup from Jessica King to weather the storm after getting a respectable lead on Hayden following the first period of play.
Baskets from Yearwood, Olivia Ball and Miriam Oldacre opened the third period on a 6-0 run for West Point and John Welborn's squad moved the margin to 34-22.
But throughout the rest of the night, the No. 9 team in the 5A state prep poll could never put away the pesky visitors from Blount County.
West Point took a 44-33 lead into the fourth and managed to run the advantage to 13 points a couple of times with Hayden never surrendering.
A turning point for the Lady Wildcats was not having center Micayla Rickels for the final 3:00 after she left the contest with a reported bloody nose that required treatment from West Point trainer Donna Chamblee.
Rickels had been superior for Hayden, scoring 18 points prior to the injury. She tallied five field goals and sparked at the foul line, hitting eight of 10 opportunities.
Being tested by Hayden was a learning lesson for Welborn's unit, coming off a tough 72-59 setback to Cold Springs three nights earlier at home.
West Point never allowed Hayden to cut the margin to less than seven points during the second half. The positive was good foul shooting in the final half in which the Lady Warriors hit seven straight before missing front ends of a one-and-one inside the game's final 2:00.
Yearwood stood out early for the Lady Warriors with four treys in the first period to send them to a 23-14 advantage and had five by intermission. The senior missed one attempt all night, but Hayden changed its defense and never gave her open looks from the perimeter after halftime.
Ball and Mackenzie Carter accounted for 15 points together in the second half after Ball had two at the break and Carter being held scoreless. Ball finished with 10 while Carter netted seven and was three for three from the line.
Lexi Shadix collected eight points, Miriam Oldacre scored seven and King had two.
Supporting the 18 points from Rickels for Hayden was Evin Bibb and Gracie Benton with eight each.
Next Friday, West Point welcomes Fairview to town for a first-place battle in the area. Both are 2-0 with Fairview routing Curry Friday night 69-25.
Before the Lady Warriors can focus on the Lady Aggies, they will get a good challenge when the Cullman Lady Bearcats come calling on Tuesday night.
Hayden 61, West Point 54:
Another chance at getting a win slipped through the Warriors’ grasp after they enjoyed a 14-3 lead to start the game.
Hayden rallied and went ahead 20-19 at the end of the first period and was on top at the half by the score of 35-30.
The Warriors were unable to overcome the Wildcats' ability to score from long range with Hayden knocking down nine treys on the night as Christian Chappell and Colton Stanley combined to make seven for the leaders of 5A, Area 12.
With less than a minute left, the Warriors narrowed a nine-point deficit to 57-54 thanks to a basket by Brandon Farley and scoring from Kolton Sapp.
Chappell iced the Wildcats' sixth victory in eight games by hitting four from the line in the final 40 seconds. The Wildcats are 5-0 on the road this season with both wins in the area so far coming at Fairview last week and Friday night at West Point.
Stanley fired in 17 for Hayden with Chappell hitting 16 and Leonard Johnson scoring nine.
Sapp played well for the Warriors, who have lost seven straight and are 3-8 overall, 0-2 in the area. The sophomore scored 16 points with Colby Sullins and Rylan Jones adding eight, Cameron Moore seven, Farley six, Austin Dubberly four, Alex Hernandez three and Michael Keller two.
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