Cold Springs 57, Holly Pond 49 (Girls)
HOLLY POND – The Holly Pond Lady Broncos were thinking upset at home against No. 4 Cold Springs. After Camryn Crider hit back-to-back threes to give the Lady Eagles a 6-0 lead, Holly Pond put their first point on the scoreboard with 5:50 remaining on a Molly Gambrill free throw. After Gambrill went 1 of 2 from the line again, they scored their first basket on a Kolby Holcombe three to cut the lead to 6-5. Holcombe's three was one of five the Lady Broncos hit in the quarter as they finished on a 16-5 run to take a 21-11 lead.
Holly Pond stretched the lead to 24-11 in the second quarter. After not attempting a shot in the opening quarter, Emme Willoughby got going quickly as she scored 10 points in the second, but turnovers kept the Lady Eagles from cutting into the deficit. After Crider cut the lead to 30-25 on a free throw, Ruth Horton hit a layup and Presley Marks nailed two from the line to push the lead back to nine at 34-25 at the half. Each team hit six threes in the first half.
A Holcombe three pushed the lead back to double digits, 37-25. Freshman Elizabeth Hill picked a great time to get her first points of the game as she nailed a three, getting the Lady Eagle offense back on track. The defense picked up, too, as they outscored the Lady Broncos 9-3 after the Hill three to get back in the game as the lead got swiveled down to 39-37 after three.
Willoughby tied the game at 39 to start the fourth, but Taylor Tankersley converted the old-fashioned 3-point play off a Lady Eagle turnover to take a 42-39 lead, then added a free throw to make the score 43-39. Crider went 1 of 2 from the line to cut the lead to 43-40, but Holcombe hit another three to push the lead to six. Two free throws and a layup by Hill had the Lady Eagles looking at a one-possession game at 46-44. Neely Ellison hit a big three to tie the game at 47, then Sadie Terry hit a layup to give the Lady Eagles their first lead since early in the first quarter. Cold Springs hit their final eight free throws to clinch the comeback win to stay undefeated at 12-0.
Willoughby led the Lady Eagles with 16 points. Crider finished with 14. Ellison had 12 and Hill finished with nine. They will travel to Good Hope tomorrow night.
"We did not get off to a good start, but they did." Cold Springs coach Tammy West said. "It got really scary, but then, we finally started moving on defense. We hit some really huge free throws at the end. I am just really proud of the girls for coming back."
Gambrill had 15 points to lead Holly Pond. Holcombe finished with 12. Tankersley had 10 and Horton finished with seven. They fall to 4-11 overall. They will stay at home tomorrow night against Hanceville.
Holly Pond 79, Cold Springs 40 (Boys)
There was no drama in the boys’ game as, after a back-and-forth game for the first part of the first quarter, No. 2 Holly Pond finished the quarter strong and were not threatened again- staying undefeated on the season.
Both teams scored on their first two possessions. A Drew Jones three, followed by a reverse slam dunk by Matt Cahoon off an Eagle turnover, gave Holly Pond a 9-4 lead. Blake Wood cut the lead to three on two free throws. Back-to-back scores by each team after turnovers kept it at a three-point game. But that's the closest that Cold Springs got as Holly Pond finished the quarter on a 15-3 run to take a 26-11 lead after one.
The lead grew to 44-21 at the half, and 67-30 after three.
Drew Jones, Jacob Harris and Bailey Smith each had 14 for Holly Pond and Cahoon finished with 11.
"We played a great game. We had a few turnovers here and there, but overall, I thought we played really well." Holly Pond coach Mitch Morris said. "We have a really great team. We are really deep and we have 10, 11 guys that can see the floor and play really well. Being competitive, that has been an ongoing thing for us. When the team plays against each other in practice, we are really competitive."
Hunter McClendon led Cold Springs with 13 points. Jesse Lee and Blake Wood each had eight. They fall to 7-6 overall. They will travel to Good Hope tomorrow night.
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