TRINITY – Kathleen Wheeler and Jenna Walker of Priceville were a deadly fourth-quarter scoring force, leading the Lady Bulldogs to a 62-50 upset of the Cold Springs Lady Eagles in the opening round of the West Morgan Christmas Tournament Wednesday afternoon.
The pair combined for 20 of the team's 27 points in the final period with Wheeler scoring nine, getting the go ahead basket 56 seconds into the fourth, and Walker knocking down 11.
Priceville trailed for three quarters behind the undefeated, No. 4 ranked team from Class 2A. The third quarter turned out to be a nightmare for Cold Springs, with just a 3-pointer and a free throw from Camryn Crider for a total of four points.
The Lady Eagles held a 32-23 lead at the break thanks to 13 by the half from the sharpshooting Crider and eight critical points off the bench with six by Prisca McAnnally and two from Neely Ellison.
Cold Springs led by 12 late in the half before Priceville scored the final three points of the period on a trey from Walker.
The only field goal for the Lady Eagles was at the 2:28 mark of the third when Crider scored from downtown. Moments later, she got a free throw and Cold Springs was ahead 36-28
Priceville finished the third with a 7-0 run and had plenty of momentum going to the fourth, down by the score of 36-35.
Wheeler's three with 7:04 to play made the score 41-38. She hit a field goal at the 5:00 mark and Priceville took a 47-40 advantage.
Cold Springs suffered from the foul line all game, hitting just seven of 17 attempts. Priceville, on the other hand, was 23 of 28 and 11 of 12 during the fourth quarter.
The final eight points for the Lady Bulldogs came from the line in eight tries as Walker was 6-of-6 and Kele Nelson made two.
Cold Springs' winning streak stopped at 13 games while Priceville evened its record to 7-7 with its biggest victory of the season.
Wheeler scored 19, Walker 17 and Nelson nine points for the Lady Bulldogs.
Crider had a stellar performance with 23 points, Emme Willoughby scored 13, McAnnally and Elizabeth Hill six each and Ellison two.
Cold Springs gets Brooks in the consolation bracket at 11 a.m. Thursday. Priceville will play Southside-Gadsden in the semifinals at 5 p.m.
Southside romped over Brooks 46-17, outscoring the Lady Lions 29-5 in the second half after it was just a 17-12 lead for the Lady Panthers at the break.
The other game that was a highlight besides the Priceville upset was between East Limestone and Central-Florence.
East Limestone outlasted Central 61-59 in triple overtime. Central overcame an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to tie the score at 36-36 to force extra basketball.
The score was 43-43 following the first extra 4:00 and 52-52 at the end of the second OT.
East Limestone broke the tie in the final minute and got free throws late to preserve the lead to move on to the semifinals. Central scored as time expired to make it a final margin of 61-59.
Other scores for Wednesday:
- Cullman 75, Albertville 65 (G) in Sevierville, TN
- Hanceville 51, Cleveland 35 (G) in Hayden Christmas Tournament
- Holly Pond 46, Talladega County Central 26 (G) in Decatur Orthopedic Classic
- Cullman 58, Rockmart (GA) 48 in Pigeon Forge, TN
- Cordova 63, Fairview 47 in Albertville Jaycee Tournament
Copyright 2016 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
