GOOD HOPE – No. 1 ranked Cordova showed Good Hope how superior they were Friday night in the first quarter of the Blue Devils' 73-35 triumph over the Raiders.
Cordova took a 27-9 lead at the end of the first, scoring in transition and running set plays to break through the Raider defense.
The Blue Devils had balanced scoring with Demetrius Kirk, Isaac Chatman and Graham Martin combining for 22 points, hitting nine field goals between them and never letting the Raiders get into a flow from the offensive end.
Cordova stretched the lead to 48-18 at the half and was ahead 60-28 when the third quarter ended.
The third was the best effort of the night for the Raiders with 10 points as Matt Cofer scored on consecutive possessions with Matt Dixon getting a field goal and sophomore Kallen Sharpton scoring twice from the line and once from the perimeter.
Cordova put 13 on the scoreboard in the final quarter, using its bench to send the Blue Devils to the regular season title in Class 4A, Area 10 at 4-0. Cordova is now 15-2 with a game Saturday in the MLK Classic at Huffman High School vs. Helena.
The Blue Devils will journey to Huntsville on Monday, playing in the Marvin Stone Classic at UAH, battling the Hazel Green Trojans from Class 6A.
Good Hope dropped to 13-7 and 2-2 in area play. The Raiders are second in the area with Good Hope and Dora to meet in the Area 10 tournament on Feb. 9 with the winner to face Cordova in the finals.
The Raiders will make up a game with West Point at Good Hope Gymnasium on Monday. The game was postponed Nov. 29 due to severe weather in the area that evening.
Good Hope 63, Cordova 22 (Girls):
A fast start by the Lady Raiders with a 10-0 lead after the game's first 4:00 transitioned to a one-sided affair once the contest reached halftime.
Good Hope took a 12-2 lead following the first, stretched the margin to 27-10 at the break, blowing the game wide open in the third quarter on a 24-6 run to lead 51-16.
The third quarter for Amanda Swann's Lady Raiders produced nine field goals and three treys, including one by Makailey Speegle, before time ran out.
Good Hope's second half was an advantage of 36-12 in scoring, with 14 field goals, five from three-point range, while Cordova managed to score four times, three on long-range shots, and was 1-of-4 from the line.
Junior Kate Kent anchored the balanced attack for the Lady Raiders with 15, freshman point guard Savanna Derrick tallied 13 and had eight steals, Leyton Seal tossed in 11, Speegle and Erica Woodall scored nine each, Charis Peek four and Amber Sterling had two.
The Lady Raiders finish 3-1 in 4A, Area 10 and are tied for first place with Dora who is 3-1. A coin toss in the upcoming weeks will determine which team will be the host for the area tournament in early February.
Seventh-grader Jacquelyn Braswell scored 12 points for Cordova, who is 0-4 in the area standings.
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