WINSTON COUNTY – Last night wrapped up the Winston County Tournament. There were some exciting games that went down to the wire and one dominating performance by Winston County in the last game of the night.
Winston County 38, Meek 30 (JV Girls)
It was a low-scoring first quarter between both teams, and Meek's Hannah Taylor scored five of her team's seven points, but Winston County had three different players find the scoring column as they took an 8-7 lead after one.
The second quarter was like the first, plus both teams struggled from the free-throw line, with Winston County going just 1-of-5 and Meek 2-of-8. But the Lady Yellow Jackets, behind six points by Kayla Stromatt, went into the locker room up 17-14.
The offense picked up for Winston County in the third quarter as they stretched their lead to 24-15 after a 7-1 run. But Meek closed the gap with a mini 6-0 run of their own to cut it to 24-21. The Lady Yellow Jackets finished the quarter strong as an 8-1 run pushed their lead to 30-22 after three.
Meek looked to make a final run in the fourth quarter but started out just 2-of-6 from the line. Savannah Smith hit a layup to close the gap to 30-26, but a Stromatt two and a Maggie Tidwell three increased their lead to 35-26 and pretty much closed the door on another Lady Tiger comeback.
Tidwell finished with 10 points and seven rebounds for Winston County. Stromatt also finished with 10 points, and she grabbed five rebounds. Emily Holt had nine points, two rebounds and five steals.
Taylor led Meek with 15 points and three rebounds, and Smith ended up with six points and three steals.
Addison 40, Winston County 35 (JV Boys)
Winston County jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead behind a layup by Brooks Bonds and a three by Cade Taylor, and Addison found the scoreboard on a Matthew Harris basket. But there was hardly any scoring after that, and Winston County led 7-4 after one.
Addison's offense picked up in the second, as four different players scored, and the defense held the Yellow Jackets to just seven points, five of them coming from Taylor. Addison took a 15-14 lead at the half.
The teams swapped the lead three times in the third quarter, and a Cendrick Smith and one pushed Addison's lead to 25-21 with 2:47 remaining in the quarter. Taylor answered with a three of his own to cut the lead to one. Grant Rice hit a layup to make it 27-24, which was the score after three.
Rice stretched their lead to 35-30 with a layup, and Mason Parker pushed the lead to 36-30 on a free throw with 48.5 seconds left in the game. Meek answered with an Isaiah Fell three to trim the lead to three, but Rice went 3-of-3 from the line and Smith went 1-of-2 to seal the win and the championship.
Rice finished with 16 points, four rebounds and two steals for Addison. Smith ended up with 13 points, nine rebounds, a steal and two blocks.
Taylor led Winston County with 20 points, four rebounds and two steals.
Addison 57, Winston County 52 (Girls)
Winston County's Hannah Alexander was hard to slow down early as she scored six of her team's first eight points to help the team take an early 8-3 lead. But Addison's Kaylee Brummett and Alex Townsend helped start an 8-3 run to tie the game at 11 with 53 seconds left in the opening quarter. Samantha Marcum gave the Lady Jackets a 13-11 lead with a layup before the buzzer.
Alexander scored the team's first seven points to give the Lady Yellow Jackets a 20-14 lead. Masion Evans nailed a three to cut the lead to three, but Alexander answered with a layup to increase the lead to 22-17. With 2:31 remaining in the first half, a technical foul was called on Winston County, and Evans went 1-of-2 from the line, adding a three to give the Lady Bulldogs a 23-22 lead with 2:13 remaining. The teams had four lead changes in the last 2:13, with the last coming on a pair of free throws by Saige Blanton to give the Lady Yellow Jackets a 26-25 lead at the half.
Evans gave the Lady Bulldogs a 30-28 lead with 5:35 remaining on a three. Each team got sloppy with the turnovers after Marcum went 1-of-2 from the line to make it a three-point deficit at 33-30. Alexander and Townsend scored all their team's remaining points in the third quarter as Alexander went 5-of-6 from the line and Townsend added a pair of free throws and a layup, and Addison took a 37-35 lead going into the final quarter.
Winston County started the fourth quarter strong, with four quick points to take a 39-37 lead. But Addison went on a 7-0 run, behind Reagan Smothers and Macey Butler, who scored their first points of the game, and Townsend, to take a 44-39 lead with 5:41 remaining in the game. A couple of possessions later, Alexander fouled out of the game, which was a huge loss for the Lady Yellow Jackets. Destiny Walker went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to push the lead to 45-39.
Winston County kept fighting and tied the game at 45 with 3:34 left on a pair of free throws by Blanton. After an empty possession by Addison, Blanton gave Winston County the lead on a layup. Brummett scored the next five points for the Lady Bulldogs to help Addison take a 50-47 lead. But Bonds tied the game at 50 on a three. It was a battle of free throws for the rest of the game. The Lady Bulldogs had a 54-52 lead with 13 seconds remaining. Savannah Manley went 1-of-2 from the line. After she missed the second attempt, Brummett grabbed the rebound and put it back in to seal the win for Addison.
Brummett finished with 18 points and five rebounds for Addison. Evans had 14 points, six rebounds and a steal. They both received all-tournament, along with Butler and Smothers. Brummett and Evans made co-MVPs of the tournament. They improve to 18-3 on the season. No. 5 Addison will travel to Falkville on Monday.
Alexander led Winston County with 22 points, 12 rebounds and a steal before fouling out. Kady Bonds finished with 10 points, six rebounds and a steal. Blanton also finished with 10 points. She added five rebounds and six steals. They fall to 16-6 on the season. Alexander, Bonds and Blanton got all-tournament.
Sevanna Banks and Amanda Cunningham took the honors for Meek.
Winston County 73, Meek 45 (Boys)
Winston County jumped out to a quick first-quarter lead and did not let up as they rolled to the championship rout.
Five different Winston County players scored in the opening quarter as they opened up a 20-10 lead after one.
They outscored the Tigers, 17-9, in the second quarter to take a commanding 37-19 at the half. Meek outscored the Yellow Jackets, 16-13, in the third, but still saw themselves trailing, 50-35, after three. The Tigers never climbed out of the double-digit hole as Winston County widened their lead to 20 at a point, and coasted from there to take home the championship.
Hayden Hodge finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and six steals en route to getting MVP of the tournament. Hayden Pendergrass was not too far behind with 17 points, four rebounds and a steal. He, along with Adam Kilgore and Hunter Hodge, all got all-tournament. They improve to 14-5 on the season.
Jacob Woodard led Meek with 18 points, three rebounds, two steals and a block. Dillon Barker finished with 12 points. John Abercrombie ended up with eight points and four rebounds. Woodard, Luke Sherer and Abercrombie got all-tournament. They will travel to Brilliant on Wednesday.
Addison's Logan Wilkins and Matthew Mann made all-tournament. Blake Adams and Cameron Baldy captured the honors for Lynn.
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