Lexi Shadix of West Point shoots from the line vs. Locust Fork.
WEST POINT – Two quality programs were unsuccessful in slowing down West Point's Lady Warriors in a play-day assignment Tuesday evening at Jim Boyd Gymnasium.
West Point outscored last year's 3A state champion, Locust Fork, 51-32 and followed it up later in the evening with a 59-33 win against Cold Springs.
Locust Fork and Cold Springs battled to the wire with Locust Fork claiming a 48-47 verdict, hitting two free throws in the final three seconds to go home 1-1 for their visit to Cullman County.
West Point is 5-1 after their third day of the summer hoop fest. The Lady Warriors have won four in a row and are averaging 57 points a game.
Locust Fork is a different team than the ball club that won the AHSAA 3A state title in March in Birmingham. But the Lady Hornets showed West Point they were ready to challenge them and did so for much of the first half.
West Point gained a 19-10 lead on a 3-point play by Makenzie Carter with 8:21 to play in the first half. Locust Fork answered with eight consecutive points and was back in contention, cutting the margin to 19-18 at the 6:08 mark.
Balanced scoring sparked West Point the rest of the half with a three by Olivia Ball and field goals from Carter and Riley Jones and free throws by Lexi Shadix that allowed them to raise the margin to 28-18 at halftime.
Ball tallied three consecutive baskets midway in the second half with West Point pushing the margin to 42-23. The Lady Warriors kept the margin near 20 points as Micah Oldacre completed the scoring with a jumper with 55 seconds to play.
West Point knocked down six treys and 17 total field goals. Ball got 15 points on five made long-range shots, Carter scored nine and grabbed a game high 11 rebounds and Shadix racked up eight points, including 4-of-4 from the line.
Locust Fork vs. Cold Springs:
It was a see-saw battle between the Lady Hornets and Lady Eagles in game two. Locust Fork used the perimeter shooting of Rachael Carter to get ahead, taking a 16-9 lead with 9:13 left when she hit a 3-pointer.
Back came Cold Springs on the strength of threes by Elizabeth Hill and Toni West. West was inserted into the point guard position with regular starter Camryn Crider out of town on a vacation.
Four free throws in the final minute of the half enabled Locust Fork to move on top by the score of 22-18 at the break.
Three ties and six lead changes highlighted the final 20:00 of this duel. A steal and a layup by Kyler Hamby gave Cold Springs the lead at 47-46 with 58 seconds to go.
Both teams missed front ends of a one and one with Cold Springs unable to extend the lead with a miss with 10 seconds left. Locust Fork got the rebound and moved downcourt. Baker was fouled on the baseline with three seconds left as she made both to put the Lady Hornets on top 48-47.
Cold Springs executed the inbounds play to perfection with a long pass going to Shae Sellers. Sellers’ shot as time ran out bounced off the rim with Locust Fork hanging on in this evenly-matched encounter.
West delivered 15 in the game for Cold Springs with Hamby scoring 11, Hill tossing in seven, Aubrey Negron four and Sellers four.
Baker had the hot hand for Locust Fork with 22 points, scoring 11 per half and hitting the game-winning free throws.
West Point vs. Cold Springs:
Five of West Point's first seven made shots were from long range, featuring Ball, Oldacre, Brooke Brownfield and Shadix. Ball drained a trey with 9:25 to go in the period, extending the lead to 20-9.
Cold Springs tried to stay close, getting three outside shots to go from West, but ran into a cold spell and got outscored 13-4 in the final 7:30. The score at the half was West Point 34-13.
The three-point shooting stayed in the West Point game plan. Treys by Ball, Brownfield and Shadix in the first five and a half minutes of the second period gave the home side a 43-17 cushion.
Cold Springs managed to get some baskets from West, Hill and Hamby, trying to overcome a tough time connecting on good looking attempts.
Shadix scored 14, Ball produced 12 in the victory, Oldacre scored eight, Carter had five and Brownfield and Sydney Smith six each.
West tossed in nine for the Lady Eagles with Ellison and Hill getting four each, Kinley Campbell three and Hamby two.
West Point visits DAR for a play day on Thursday. Cold Springs gets back into the summer schedule with an assignment next Tuesday at West Morgan.
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