BREMEN – Good Hope and Cold Springs faced off in two very physical games Thursday evening. The Lady Eagles took their game, while in the boys' game, Good Hope pulled away late to win.
Cold Springs 51, Good Hope 49 (Girls)
After eclipsing the 1,000-point mark at the beginning of the season, Lady Eagle Camryn Crider started the game red-hot from the field, scorching the Raider defense for 14 points, 12 of them from behind the arc. Good Hope's Kate Kent, however, scored six in the quarter, and Erika Woodall came up with two big steals to put up four quick points to cut an 11-6 deficit to just one at 11-10, but Crider and Neely Ellison hit two huge threes to stretch their lead to 17-10 after one.
Another big steal, then a layup by Woodall, cut it to 17-12 early in the second quarter, but another three by Crider pushed the Cold Springs lead to 20-12. After a few empty possessions by both teams, Abby Neighbors hit a layup, then later on, Leyton Seal and Woodall hit back-to-back treys to tie the game at 20. Each team traded threes after back-to-back empty possessions. After a Seal three tied it at 23, Toni West got fouled and split from the charity stripe to give the Lady Eagles a 24-23 lead, then Crider nailed yet another deep ball to give them a 27-23 lead going into the half.
A West three stretched the lead to 30-23, but another Seal three and two free throws by Amber Sterling made it a 30-28 game. Woodall cut it to 32-31 after she nailed one from deep. Elizabeth Hill, who was kept quiet for the first half, hit a free throw to give her her first point of the game. West took advantage of a Good Hope turnover to nail another triple to stretch it to 36-31. Hill nailed a three after Savanna Derrick hit a floater to give the Lady Eagles a 39-33 lead going into the final period.
Again, the Lady Raiders cut their deficit to just one at 39-38 after a Seal three and a layup by Bobbi Johnson. But Aubrey Negron put back a miss to make it a 41-38 game, then Seal continued her red-hot shooting as she tied the game at 41 on her fifth three of the night. But another put-back by Negron, plus four quick points by Hill, increased Cold Springs' lead to 47-41. Each team traded points on their next possessions, then Kent nailed a short jumper to make it a 49-46 game. The Lady Raiders forced an Eagle miscue and it turned into gold as Derrick banked in a three from the left wing to tie the game at 49 with 23 seconds remaining. Hill drove in and missed the shot, but she got it back and put it in to give the Lady Eagles a 51-49 lead with 10 seconds remaining. A last heave shot attempt by Good Hope fell short.
Crider finished with a game-high 22 points, 20 of them in the first half. Hill had 12 points, all of them in the second half. West ended up with 10 points and a pair of steals, as no. 9 Cold Springs improved to 4-3 on the season. The Lady Eagles will travel to Holly Pond Friday night.
"We were in a tough game tonight, but we were able to get big rebounds late," Cold Springs coach Tammy West said. "Camryn started out really hot, then she cooled off in the second half, but we had some other players step up for us. We are still trying to find our roles out there, but we'll get it all figured out. This was a big win for us."
Seal ended up with 15 points, four rebounds, and a pair of steals for Good Hope (2-5). Woodall had a big night, scoring 12 points, and getting six steals. Kent had eight points and 10 rebounds, while Derrick added eight of her own. The Lady Raiders will face off against Cordova in their regional home opener Friday night.
"We had to know where 12 and 4 were at all times, because they were scoring most of the points," Good Hope coach Amanda Swann said. "But, I'm very proud of the team for continuing to fight. We have got a major confidence boost right now, especially after losing to West Point in our last game."
Good Hope 59, Cold Springs 34 (Boys)
Kallen Sharpton scored the first points of the game for Good Hope as he nailed a pair of free throws. Hunter McClendon hit a layup for Cold Springs' first points of the game. It went back and forth between both teams with each team feeling the other out. After an Isaac McDonald layup gave Good Hope a 10-6 lead, layups by Mason Harris and McClendon tied the game at 10 after one.
The defenses stepped up to start the second quarter, before Cole Maddox scored the first points of the quarter for either team. After James Byrd gave the Eagles a 16-12 lead on two free throws, McDonald nailed a three from the left corner to help jump-start a 12-0 run, with Good Hope forcing some Cold Springs turnovers and turning them into points. McDonald ended the half with a layup before the buzzer sounded to give the Raiders a 24-16 halftime lead.
The sloppy play for Cold Springs continued into the third quarter, and Landyn Freeman and Drew Maddox cashed in on those opportunities to stretch the Raiders’ lead to double-figures at 30-16. McClendon hit a layup and completed a 3-point play after getting fouled for the Eagles' first points of the quarter at the 3:54 mark, then the Eagles forced a Raider miscue and Logan Rice hit a layup to cut the deficit to 30-21; the Eagles still had plenty of fight left in them. Each team traded buckets on the final several possessions before McDonald hit a short floater to give Good Hope a 40-30 lead going into the final quarter.
The quarter, though, belonged to Good Hope as the Raiders outscored the Eagles, 19-4, and got contributions from the whole team, to pull away late and win the game.
McDonald was one of four Raider players to reach double-figures in scoring as he finished with 14 points. Cole Maddox had 12 points and five rebounds. Sharpton ended up with 11 points, six rebounds and five steals. Freeman had 10 points and five rebounds. Drew Maddox finished with six, as did Michael Lowe, who also added four boards. The Raiders improve to 3-3 on the season.
McClendon finished with 15 points and seven boards for Cold Springs (1-4), and Hill ended up with 10 points and four rebounds. Adam McKinnon ran the head coaching duties for Tim Willoughby, who was in Atlanta with his wife, Regina, while she is receiving treatment for her pancreatic cancer.
"Cold Springs has to be one of the most disciplined teams that I have ever coached against," Good Hope coach Drew Adams said. "Cold Springs had a good game plan for us, but I'm proud of how they showed grit out there, and we were able to pull away late."
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