The Hanceville Bulldogs beat Carbon HIll, 66-37, to claim back-to-back 3A, Area 12 titles. / Norman Bush
HANCEVILLE – The Hanceville Bulldogs hosted the Bulldogs of Carbon Hill Thursday night for the 3A, Area 12 championships. In the end, the Hanceville Lady Bulldogs came up short, 61-53, but the Hanceville Bulldogs put down Carbon Hill, 66-37, taking back-to-back area titles.
Carbon Hill 61, Hanceville 53 (Girls)
The Hanceville Lady Bulldogs looked to win their first area title since 2001 and they got off to a strong start, leading 19-9 after one; Hanceville saw that lead cut to 30-26 at the half. They started the second half on an 11-4 run to increase their lead to 41-30, but Carbon Hill finished the quarter on a 15-7 run of its own to make it a 48-45 game after three. The final quarter was a nightmare for Hanceville; the Carbon Hill Lady Bulldogs outscored Hanceville 16-5 to turn a double-digit lead into an eight-point defeat.
The Hanceville Lady Bulldogs are now 19-9 overall. Kierra Merriweather led Hanceville with 20 points. Kelly Pickett finished with 16. Cassidy Campbell ended up with nine. Karmen Johnson had five and Malia Howell ended up with three. Hanceville will travel to West Morgan on Monday at 7 p.m.
Hanceville 66, Carbon Hill 37 (Boys)
It was raining threes to start out the game for Hanceville, with all 18 points in the first period came from behind the arc; R.J. Evans nailing three of those, and Brendan Flanigan, Raiden Morgan and Allen Jones each added one to give the Hanceville Bulldogs an 18-6 first-quarter lead; they added four more from deep in the second period and played strong defense in the first half, allowing just 16 points. Hanceville went into the locker room with a comfortable 34-16 lead.
Evans went off in the third period, scoring 12 of his 25 points, and Hanceville held a 54-26 lead after three, holding on for the easy runaway win and back-to-back area titles.
The Hanceville Bulldogs improve to 17-9 overall and will host their sub-regional next Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Morgan nailed four treys to finish with 12 for the game. Jones added three of his own from deep to end up with nine. Flanigan finished with seven, Zeke McDonald ended up with six, Damion Johnson had four and Josh Stanley three.
"Hitting 14 threes wasn't in our game plan," Hanceville coach Daniel Wakefield said. "But, we kept hitting them and I kept telling my players to keep taking them when you're wide open. We didn't hit as many in the second half. But we hit enough; we got some steals and we hit some layups. It feels great winning back-to-back area titles. If we shoot and play defense like we did tonight, we will win our sub-regional game next Tuesday. It's better to host a sub-regional game than travel. Shooting like this heading into our sub-regional game will give us a huge advantage."
Class 1A, Area 12: Marion County 51, Meek 47 (Girls)
The Lady Tigers looked for their second area championship in three years as they took on Marion County, but they fell just four points short at the end. Meek falls to 16-12 overall, and will travel to Decatur Heritage for their sub-regional game next Monday at 7 p.m.
Class 2A, Area 13: Cold Springs 71, Winston County 35 (Girls)
The Lady Eagles easily rolled past Winston County to give coach Tammy West her 19th area championship overall. They improve to 19-12 overall and will face the Mars Hill/Tanner loser next Monday at 7 p.m. at home in their sub-regional game.
Class 4A, Area 10: Good Hope 57, Dora 45 (Girls)
The Lady Raiders took down Dora for the second straight season to become 4A, Area 10 champions. Their record is 10-17 overall now and they will take on Wilson next Monday at 7 p.m. in their sub-regional game.
Class 5A, Area 12: Fairview 65, West Point 43 (Girls)
The Lady Aggies got past West Point to win back-to-back area titles to add to their back-to-back county titles. Fairview improves to 22-7 overall and will host its sub-regional game against the loser of Mae Jemison/Lee-Huntsville contest, while the Lady Warriors (22-10) will travel to the winner of that game next Monday at 7 p.m.
Class 6A, Area 14: Brewer 58, Cullman 48 (Girls)
The Lady Bearcats looked for an upset on the road in the area championship game against Brewer, but they fell by 10, falling to 18-14 overall on the season. Cullman will travel to Minor next Monday at 7 p.m. in its sub-regional game.
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