Lexi Shadix (1) posted 21 points in West Point's win over Cold Springs Thursday night. (Bill Piper for The Cullman Tribune)
HANCEVILLE – In Thursday night’s second Cullman County Basketball Tournament showdown, (1) West Point faced (4) Cold Springs in a heavyweight varsity girls’ matchup with a spot in this year’s title game on the line.
Neither team could find the scoreboard early in the opening period, but Lexi Shadix put the Lady Warriors in front 2-0 midway through the first. The offense began to come alive for West Point after that as the Lady Warriors built an 8-3 lead late in the quarter, and a three from Shadix put them ahead 14-8 at the start of the second.
West Point moved ahead 18-8 early in the second quarter, but a 3-pointer and a layup from Lady Eagle Elizabeth Hill trimmed it to 18-13. The Lady Warriors continued to answer Cold Springs’ baskets and maintain a comfortable lead. Camryn Crider converted an and-one play to cut the lead to 22-16 midway through the second, but Miriam Oldacre responded with a three on the other end to regain a 9-point lead for West Point. The Lady Warriors were able to hold the Lady Eagles in check defensively for most of the first half and took a 29-19 advantage into the break.
West Point started the second half strong, building a 35-22 lead early in the third quarter. Micah Oldacre nailed a shot from behind the arc to put the Lady Warriors in front 39-25 midway through the third. Three-point shooting from Crider and Toni West kept West Point from pulling away in the third, quarter and Hill scored to cut the lead to 41-35 with a minute to play in the quarter. Miriam Oldacre drove to the basket and scored with just a few seconds remaining in the period to give the Lady Warriors a 47-35 advantage going into the fourth.
Shadix knocked down a pair of free throws early in the fourth to move West Point ahead 53-38, but Cold Springs would not go away. Hill converted an and-one play midway through the quarter to make it 56-49 and followed that with a 3-pointer on the next Lady Eagle possession to cut it to 56-52. Miriam Oldacre netted two free throws with just over a minute to play to put the Lady Warriors up 61-54 and Cold Springs wasn’t able trim that lead all the way down. West Point pulled down several offensive rebounds in the final minute of play, making it tough for the Lady Eagles to keep chipping away. The Lady Warriors did their damage at the free-throw line the rest of the way and held on to win it 68-58.
Miriam Oldacre led the Lady Warriors with 24 points in the win, followed by Shadix with 21. Hill led Cold Springs with 26 points, followed by West and Crider, who each finished with 13.
West Point will face the winner of tonight’s matchup between (2) Fairview and (3) Hanceville in the varsity girls’ title game Saturday at 5:30.
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