HANCEVILLE, Ala. – After making their way through the varsity girls bracket during the last week, the Lady Warriors and Lady Eagles clashed for a county championship Saturday night and West Point handed Cold Springs its first loss since Dec. 2. The Lady Warriors pulled ahead of the top-seeded Lady Eagles early and never looked back, pulling away to win this year’s county title by a score of 64-32.
Both teams were knotted at two early in the opening quarter, but the Lady Warriors pulled ahead with an 8-0 scoring run capped off by a three-pointer from Micah Oldacre. Lexi Shadix scored to make it a 12-4 game with three minutes to play in the first, but Hill laid one in to cut the lead to six. A Molly Pendley bucket gave the Lady Warriors a 10-point lead late in the period and West Point went into the second quarter leading Cold Springs 17-6.
A Miriam Oldacre basket pushed the lead to 19-8 early in the second but Neely Ellison knocked down a triple from the top of the key to cut it to 21-11 at the six-minute mark. Shadix scored another basket down low to make it a 25-13 game midway through the quarter and the Lady Warriors maintained a 27-14 advantage with less than two minutes remaining in the opening half. Mackenzie Carter and Elizabeth Hill traded baskets to make it a 29-16 game in the final minute of the second quarter, but Carter added a free throw and Miriam Oldacre laid one in to stretch the lead to 32-16 going into the locker room at the break.
Baskets from Miriam Oldacre and Carter gave West Point a 20-point lead to start the second half and the Lady Warriors maintained a 41-21 advantage with four minutes to play in the third. Toni West drilled a three to cut the lead to 43-24 with three minutes to play in the period but Shadix found Carter for an easy two points beneath the basket to make it a 45-24 game. Miriam Oldacre buried a trey from the left corner to give West Point a 48-24 lead late in the quarter and Micah Oldacre followed her with another three to make it 51-26 going into the final frame.
Brooke Brownfield knocked down a jumper to extend the lead to 53-26 at the start of the fourth quarter and Micah Oldacre followed her up with another triple to make it a 30-point game. Pendley knocked down a trey to make 59-30 midway through the fourth but Brooke Crider answered with a basket on the other end to trim the lead to 27. Unfortunately for the Eagle fans in the crowd, it was too little, too late and the Lady Warriors went on to win it 64-32.
After the win, West Point Head Coach John Wellborn was proud of the way his team competed defensively and likes the way they’re playing right now with area tournaments right around the corner.
“We have been working on defense, defense, defense for the last week or so and we’ve stressed for the last two days that they’re not going to score 75 points on us like they did last time. They’re a good team that can score a lot of points in a hurry and we just stressed, stressed, stressed that we were going to play physical, get in their face and not let them do what they want to do,” Wellborn said. “We ran a kind of an off brand press that kind of got them out of their rhythm and they turned it over at the start of the game and it kind of threw them off the whole game. I can’t be more proud of the defensive effort. That’s one of the best defensive efforts we’ve had here in two or three years.”
Miriam Oldacre led the Lady Warriors with 17 points in the win, followed by Micah Oldacre with 14, Carter with 11, Pendley with 10 and Shadix with eight. Hill led the way for Cold Springs with 10 points in the loss. Crider and Emma Chambers each added four for the Lady Eagles and Kylon Hamby and West each posted three.
2019-2020 Varsity Girls All-County Team
Miriam Oldacre – West Point
Lexi Shadix – West Point
Toni West – Cold Springs
Elizabeth Hill – Cold Springs
Neely Ellison – Cold Springs
Kelly Pickett – Hanceville
Cassidy Campbell – Hanceville
Payton Golden – Fairview
Daisy Manasco – Fairview
Ivey Maddox – Good Hope
Abby Neighbors – Good Hope
Sadie Stanley – Vinemont
Elizabeth Miller – Holly Pond
Kaylee Stallings – Holly Pond
2020 Varsity Girls All-County Tournament Team
Miriam Oldacre – West Point
Molly McKelvy – Fairview
Daisy Manasco – Fairview
Ivey Maddox – Good Hope
Payton Golden – Fairview
Lacey Rice – Cold Springs
Lexi Shadix – West Point
Mackenzie Carter – West Point
Brooke Crider – Cold Springs
Bailey Tetro – Good Hope
2020 Charlotte Cummings Memorial Scholarship winner: Sheridan Bowers, West Point
2020 Bill Shelton award winner: Miriam Oldacre, West Point
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