FALKVILLE, Ala. — Addison traveled to Falkville to play a pair of area games with the Blue Devils. In an exciting, down to the wire girls’ game, Falkville won 50-48. The men’s game wasn’t near as exciting as the Addison team won easily, 72-54.
Falkville 50 – Addison 48 (varsity girls)
The Addison ladies traveled to Falkville to hopefully avenge an earlier loss to the Lady Blue Devils. Addison was hoping to improve their area standing but it was not to be. The opening period had Falkville dominating the paint and basically scoring at will with their excellent Senior center Makenzie Veal. The Lady Devils won the period 16-4 and it looked like it was going to be a long night for the Lady Bulldogs.
Head Coach Bailey West got her ladies attention and the defense started playing tough and the shots started dropping. Addison went on a phenomenal 18-0 run and ended the second period outscoring Falkville 25-6 to take a 29-22 lead into the half. Bracey “Tiny” Rodgers and Gracie “Bug” Manley keyed the dawgs run with Rodgers and Manley both putting in 8 points in the frame.
The young Addison Lady Dawgs kept it up in the third period as they outscored the Lady Devils 13-6 to take a commanding 42-28 lead going into the fourth and final period. Falkville had hit a major offensive slump as nothing would fall and Addison couldn’t miss. Molly Gilbreath lead the Dawgs in the period with six points on two long threes.
The fourth period proved that youth and inexperience can lead to highs and lows as the Lady Dawgs proved in the fourth period. Falkville turned to Veal and Senior Sydnee Fitzgerald as they clamped down on the Lady Dawgs and tied the game at 48 with 10 seconds to go. Falkville then ran an excellent play to Veal as she got the ball in the paint and turned around and laid in a nice eight-foot jump shot as the buzzer sounded. This gave the Lady Blue Devils the come from behind, 50-48 win, all but securing the second seed for Falkville in the area tournament.
It was a tough loss for the Lady Dawgs, but they must put it behind them as they travel to Double Springs on Friday to play their last region game with the Lady Yellow Jackets. A win puts them as the three seed, and they avoid the juggernaut that is the Cold Springs Lady Eagles in the first round of the area tournament.
Veal had 11 points and nine rebounds. Fitzgerald led the Lady Devils with 16 points, three boards, four steals and a block. Freshman Ellie Cate Hill had nine points, three boards and four steals.
The Lady Dawgs were led “Bug” Manley with 14 points and seven boards. Gilbreath had 13 points and five boards. Annie Grace “The Glove” Luker had an excellent all-around game with eight points, seven boards, three assists, six steals and a blocked shot. “Tiny” Rodgers had eight points, six boards, four assists and three steals.
After the game, Coach West added, “We played hard and I was so proud of them because we got down big early and we didn’t give up. They fought back and went on a good run to take the lead. We had some mental mistakes at the end but those can be corrected by just playing. When we play good, solid defense, we tend to play better offensively. Can’t wait till Friday so we can clinch the County Championship at Double Springs with a win.”
Addison 72 – Falkville 54 (varsity boys)
Coach Ben Mastin said before the game that he wanted to make a statement with a big win against Falkville at their place. Well, Addison did just what he wanted them to do. Addison came out playing smothering defense and forced Falkville into numerous errors. While playing great defense the Dawgs offense was stellar as well. Addison dominated the first period outscoring Falkville 19-8. Logan “Baby Shaq” Wilkins got off to a hot start and it continued for the remainder of the game. Wilkins had eight points in the period.
The second period didn’t get any better for the Blue Devils as they were beaten in every aspect of the game. The foul calls went for Addison, Addison got the loose balls and the shots just kept falling. Nothing seemed to go right for the Blue Devils on this evening. Addison outscored Falkville 19-10 in the second to take a commanding 38-18 lead into the half. Addison managed to do this playing without their starting point guard, Eli “Curly” Howse who got a couple of quick fouls and had to sit out the majority of the first half. Cannon “TNT” Hiller took up the slack by scoring seven points in the first half and Christian “Ice Man” Roberts put in 6 of his own. Falkville’s junior Dawson Norwood was about the only bright spot in the first half for the Devils as he scored seven points
The second half was more competitive as Falkville settled down and Addison cleared the bench. Falkville won the second half 36-34 but it was the sluggish first half the doomed the Devils. Final Score Addison 72, Falkville 54.
Falkville was led by Norwood who led the Devils with 17 points. Senior Wyatt Tomlin had eight points and three boards. Junior Jordan Greenfield six points and four boards.
Addison was led by “Baby Shaq” Wilkins with a game high 18 points, 10 boards and two assists. “Curly” Howse had 17 points, two boards and two assists. “TNT” Hiller had 15 points and four boards. “Ice Man” Roberts had eight points, three boards, two assists and two steals.
Coach Mastin said after the game, “Great win for us tonight. We want to host the area tournament. I believe it has been almost 50 years since Addison has hosted the area tournament. If must win again on Friday night at Double Springs and I think we will have an excellent chance to host. I team is laser focused right now. That loss to Cold Springs really woke us up and showed the importance of playing hard the entire game no matter how big a lead you have. Our guys want to dominate in all phases of the game, and I believe we are on a solid path to achieve that goal.”
Addison improves to 12-10 (4-1 area) and will travel to Double Springs on Friday night.
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