HANCEVILLE, Ala. – Cullman County Tournament action resumed at its traditional home inside Wallace State’s Tom Drake Coliseum Monday with three varsity girls’ matchups on tap. The first of the night featured a showdown between the fourth-seeded Good Hope Lady Raiders and the fifth-seeded Lady Broncos of Holly Pond. After a tightly contested first quarter, Good Hope used a huge second quarter to create separation from the Lady Broncos and eventually pulled away to take the game 71-36.
Tate Duke drilled a three-pointer from the left corner to give the Lady Broncos an early, 3-0 lead and Kennedy Twilley added a pair of shots from the free throw line to make it a 5-0 game. Bailey Tetro laid one in on the other end to trim the lead to 5-2 and Ivey Maddox netted a free throw to make it 5-3 early in the first. Heather Tetro drove to the basket and laid one in to tie the game at 5 but Sarah Finley drained a three to put Holly Pond back in front by three points midway through the first quarter. Bailey Tetro responded with a basket inside to make it an 8-7 game and Charly Johnson put one up to give the Lady Raiders a 1-point lead. Maddi Ham answered with a three-pointer on the other end to put the Lady Broncos on top 11-9, but Bailey Tetro knocked down a three of her own to reclaim a 12-11 lead for Good Hope with two minutes to play in the opening period. A free throw from Kyndall Seal stretched the lead to two and Bailey Tetro banked one in to make it a 15-11 with less than a minute remaining in the first and the Lady Raiders went in the second quarter with a 4-point advantage.
Finley hit a mid-range jumper early in the second to cut the lead to 16-13 but another Charly Johnson basket stretched the lead back out to 19-13 with six minutes to play in the half. Rudi Derrick got an acrobatic shot under the basket to fall through the net to add to the Good Hope lead. Raleigh Olinger knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a 21-15 game, but Derrick laid another one in to build the lead back to eight. The run continued as Bailey Tetro turned a steal into an easy two points to add to the lead and Johnson laid another one in to give the Lady Raiders a 27-15 advantage with a little over four minutes remaining in the second.
Maddox drove to the basket and scored to make it a 29-15 game and Good Hope forced another steal to give Derrick an easy basket. Kaylee Stallings scored inside to stop the run and trim the lead to 31-17 but the Lady Raiders continued to apply the pressure defensively. Maddox scored in the paint to extend the lead to 16 with three minutes to play in the opening half and Bailey Tetro netted a pair of free throws to make it 35-17. Derrick stayed hot, scoring nine of Good Hope’s next 10 points to take a commanding, 45-17 lead with less than a minute to play in the second. Seal laid one in under the basket with just 10 seconds to play in the period and the Lady Raiders went into the locker room leading the way 47-17. Good Hope outscored Holly Pond 32-6 in the second quarter.
Derrick scored down low to start the third quarter and keep the Lady Raiders’ momentum going and a pair of free throws from Bailey Tetro made it a 51-17 game early in the third. Derrick scored another basket inside to add to the lead and Seal scored off another Holly Pond turnover to make it 55-17. Maddox added a pair from the charity stripe to extend the lead to 40 midway through the third and Derrick continued to do damage, scoring in transition give Good Hope a 59-17 advantage. Maddox drilled a three-pointer from the left wing to make it 62-17 and keep the run going for the Lady Raiders. Kamryn Tankersley broke a 15-0 start to the third quarter with a pair of free throws for the Lady Broncos and Finley drilled another three to trim the lead to 62-22. Maddi Ham stole a Good Hope pass and Kaylee Stallings took advantage with a three-pointer on the other end. Ham knocked down a trey of her own to make it a 62-28 game late in the third and she added a pair of free throws in the final seconds of the period to cut the lead to 62-30 going into the final frame.
Renee McLeod and Derrick each split a pair of free throws to make it 64-30 early in the fourth and Maddox laid one in to extend the lead to 66-30. Seal drilled a three-pointer from the right wing with two minutes to play and with the clock running, the Lady Raiders pulled away to take their opening round matchup over Holly Pond 71-36
Derrick led Good Hope with 22 points in the win. Bailey Tetro finished with 17, Maddox added 13, Seal posted eight and Johnson scored six. Ham and Finley each finished with eight points in the loss and Stallings and Duke each posted five.
The Lady Raiders will advance to take on the top-seeded Fairview Lady Aggies at Tom Drake Coliseum Thursday night at 6 p.m.
Copyright 2021 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
