WEST POINT, Ala. – West Point returned home to Jim Boyd Gymnasium Monday for to host their first varsity matchups of the new year and the Warriors and Lady Warriors split their first matchups of 2022. The Lady Warriors handled Priceville 73-45, but the Bulldogs put together a big fourth quarter to come from behind and beat West Point 54-43.
West Point 73 – Priceville 45 (Varsity Girls)
West Point got off to a very good start on both sides of the ball. Liberty Shadix grabbed an offensive rebound and scored down low to put the Lady Warriors on the scoreboard, then Braelee Quinn drilled a three to give West Point a 5-0 lead. A pair of Summer Mendoza free throw and one by Ryleigh Jones pushed the Lady Warrior lead to 8-0. Priceville hit a pair of free throws to put them on the scoreboard with 5:16 remaining in the opening period, but Jones scored five straight points to give West Point a 13-2 lead with less than four minutes to go in the first quarter. Hallie Wheeler and Jones each hit a layup and the Lady Warriors would take an 18-6 lead into the second period.
A Wheeler trey and a pair of Jones free throws increased West Point’s lead to 23-6 to start out the second period, but the Lady Bulldogs went on a pair of big runs to get back in the game. An 8-0 run made it a 23-14 game, then after a Wheeler three stopped the Priceville run, the Lady Bulldogs’ pressure defense caused problems for West Point as that led to easy points for Priceville and the Lady Warriors saw their 17-point lead get cut to just four at 26-22 at the half.
Mendoza banked in a three high off the backboard to increase West Point’s lead to 29-22 to start out the third period, but the Lady Bulldogs cut it to 29-26 after a pair of free throws. But the Lady Warriors would counter with a huge run of their own as Mendoza hit a free throw, Laklin Shadix scored five straight points, Jones hit a pair of baskets down low, and Mendoza hit another shot from long range as that helped push West Point’s lead back to double-figures at 42-26. Priceville stopped the run with a three, but the Lady Warriors were just getting started. Jones added a pair of baskets down low, Mendoza hit a pair of threes and a layup, and Quinn hit a layup as the Lady Warriors went into the final quarter with a commanding 51-34 lead.
A Wheeler trey pushed West Point’s lead to 54-34 to start out the final period and they just added to their lead in the fourth quarter. Jones hit a pair from the line and Mendoza each added a shot down low to make it a 60-34 game. A Quinn trey made it a 65-35 contest and the Lady Warriors went on cruise control from there, rolling to a 73-45 win over the Lady Bulldogs.
Jones finished with a game-high 22 points, seven rebounds, and four steals for West Point (11-4). Mendoza added 18 points, 11 rebounds, and three steals. Quinn ended up with 12 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, and a pair of blocks. Wheeler added 11 points and a steal. Laklin Shadix ended up with seven points, four rebounds, and two blocks. Liberty Shadix finished with three points, five rebounds, and three blocks.
Priceville 54 – West Point 43 (Varsity Boys)
Priceville hit a free throw to put them on the scoreboard first. Kanen Trussell hit a layup to put West Point on the scoreboard, then later on, Lamar nailed a pair of threes to give the Warriors an 8-3 lead early in the first quarter. Trussell and Kolten Perry each hit shots down low to make it a 12-5 game with 3:27 remaining in the first period, but the Bulldogs went on a huge run, and they finished it with a three-point play as that tied things up at 12 with less than two minutes to go in the opening quarter. Andrew Lynn broke the tie with a three and the Warriors would go into the second period with a slim 15-14 lead.
Five straight points by Priceville gave them a 19-17 lead early in the second quarter, but Lynn knocked down a pair of treys with a little over four minutes to go in the first half to help give West Point a 23-19 lead. Jay Lamar hit a pair from the line and Trussell and Perry each hit a shot down low to increase the Warrior lead to 29-19 and they would end up taking a 29-22 lead into the locker room.
It would go back-and-forth between both teams for a while before a Lamar long-range shot pushed West Point’s lead to 36-28. After another Lamar made basket made it a 38-30 game, five straight points for Priceville made it a 38-35 contest and the Warriors would go into the final period with the three-point lead.
The fourth quarter started out very bad for West Point as Priceville scored the first 10 points of the quarter as they grabbed a 45-38 lead. Sam Wheeler put an end to the run with a layup, but the Bulldogs weren’t done at all as they scored the next six points to increase the Warrior deficit to 11 at 51-40. Cade Simmons drilled a three to make it an eight-point game, but West Point wouldn’t get any closer after that as they ended up dropping a tough game at home to the Bulldogs, 54-43.
Lamar finished the game with 15 points and five rebounds for West Point (6-12). Lynn added 11 points. Trussell ended up with eight points, nine rebounds, and a steal. Perry added four points, eight rebounds, and a block. Simmons finished with three points and a steal, while Wheeler chipped in with two points, five rebounds, and a steal.
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