BREMEN, Ala. – Cold Springs hosted a pair of big area showdowns against Falkville Friday night and both Eagles squads earned hard-fought wins. The Lady Eagles rallied from an early deficit to top Falkville 50-46 and the Eagles outscored the Blue Devils 11-6 in the fourth quarter to pull away and collect a 48-39 win.
Cold Springs 50 – Falkville 46 (varsity girls)
Falkville got off to a very strong start to the game as a trio of threes gave them a quick 9-0 lead, then a pair of baskets down low saw Cold Springs looking at a 13-0 deficit late in the first quarter. Malaya Taylor got the Lady Eagles on the scoreboard with a layup with six seconds left, but Cold Springs trailed, 13-2, after one.
The second quarter was a different story, though. Ella Bruer drilled a trey to make it a 13-5 game, then Calvert hit a layup to make it a six-point game. After forcing a Falkville turnover, Paisley Whitlow got fouled and made the basket. She completed the three-point play to cut the Lady Blue Devil lead to 13-10 early in the second period. Kenady Graves then nailed a long-range shot of her own to tie the game up at 13 with a little over four minutes to go in the first half. Falkville broke the tie with five straight points and that gave them an 18-13 lead. After the Lady Eagles tied it up at 18 on a pair of Calvert free throws, a pair of Lady Blue Devil threes gave them a 24-20 lead and Cold Springs would go into the locker room down by four.
Falkville held a 27-24 lead early in the third period, but a Calvert three tied things up at 27 with less than six minutes to go in the third quarter. The Blue Devils would later hit a pair of threes to help push their lead from 30-29 to 36-29. But late in the third period, the Lady Eagles cut into the deficit as Taylor, Whitlow, and Calvert each hit a basket down to make it a 36-35 game. Falkville added a layup before the end of the quarter and Cold Springs would go into the final period down by three at 38-35.
Taylor hit a pair of free throws to make it a one-point game, then later added a layup to give Cold Springs a 39-38 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Lady Blue Devils, though, answered right back with six straight points of their own to give them a 44-39 lead with a little over three minutes to go in the game. Cold Springs got huge baskets from Calvert and Taylor as that tied the game up at 44 with a little over a minute left. Erin Bailey put in a big basket as well to give the Lady Eagles a 46-44 lead. Falkville tied it up at 46 on a pair of free throws, but back-to-back enormous baskets by Calvert and Bailey would help seal the 50-46 win for Cold Springs.
Taylor finished the game with 18 points and 12 rebounds for Cold Springs (7-10). Calvert added 15 points and 15 rebounds. Whitlow ended up with seven points and a pair of steals. Bailey added four points, while Graves and Bruer each finished with three points.
Cold Springs 48 – Falkville 39 (varsity boys)
Each team would trade threes to start out the game. A pair of Falkville threes gave them a 6-3 lead early in the first quarter, but Cody Bales nailed one of his own from long range to tie the game up at six. A driving layup by Seth Williams gave Cold Springs an 8-6 lead with a little over four minutes to go in the first period. A shot down low by Brody Peppers gave the Eagles a 10-9 lead late in the first period, but a Falkville basket down low would give them an 11-10 lead going into the second period.
A three-point play by Peppers gave Cold Springs the lead right back at 13-11 early in the second quarter. After the Blue Devils tied it up at 13 on a basket down low, three free throws by Williams and two by Kilgo broke the tie and gave the Eagles an 18-13 lead with four minutes left to go until the half. A Tanner Kilgo layup made it a 20-15 game, but a huge run by the Blue Devils saw them get the lead right back at 24-20 late in the second quarter. After a Williams free throw trimmed the deficit to just three at 24-21, Peppers nailed a shot from long-range just before the buzzer as that tied the game up at 24.
Back-to-back baskets down low by Kilgo gave Cold Springs a 29-27 lead, then a Williams trey pushed their lead to 32-28 late in the third period. The Blue Devils grabbed a 33-32 lead on a layup, but shots down low by Bales, Williams, and Kilgo gave the Eagles a 37-33 lead going into the final period.
Cold Springs looked to finally create some distance between them and the Blue Devils as a pair of driving layups by Williams, plus one by John Mark Smith, helped increase the Eagle lead to 43-33. But Falkville cut it to 43-37 on a pair of free throws. One of Falkville’s players, though, got called for a technical foul and Smith nailed both free throws to make it a 45-37 game. The Blue Devils never got any closer after that as the Eagles picked up a huge 48-39 region win.
Williams finished the game with 17 points, five rebounds and five steals for Cold Springs (12-6). Kilgo added 10 points, eight rebounds, two steals, and a block. Peppers ended up with eight points, eight rebounds, a steal, and a block. Smith also finished with eight points, along with a steal. Bales ended up with five points and a pair of steals.
Cold Springs will travel to take on Winston County on Tuesday night in another pair of huge region games.
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