ARLEY, Ala. — Meek High School hosted the Winston County Championship games Saturday night and Addison High was lucky enough to be in both the Men’s and Women’s finals. The Lady Dawgs were up first and came up a little short against the much taller Winston County Lady Jackets 59-43, but the men were next and were able to top the Meek Tigers 53-41 to claim back to back Winston County Championships.
Addison 53 – Meek 41 (Varsity Boys Championship)
Meek was the host team and had a raucous crowd behind them as they were trying to pull their second upset in as many days. The Tigers gave it a game effort, but it was not to be as Addison came away with the win and the County Title, 53-41.
The first period started with Meek clicking on all cylinders and forcing the Dawgs into numerous turnovers. The Tigers won the period 13-7. The Tigers looked a step faster and the Dawgs looked very sluggish. Meek was led by Jarrett Benson who piled in seven points. Addison was led by Brady “Big Pappa” Gilbreath with five points.
The second period was all Bulldogs. The Addison press defense seemed to confuse the Tigers and their offense didn’t look comfortable all period. The Bulldogs dominated the Tigers 15-3 to take a 22-16 lead at the half. Meek was led by Ethan Barton who scored all three Tiger points. Addison had Christian “Ice Man” Roberts who had seven points and three boards. Eli “Curly” Howse had six points. Meek was hampered by Freshman Braylen “The Beast” Roberts who battled foul trouble in the first half as well as the game. Roberts picked up his third foul early in the second period.
The teams continued fighting in the third period as Addison outscored the Tigers 17-15 to take a 39-31 lead going into the fourth. Addison was led by Howse who had six points and Roberts had five points. The Tigers were led by Benson with five points and Barton with four points.
The fourth and final period had the Tigers continuing to try and catch up but every time the Tigers made a run the Dawgs had an answer. Addison outscored the Tigers 14-10 to take the win and the County Title, 53-41. Howse and Gilbreath had five points and Justin “Rocky” Mather had four points. Meek had five different players score two points.
Addison players on the All-Tournament team:
Brady Gilbreath
Eli Howse
Justin Mather
Tournament MVP: Christian Roberts
Addison Head Coach Ben Mastin,
“We overcame a slow start and picked up our tempo in the second period. We played much better in the second half and was able to withstand each little push Meek gave us,” Mastin said. “We really dominated on the glass tonight and that was gonna be a big issue with us because Meek is a good rebounding team. Just happy for the guys as they came away with the County Title and that was one of our goals in the preseason. Got a busy week coming up with games at Brindlee Mountain and Decatur Heritage.”
Unofficial stats:
Meek was led by Benson with 14 points and five rebounds. Barton had nine points and two steals. David “Red Rifle” Tidwell had four points. Ephram Milne had four points. Roberts had four points and two rebounds. Cameron Deaver had four points.
Addison was led by Howse with a game high 15 points, five boards, two assists and two steals. Roberts had 14 points and nine boards. Gilbreath had 14 points and three boards. Mather had four points, five boards and three assists. Briley “Snake” Roberts had four points. Jed “Wizard” Wilkins had two boards and two steals.
Winston County 59 – Addison 43 (Varsity Girls Championship)
It promised to be a good game since the Lady Jackets and Lady Dawgs had split their two regular season meetings. The game proved to be a tale of two halves. The first period started out with Addison shooting the ball well from outside and WCHS pounding the ball inside. Addison was led by Gracie “Bug” Manley with four points and two steals with “Magic” Molly Gilbreath getting four points as well. Addison had no answer for WCHS 6’4″ Center Bella Wakefield. WCHS would pass it down low to Wakefield and Bella would drop it in for two. Bella also altered many Bulldog shots with her long arms. At the end of the first period Addison led 13-11.
The scoring picked up in the second period as WCHS outscored Addison 22-16 to take a 33-29 lead in at the half. Again, the Lady Jackets plan was simple go down low to Bella and 5’9″ Forward Makayla Lyndsey and let them dominate the glass. Bella and Lyndsey seven points and had five rebounds between them. Lady Jacket Olivia Wright nailed two threes in the period and had seven total points. Lady Dawg Manley had five points and “Tiny” Bracie Rodgers had four points, three rebounds and three assists in the period.
The first half was the high-water mark for the Lady Dawgs as Winston County’s height dominated the second half. Winston County dominated the glass, outrebounding the Lady Dawgs 19-9 in the half. Addison was continually held to one shot and the Lady Jackets scored at will in the paint. Addison didn’t quit and continued to hustle but the ball didn’t bounce their way on this evening. Addison was outscored 13-5 in the third and WCHS led 46-34 going into the fourth. Addison was led by Rodgers who scored all five of Addison’s points. Bella led WCHS six points and three boards. Lindsey had five points and three boards.
The fourth period had the Lady Jackets outscoring the Lady Dawgs 12-9 in the fourth to win the game 59-43. Addison’s Brilyn Dover led the Lady Dawgs with three points and Gilbreath had two points. Winston County was led by Wright with five points, all free throws, and Bellas four points.
Addison members on the all-tournament team:
Bracie Rodgers
Gracie Manley
Anna Grace “The Glove” Luker
Winston County members on the all-tournament team:
Bella Wakefield
Olivia Wright
Lynleigh Cobb
Tournament MVP: Makayla Lindsey
Unofficial stats:
Addison was led by Rodgers 12 points, seven boards, three assists and two steals. Manley had 11 points, five boards and five steals. Gilbreath had nine points, two steals and three assists. Hadley “Shooter” Butler had five points, three assists and two steals. Luker had four points and two rebounds. Dover had three points.
Winston County was led by Wakefield with 20 points and seven rebounds. Wright had 12 points and three boards. Lindsey had 11 points and 14 boards. Abbie Hood had five points and two boards. Cobb had five points and two boards. Bailey Kelley had two points and four boards.
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