HANCEVILLE, Ala. – This year’s Cullman County Tournament got back underway at Wallace State’s Tom Drake Coliseum Tuesday night, and we tipped things off with a JV Girls matchup between Holly Pond and Fairview. The Lady Broncos put pressure on Fairview on the defensive end and shot the ball well from three-point range on the offensive end to put together a 58-32 win over the lady Aggies and advance to the semifinals.
Millie McBee turned a steal into an easy basket to give Holly Pond a 2-0 start but after Brooklyn Merriman split a pair of free throws, Mali Gregory knocked down a three to put Fairview in front 4-2. Jayden Persall answered with a three on the other end to give the Lady Broncos a 5-4 lead and after Merriman laid one in for the Aggies, McBee scored the final five points of the quarter to keep Holly Pond ahead 10-6 at the end of the first.
Baskets by Emmy Walker and Ada Fales cut the lead 11-10 early in the second quarter and Merriman drilled a three from the top of the key to take a 13-11 lead for the Lady Aggies. Madeline Hill responded with a three on the other end to put the Broncos back in front 14-13 and six straight points from McBee stretched the lead to 20-13 later in the period. Merriman scored inside to stop the run and make it a 20-15 game, but Hill buried another three in the final minute of the second to give Holly Pond a 23-15 advantage at halftime.
Nail split a pair of free throws and Hill drained two three to make it a 27-15 game at the start of the third quarter. Oaklyn Gardner nailed a pair of three-pointers to trim the lead to 30-21 but a 10-0 run by the Lady Broncos made it 40-21 with around two minutes remaining in the period. McBee laid one in to put Holly Pond in front 42-22 and Cali Golden knocked down a three to extend the lead 45-24 later in the third. Kensli Redding scored for Fairview just before the buzzer, but the Lady Aggies went into the final frame trailing 45-26.
Another three from Golden and a basket from Nail gave the Lady Broncos a 50-28 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Nail added two more buckets later in the period to make it a 55-29 game and McBee drained three of her final four free throw attempts to cap a 58-32 win for Holly Pond.
McBee led the way for the Lady Broncos with 24 points in the win, followed by Hill with 15 (5 three-pointers) and Nail with 10. Merriweather led Fairview with nine points in the loss.
Holly Pond will advance to take on top-seeded Good Hope in the JV Girls semifinals Thursday at 5 p.m.
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