ADDISON, Ala. – Addison hosted the Falkville Blue Devils for a pair of varsity matchups Friday night, and it was the Addison Bulldogs who came away with two victories. The Addison Ladies came away with a thrilling 51-48 victory in a back-and-forth contest. The Addison Men came away with an easier 68-46 win.
Addison 51 – Falkville 48 (Varsity Girls)
The Addison Lady Bulldogs have played much better this year than last, and it seems that the Lady Bulldogs come into games expecting to win which is a huge improvement from last year. On this night, it was Falkville that tested the Lady Dawgs resolve as the Lady Blue Devils jumped out to a solid 13-7 lead by the end of the first period. Falkville’s Leah Pierce, an 8th grader, drained two three pointers, while Senior Kaitlyn Bullard added one of her own. Addison struggled on the offensive end during the first period, managing only 7 points. Senior Lauryn Cunningham had a trey and Sophomore Ava Bartlett added 2 points.
The second period had Addison shooting better and playing better defense as they managed to outscore the Lady Blue Devils 14-10 to go into the half trailing 23-21. Addison’s Cunningham and Bartlett each had 5 points while Emma Cleghorn controlled the glass with 5 rebounds in the period. Addison dominated the ladies from Falkville all night on the glass. Falkville was led in the period by Pierce with 4 points and three other Lady Devils each had 2 points apiece.
The second half started out with Falkville scoring the first 8 points of the third period taking a 31-21 lead and it looked bleak for the Lady Bulldogs. Falkville’s Kaitlyn Bullard opened with a three pointer, Hannah Roden got a bucket and then Emilee Pace chipped in 2 points. Pierce also added a free throw. Addison’s front court then took over the game as Karson Wyatt and Katie Barrett each had 4 points with Wyatt adding 2 rebounds and Barrett 3. The Addison backcourt of Gracie Roberts and Cunningham added 3 assists and 2 steals in the frame. Addison was able to cut the lead to 36-34 at the end of the third.
The fourth period was a classic as neither team was going away, and they both played their hearts out. Addison was able to take their first lead of the game at the 3:23 mark of the fourth when Roberts nailed a 3-pointer and she was able to follow that shot up with another 3 pointer on the next possession. With Addison leading 47-43, Falkville came roaring back as Bullard drove to the basket and scored while she also drew the foul. Bullard nailed the free throw and with 2:13 to go in the game, Addison held a slim 47-46 lead.
Addison’s Roberts was fouled attempting another three-point shot and would go to the line shooting 3 free throws. The diminutive Roberts, who stands at five foot nothing, calmly drained all three free throws to push Addison’s lead to 50-46. Falkville’s Pierce was able to connect on two free throws of her own and Addison’s Roberts hit one of two free throws so with only 7 seconds to go in the game Addison was clinging to a wafer thin 51-48 lead. Falkville was able to get the ball into Pierce’s hand and Pierce shot a desperation three from very long distance and to the glee of the Addison faithful, young Ms. Pierce thankfully, was not able to pull a rabbit out of the hat on this night as she missed.
Addison was able to come away with a hard earned, 51-48 win.
Addison Head Coach Bailey Boland,
“Thought we had a good team effort. I mean we had two starters foul out late in the fourth period and we pulled together as a team and came out with the victory. Key to the game tonight was how we absolutely controlled the glass pretty much all game. I think if you remember us from last year this team is night and day better than last year. We played a lot of inexperienced players, and we got better as the season went on. We only won 5 games all year and now we stand at 4-4. So proud of the girls.”
Unofficial stats
Addison Ava Bartlett led the team in scoring with 14 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals. Katie Barrett had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Gracie Roberts had 9 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Lauryn Cunningham had 8 points, 2 boards and 4 assists. Karson Wyatt had 4 points, 9 boards and 2 steals. Emma Cleghorn had 3 points and 10 rebounds. Kabri Dyson had 2 points.
Falkville was led in scoring by Leah Pierce who had a game-high 19 points and 2 rebounds. Kaitlyn Bullard had 11 points and 2 boards. Hannah Roden had 5 points and 4 rebounds. Peyton Holloway had 5 points. Hope McClanahan had 4 points. Emilee Pace had 2 points.
Addison will travel to Double Springs on Tuesday, Dec. 12 to play the Winston County Yellow Jackets in a key county matchup.
Addison 68 – Falkville 46 (Varsity Boys)
The Addison men got off to a good start in the first period as they outscored Falkville 16-9. Addison was playing extremely strong defense and smothered the basketball through the first half of the first period. Addison was led by Carter Pratt with 4 points while Owen Pratt and Kaden Dyson each drained a three-pointer. Jed Wilkins didn’t score but he did everything else. Mr. Wilkins had 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists in the period. Falkville was led by their do everything player, Lincoln Jones. You can’t have a cooler name than that. Mr. Jones scored 5 of the Devils’ 9 points.
The men from Falkville settled down and outscored Addison 14-12 in the second to cut the Addison’s half time lead down to 28-23. Falkville’s Logan Fowler had a nice period as he dropped in 6 points and 4 rebounds. Mr. Jones chipped in 4 more while Denver Comstock pulled down 3 boards. Addison was led by Owen Pratt and Scout Flynn with 4 points each. Jed Wilkins snagged 3 more rebounds to bring his first half total to 8.
Whatever Head Coach Triston Chambers first ever home half-time speech was, he needs to bottle it because Addison’s defense came out frothing at the mouth. They harassed and blanketed the Falkville players into making several turnovers and forcing them into bad shots. Addison dominated the period outracing the Blue Devils 24-10 to take a big 52-33 lead into the fourth. Flynn hit 2 three-pointers, Joey Wilson drained a three-pointer and Owen Pratt put in 4 points as well. Big Brad Willette wasn’t going to be left out as Addison’s big man had 4 points and 4 rebounds. Falkville’s Jones and Peyton Davis gave the Blue Devils their only offense as they put in 4 each.
Addison didn’t take their foot off the pedal as they outscored Falkville 16-13 in the fourth. The exciting thing about the Bulldogs is this team plays two completely different five-man lineups. When the first five go out the second five come in and they will run you into the ground. Wilkins finally scored all 7 of his points in the final period. Willette also chipped in 4 points of his own. Falkville had Jones with 3 and Ely Harris with 6.
Addison was able to coast to a comfortable 68-46 victory to give Coach Chambers his first win at home this season and in his young head coaching career.
Coach Chambers,
“We played well tonight. It was our first home game, and the gym was packed, and the crowd was into it. My players and I want to thank the folks for coming out tonight to watch us play. It really means a lot to me and these young men. Our defense played well, and I think as we evolve and develop as a team our identity will be as a defensive team. If we keep doing the little things well like keeping our eye on the ball and being aware of where our man is then we can expect more positive outcomes. I think that if you have seen this team from the start of the season until now you can see a marked improvement. We have played an incredibly hard schedule, and we will continue to play much bigger schools because I believe that makes you better as a team and as individual players.”
Unofficial stats
Addison was led in scoring by Scout Flynn with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Owen Pratt had 11 points. Bradley Willette had 10 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Jed Wilkins had 7 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Kaden Dyson had 7 points, 3 boards and 2 steals. Joey Wilson had 6 points and 2 assists. Carter Pratt had 6 points and 5 rebounds. Judah Wilkins had 2 boards. Cole Rodgers had 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Major Snoddy had 2 boards. Kiah Lake had 4 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Falkville was led by Landon Jones with a game high 16 points and 4 rebounds. Logan Fowler had 9 points and 6 boards. Ely Harris had 8 points and 7 rebounds. Peyton Davis had 9 points and 2 boards. Cayden Buttler had 4 points. Denver Comstock had 4 rebounds.
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