VINEMONT, Ala. – Vinemont hosted its rivals from Holly Pond for a pair of area battles Friday night. The girls’ game was a ranked matchup between the ninth-ranked Lady Eagles and the seventh-ranked Lady Broncos. Vinemont jumped out to a big lead early in the opening period and fended off a late run from Holly Pond to earn a big, 56-46 win. In the boys’ game, the Broncos got off to a fast start and the Eagles had a tough time finding their rhythm offensively, allowing Holly Pond to secure a 56-29 area win.
Vinemont 56 – Holly Pond 46 (Varsity Girls)
Vinemont started out the game red-hot on both ends of the court. Reagan Robinson put in a pair of baskets in the paint, then Caroline Miller scored through a foul and ended up hitting the free throw, as the Lady Eagles jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead. Their lead quickly grew more and more after that, as treys by Morgan Flanagan and Miller, plus another basket down low by Robinson, stretched their lead to 15-0. Holly Pond got on the scoreboard on a Blakely Baggett basket with 2:56 remaining in the opening period, but later in the period, Vayda Yarbrough and Miller each drained a three to make it a 23-3 game. Maggie Nail drilled a short jumper to cut it to 23-5 going into the second.
Ava Thomas scored in the paint, then driving layups by Millie McBee and Sadie Nail made it a 23-11 game early in the second. Flanagan stopped the bleeding with a trey from the right corner, then Carley Stephens added a basket in the paint to quickly push Vinemont’s lead to 28-11. McBee drained a pair from the line, then Madison Butts knocked down a three to cut the Lady Bronco deficit to 12 at 28-16. Flanagan and Brooklyn Yarbrough each added a late basket for the Lady Eagles, as they ended up taking a 32-16 lead into the locker room.
Robinson didn’t waste any time attacking the basket early in the third quarter, as she scored through a foul and ended up hitting the free throw to make it 35-16. She later added a driving layup to give Vinemont a 37-19 lead. McBee buried a trey to cut it to 37-23 and later added a pair of baskets down low to make it a 44-27 game. Flanagan nailed a three to increase the Lady Eagle lead to 48-28 going into the final period.
Holly Pond was able to make one more run to get back in the game. Thomas scored four straight points, including a short jumper, and McBee put in a driving layup to cut it to 48-34. A coast-to-coast layup by Butts was later followed by a basket down low by Maggie Nail, as it was now a 50-38 game with a little over four minutes to go in the game. McBee knocked down a trey from the right wing, and Maggie Nail added a pair from the line to make it a 52-43 game with 2:12 left to go in the contest. Miller knocked down a pair from the line to give Vinemont a 54-43 lead, and the Lady Eagles went on to defeat the Lady Broncos 56-46.
Robinson led the way for Vinemont (10-3, 3-1) with 21 points, while Miller and Flanagan each added 13 points. For Holly Pond (11-5, 3-1), McBee finished with 19 points in the loss, Butts posted nine, Maggie Nail added seven points and Thomas scored six.
Vinemont 56 – Holly Pond 29 (Varsity Boys)
The game was scoreless for almost three minutes before Holly Pond’s Ty Dunn knocked down a basket to put them on the scoreboard first. A short hook shot by Cade Allbright gave the Broncos a 4-0 lead. Vinemont got on the scoreboard with 3:15 remaining in the first on a free throw by Colton Gillis, then a quick basket by Gee Flores cut it to 4-3. It was all Holly Pond after that, though. Sawyer Olinger drilled a trey from the left wing, Allbright scored five straight points, and Carson Ryan hit a pair from the line, as the Broncos took a 14-3 lead into the second.
Both teams traded baskets for most of the second quarter. A pair of free throws by E.J. Sharpe cut it to 20-9 late in the quarter, but Olinger scored the next six points for Holly Pond, and Asher Thrift added a basket in the paint to give the Broncos a 28-9 lead at halftime.
Just like the second quarter, both teams traded baskets for most of the third. A Gillis made basket in the paint made it a 32-13 game, but Olinger drained a trey on the other end to give Holly Pond a 36-13 lead. Bryson Bush scored through a foul and ended up completing the three-point play, then baskets by Preston Lee and Sharpe made it a 40-22 game late in the quarter. Allbright put in a short hook shot, and Ryan added a layup to stretch the Bronco lead to 44-22 going into the fourth.
Allbright put in another hook shot, and Olinger added a layup to make it 48-22, then later in the quarter, threes by Fox Westall and Landon Lovell widened their lead to 54-24. Another basket in the paint by Allbright put the finishing touches on a 56-29 region win for Holly Pond.
Allbright and Olinger each finished with 19 points for Holly Pond (8-8, 2-2), and Ryan put up eight points. Gillis led the way for Vinemont (4-10, 0-4) with 12 points, while Sharpe collected six points.
The Vinemont Lady Eagles and the Holly Pond Lady Broncos will participate in the West Morgan Holiday Classic next week. Holly Pond’s boys will take part in the West Point Christmas Tournament next week and Vinemont’s boys will be back in action after the Christmas break.
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