BREMEN, Ala. – The Cold Springs Eagles and Lady Eagles were back home for a pair of varsity matchups against Appalachian Monday night and both teams earned wins. In the girls’ game, the Lady Eagles knocked down 14 three-pointers, eight of which came from Ella Dickerson, and cruised to a 78-22 win. In the boys’ matchup, Cold Springs fell behind in the fourth quarter but battled back to edge Appalachian 43-39.
Cold Springs 78 – Appalachian 22 (Varsity Girls)
Paizley Whitlow laid one in for two and Ella Dickerson knocked down a three to give the Lady Eagles a 5-0 start. Dickerson’s next basket made it 7-0 and Holly Bruer and Kaydance Williams each scored to stretch the lead to 11-0 midway through the first quarter. Cold Springs continued to pressure Appalachian on the defensive end, making it very difficult to bring the ball up the floor and turning turnovers into easy points. Back to back buckets from Kenady Graves made it a 15-0 game and Dickerson drained another three to make it 18-0. Another Dickerson score gave the Lady Eagles a 20-0 lead and after Appalachian finally scored its first points with just over a minute to play in the first, Williams sank three of her next four free throw attempts to make it a 23-2 game. Baylee Perdue drilled a three in the final seconds of the first quarter to put Cold Springs in front 26-2 at the start of the second.
A Dickerson three-pointer gave the Lady Eagles a 29-6 lead early in the second quarter and after Dickerson split a pair of free throws, Perdue laid one in to make it 32-8. Macie Huffstutler took a steal the other way for an easy bucket to add to the lead and Graves drained a three to make it 37-8 later in the period. Dickerson knocked down her fourth three-pointer of the game in the final 30 seconds of the half to give the Lady Eagles a commanding, 40-12 lead at the break.
Shots kept falling for Cold Springs in the second half, starting with a three-pointer from Whitlow that extended the lead to 43-12. After another Perdue basket, Bruer banked in a three to make it a 48-12 game midway through the third quarter. Williams laid one in to make it 50-14 and Dickerson followed with another three to give the Lady Eagles a 53-14 lead. After a Huffstutler free throw, Dickerson buried back to back threes to in the final minute of the third to put Cold Springs ahead 60-14 at the start of the fourth.
Avery Gerstman drilled a three-pointer to keep the Lady Eagles in front 63-18 early in the fourth quarter and Graves drove to the basket and scored on the next possession to make it 65-18. Gerstman scored off a turnover to add to the lead midway through the final period and she followed it up with a three on the ensuing possession to make it a 70-20 game. Huffstutler laid another in, Aleah Addison buried a three and Gerstman scored one more basket to wrap up a dominant, 78-22 win for Cold Springs.
Dickerson led the Lady Eagles with 26 points and knocked down eight three-pointers in the win. Gerstman finished with 11 points and Graves and Williams each posted nine.
Cold Springs 43 – Appalachian 39 (Varsity Boys)
Ayden Black drained a three to put Cold Springs in front 3-2 early in the opening period and after Appalachian responded with a three on the other end, Breydon Hallmon scored inside to keep the game tied at 5. Ethan Day drilled a three to give the Eagles an 8-5 lead and Matt Williams laid one in to keep Cold Springs ahead 10-8 later in the first quarter. Black split a pair of free throws to make it 11-8 and after Appalachian drained a three on the other end, Bailey Gann scored inside to maintain a 13-11 lead for the Eagles. However, Appalachian was able to finish the first quarter strong and take a 15-13 lead into the second.
Most of Cold Springs’ offense in the second quarter came from the free throw line. Hallmon split a pair from the line to make it a 1-point game and after Appalachian scored to move ahead by 3, Tycen Kilgo knocked down two free throws to trim the lead to 17-16. Day hit a pair of free throws to give the Eagles an 18-17 lead, but a 5-0 Appalachian run put Cold Springs behind 22-18 late in the second quarter. However, Boston Archer drilled a jumper in the final minute of the period to make it a 22-20 game at the halftime break.
Hallmon scored the first five points of the third for Cold Springs to keep the score knotted at 25 and Williams buried a three from the corner to give the Eagles a 28-25 lead. Black followed with a three of his own to make it a 31-25 game and Day and Archer added a free throw in the final two minutes of the period to put Cold Springs in front 33-29 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Appalachian was able to start the final frame with eight unanswered points, taking a 37-33 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Linden Hill tipped one in to cut the lead to 37-35 and Day sank a pair of free throws to hold the Appalachian lead to 39-37. Another basket by Hill tied the game at 39 and Day to the rim and scored to give the Eagles a 41-39 lead with 40 seconds on the clock. Hill added a free throw with 17 seconds remaining to make it a 3-point game and after Cold Springs got the last big defensive stop that it needed, Kilgo added a free throw on the other end to put things out of reach for Appalachian and secure a 43-39 win for the Eagles.
Day led Cold Springs with 10 points in the win, followed by Hallmon with eight and Black with seven.
Cold Springs will be back home Friday night to host West Morgan.
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