HANCEVILLE, Ala. – We capped off Thursday night’s county tournament action with a semifinal battle between West Point and Cold Springs and the Lady Warriors played solid on both ends of the floor to earn a 57-38 win and a spot in Saturday’s county title game.
Liberty Shadix exchanged baskets with Maci Brown to make it a 2-2 game at the start of the first quarter and buckets from Malaya Taylor and Jaelyn Faulkner kept the score knotted at 4. Back to back scores by Liberty Shadix gave West Point an 8-4 lead but Taylor responded with a pair of baskets on the other end to tie the game at 8. Taylor split a pair of free throws later in the period to give the Lady Eagles a 9-8 lead, but Jaelyn Faulkner converted an and-one play at the line on West Point’s next possession to put the Lady Warriors back in front 11-9. Brown took a steal the other way for an easy basket to tie things up at 11 late in the first but Liberty Shadix laid one with 20 seconds on the clock to give West Point a 13-11 lead going into the second quarter.
Kenady Graves scored in the paint to tie the game at 13 at the start of the second but the Lady Warriors responded with six straight points on the other end to move in front 19-13. After another Liberty Shadix basket made it a 22-15 game later in the period, Hallie Wheeler drained a three to stretch West Point’s lead to 10 with just over two minutes remaining in the first half. Liberty Shadix scored inside to make it 27-15 but Brown stopped the run with a three that cut the lead to 27-18. However, the Lady Warriors went into the locker room with momentum after Wheeler knocked down another three just before the buzzer to West Point in front 30-18 at the break.
Camryn Faulkner scored to stretch the lead to 32-18 at the start of the third quarter and after Brown responded with a three on the other end, Wheeler’s third three-pointer of the night kept the Lady Warriors in front 35-21. A 7-0 run from the Lady Eagles made it a 35-28 game with just over three minutes remaining in the third but Wheeler nailed another three to stop the run and give West Point a 10-point lead. Laklin Shadix scored through a foul and tacked on the free throw to put the Lady Warriors ahead 41-28 with 1:30 to play in the period but a three-pointer from Ciara Calvert and an and-one play by Brown just before time expired trimmed the lead to 43-34 at the start of the final period.
Baskets by Laklin Shadix and Kealie Harbison, along with a three from Camryn Faulkner, stretched West Point’s lead to 50-36 midway through the fourth. Baskets by Jaelyn and Camryn Faulkner put the finishing touches on a 57-38, semifinal victory for the Lady Warriors.
Liberty Shadix led West Point with 15 points in the win and Wheeler added 12. Brown led the Lady Eagles with 16 points in the loss.
West Point will play Good Hope for the varsity girls’ county championship Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
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