HANCEVILLE, Ala. — After collecting their third straight county championships at Tom Drake Coliseum Saturday night, the Good Hope Lady Raiders returned to Wallace State Wednesday afternoon to take on the Lady Tigers of Lauderdale County. The Lady Raiders entered the game with a 25-2 record and the No. 2 spot in Class 4A and the top-ranked 3A Lady Tigers took the court 24-0. Good Hope went into the locker room leading by 11 at halftime and withstood a big push from Lauderdale County in the second half to send the Lady Tigers home with their first loss of the season, 55-46.
The game was tied at 4 early in the opening period until Ivey Maddox knocked down a three to give the Lady Raiders a 7-4 lead. Jolee McHan laid one in to make it a 9-4 game and Ava McSwain scored a pair of baskets to stretch the lead to 13-6 with three minutes remaining in the first. Maddox scored the final five points of the quarter for Good Hope to give the Lady Raiders an 18-10 lead going into the second.
McSwain scored inside and Bailey Tetro sank a pair of free throws to keep Good Hope in front 22-12 early in the second. Maddox scored on back to back possessions to extend the lead to 27-12 midway through the period. McSwain laid one in to make it a 30-20 game later in the second quarter and Maddox buried a three in the final minute of the half to give the Lady Raiders a 33-22 advantage at the break.
Things got a little tougher for Good Hope in the third quarter. McHan and Bailey Tetro each hit a pair of free throws early in the period to keep the Lady Raiders in front 37-27 but Lauderdale County outscored them 9-0 in the rest of the third, trimming the lead to 37-36 at the start of the fourth.
Good Hope’s shots began to fall again in the fourth quarter. McSwain scored inside and Bailey Tetro nailed a three to maintain a 43-42 lead early in the final frame and after Maddox hit a pair of free throws, another Bailey Tetro basket made it a 47-42 game. Two more free throws from Maddox put the Lady Raiders up by five with less than two minutes to play and Bailey hit three of her next four shots at the line to add to the lead. Good Hope smothered the Lady Tigers on the defensive end in the final eight minutes, allowing just eight points in the fourth quarter and pulling away to earn a 55-46 win over the No. 1 team in Class 3A.
Maddox led the way for Good Hope with 26 points in the win. Bailey Tetro finished with 14 and McSwain added 10. The Lady Raiders will be back home Saturday afternoon to tip off this year’s 4A, Area 13 Tournament.
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