HAYDEN – The Hanceville Lady Bulldogs looked to finish off the final day of the Hayden Christmas Tournament on a high note after losing to Hayden on Monday and receiving a bye yesterday. The second quarter was the difference in the game as they outscored the Lady Panthers 19-6 en route to a 51-35 win.
Kiley Adams got the scoring started for Cleveland with a layup. Hanceville started out sluggish on the offensive side with turnovers until Kalia Howell finally got them on the scoreboard with a layup with 4:05 remaining in the opening quarter. Both teams had trouble getting their offenses going. Hanceville made matters worse by going just 1-of-6 from the free-throw line. Cleveland took a 9-5 lead after one.
Mileia Ray and Kaitlyn McAnnally scored the first four points in the second quarter for the Lady Panthers to increase their lead to 13-6, but it was all Hanceville after that as they went on an unbelievable 15-0 run, started by Emma Chambers and Andra Hackney (1), Kierra Merriweather (5), Cassidy Campbell (5) and Howell (2) also chipped in as the offense was in full gear during the run, and the defense absolutely shut down the Cleveland offense after the McAnnally layup, forcing turnovers and bad shots, until Ray finally scored with 17 seconds left to stop the run and cut the lead to 21-15. But Campbell countered by hitting a three just before the buzzer to give the Lady Bulldogs all of the momentum as they went into the locker room with a 24-15 lead.
Merriweather and Campbell helped stretch the lead to 29-17 with a layup and a three, respectively. But the Lady Panthers made a run of their own as they went on a mini 6-0 run to cut the lead to 29-23.
After a Brooke Barnett three by Hanceville, Hitzelt Lemus and Kaitlin Lake helped cut the lead to 32-28. Karmen Johnson picked a good time to score her first points of the game as she scored with 53 seconds left in the third quarter and Merriweather followed that up with a basket of her own to increase the lead to 36-28 after three.
After Savannah Carty went 1-of-2 from the free-throw line to cut the lead to 36-29, Merriweather hit a jumper and Johnson scored four straight to stretch the lead back to double-digits at 42-29. The Lady Panthers were not able to get the deficit into single digits, and the Lady Bulldogs finished the tournament strong with the double-digit win.
Merriweather led Hanceville with 17 points and added six rebounds. Campbell finished with 13 points and three assists, and Johnson ended up with eight points and 13 rebounds. They improve to 3-12 on the season. They will take on Cold Springs next Thursday night.
Lemus had 10 to lead Cleveland. Carty finished with eight and McAnnally had seven. They fall to 6-7 on the season. They will travel to Southeastern next Tuesday.
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