DOUBLE SPRINGS, Ala. – Addison traveled to Double Springs to take on their archrival Winston County Yellow Jackets. A standing room only crowd saw two wonderful ballgames from both teams. The Lady Dawgs brought their 14-1 record to face off against the 10-5 Lady Jackets. The game was close throughout and the Lady Dawgs managed to win 40-32, improving their record to 15-1. The Lady Dawgs will travel to face the Cullman Lady Bearcats on Monday, Jan. 20.
The boys game was a nail biter throughout with more twists and turns than a good game of Clue. The final score was Addison 48, WCHS 47. There was a good bit of controversy as WCHS scored a final basket at the buzzer for the apparent win, but the men in stripes waved it off to the agony of the home crowd. Addison boys are done until the Winston County Tournament starts next week.
Addison 40 – Winston County 32 (varsity girls)
This was the first game in a long time that the Addison Lady Dawgs actually played against a team that could be competitive. The game started with both teams trying to score in the paint. WCHS had a 6’2″ center in Bella Wakefield and watching the battle between Wakefield and the Lady Dawgs combo of center Savannah “Nanner Belle” Manley and forward Callie “the enforcer” Crider was a treat. The first period ended with the Lady Dawgs leading the Lady Jackets 8-7.
The second period was a tough one for the Lady Dawgs as they battled foul trouble. Manley picked up her third foul, so she had to sit for a large section of the second but Addison still managed to outscore WCHS through the hot shooting of Bracie Rodgers and Macey “Homecoming Queen” Butler and the half ended with Addison leading 19-15.
The third period opened with what would become the theme of the night; Crider diving on the floor, grabbing rebounds and basically owning the glass. Crider more than held her own against the much taller Wakefield on the glass. Crider would clean up almost every missed shot by the Lady Dawgs guards. Crider ended up with an amazing 17 rebounds for the night and at the end of the third, Addison led 32-24.
WCHS’s Mackenzie Blackwood tried everything to keep the Lady Jackets in the game as she scored 11. It just wasn’t enough as the game ended with the Lady Dawgs prevailing 40-32. This was a big game for the Lady Dawgs because they were plagued with foul problems throughout and someone always stepped up and carried the extra weight.
After the win, Addison Head Coach Frank Graham stated, “We had a string of three-point shots falling in the first half and we really played strong underneath. Crider always gives 100% and really wanted every rebound tonight. Defensively, we played okay. We have a tough game against Cullman on Monday and we will see where we stand because Cullman is a really good team.”
Unofficial stats:
Rodgers and Butler led the Dawgs with 11 points each. Kaylee “I can score from anywhere” Brummett had nine points and seven rebounds. Crider dominated the boards with 17 to go along with four points, two assists and three steals. Manley had eight boards and Butler had four boards, two assists and five steals along with her 11 points.
Addison Lady Dawgs improved to 15-1 while the Lady Jackets fell to 10-9.
Addison 47 – Winston County 46 (varsity boys)
The crowd was really fired up by the end of the girl’s game, so you would think it couldn’t get any hotter. Well, you would be wrong. In a game of spurts, hard fouls, ejections, scoring runs and just about everything you could want in a basketball game, including a controversial ending. The refs got out of the gym faster than a cheetah chasing a gazelle.
The game started with Addison taking control and leading 12-6 at the end of one. WCHS had trouble with Addison’s defense and Addison was making quality shots. The Dawgs were led by Cannon “Sniper” Hiller in the period. The fouls started to pile up on the Dawgs in this game too. By the start of the second period, Addison had one player with three and another with two so depth would be an issue.
The second period was a period that became the polar opposite of the first. The rowdy home crowd got behind the Yellow Jackets and the Jackets absolutely dominated the Dawgs in every facet of the game. They were led by Cade Taylor who was absolutely amazing the entire night. Taylor ended up with 23 for the game and was completely un-guardable in the second quarter. Addison couldn’t hit a free throw to save their life and the Yellow Jackets could do no wrong. Addison was outscored 25-9 in the second and the half ended with WCHS up 31-21.
Addison came out in the third period and put on a clinic. Playing tough defense and with Christian “The Silent Assassin” Roberts and Logan “Baby Shaq” Wilkins picking up the scoring load, the Dawgs took the period 16-5. At the end of three, the score was Addison 37-36.
The fourth period was one to remember. The point totals for the period would stand at 11 apiece but the finish was very dramatic. With around 15 seconds left in the game and Addison trailing WCHS by one, Wilkins attempted a put back and missed but Wilkins grabbed his own shot and put the ball up and off the glass to give Addison the 48-47 lead.
Taylor drove the ball down the court and unable to find a shot against the stout defense put on him by Eli “Curly” Howse, passed up the shot and another Yellow Jacket (couldn’t find out who he was because no one was talking after the game) took it made the basket from about 17 feet away. This appeared to give WCHS the win, but the crowd went nuts with half the crowd yelling no and half saying it was good. There was no immediate call from the game officials, who had a rough night, and they met at the scorer’s table for approximately 15-20 seconds in a conference. The lead official then waved the basket off saying that time had expired before the shot.
This gave the visiting Bulldogs the win, 47-46.
After the game, a visibly elated Addison Head Coach Ben Mastin said, “Huge win over a good team on the road. This environment over here (WCHS) was amazing and I can’t wait to come back over here next week for the county tournament. We were down by ten at the half and didn’t quit. Great game by both teams and it was a shame that someone had to lose.”
Unofficial stats:
Leading scorers for Addison were Hiller with 15, Roberts had 14 and Wilkins had 12. Wilkins led with nine boards and Roberts had five. Howse had three assists with Hiller chipping in two.
Addison improved to 10-11 while WCHS fell to 10-6.
Addison is off until the Winston County Tournaments start next week.
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