WEST POINT, Ala. – The West Point Lady Warriors were home at Jim Boyd Gymnasium for this year’s 5A, Area 15 Championship Game and they had to battle Lawrence County for this year’s area title. Unfortunately for the home crowd, the Lady Warriors were outscored 15-6 in the final frame, allowing the Lawrence County to pull away with a 52-45 win and this year’s area championship.
Braelee Quinn knocked down a three for West Point’s first basket of the game, then a driving layup by Summer Mendoza gave them a quick 5-0 lead. Lawrence County put in a three to cut it to 5-3, but Mendoza added another basket in the paint to make it 7-3. A layup by Ryleigh Jones increased the Lady Warrior lead to 9-3 and a pair of Mendoza free throws made it 11-3. The Lady Red Devils drilled a three to cut the West Point lead to 13-8 late in the first period, but back-to-back baskets by Jones pushed the Lady Warrior lead to 17-8. Lawrence County scored the final five points of the quarter as the Lady Warriors went into the second quarter with a 17-13 lead.
The Lady Red Devils went on an 11-1 run to start out the second period as West Point quickly found themselves down, 24-18. The Lady Warriors struggled to put in a basket for almost five minutes before back-to-back threes by Quinn tied the game up at 24. Mendoza then put one in from long range as West Point took a 27-24 lead into the locker room.
The hot three-point shooting continued in the third quarter as Quinn drilled another one to push the Lady Warrior lead to 30-24. Laklin Shadix knocked one in as well to make it 33-26 early in the third period. The Lady Red Devils quickly trimmed the deficit to three at 33-30, but Jones put in another basket in the paint to push West Point’s lead to 35-30. Jones and Liberty Shadix each added a basket in the paint to give the Lady Warriors a 39-34 lead with a minute left in the third period. Lawrence County knocked down a trey to cut it to 39-37 going into the final period.
The Lady Red Devils scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to give them a 45-39 lead. A Quinn free throw cut it to 45-40, then a driving layup by Mendoza made it 45-42. A layup by Lawrence County pushed the West Point deficit to five at 47-42 with less than four minutes to go in the game. Mendoza split from the free throw line to cut it to 47-43, then a basket in the paint by Liberty Shadix made it a two-point game with a little over a minute to go in the game. But the Lady Warriors couldn’t quite take the lead after that as five free throws by the Lady Red Devils helped seal the 52-45 win for them.Â
Quinn led the way for West Point (19-7) with 13 points. Mendoza added 12 points. Jones ended up with 11 points. Liberty Shadix added six and Laklin Shadix ended up with three. West Point will travel to Lee-Huntsville Monday night for its Sub-Regional game.
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