PC girls go cold in second half
By Staff
Mike Self, FCT Sports Editor
HACKLEBURG – A poor second-half shooting performance proved to be too much for Phil Campbell to overcome on Monday as the Lady Bobcats fell 48-44 to rival Hackleburg.
Phil Campbell (2-4) led 30-28 after a solid first half but then went cold, missing 12 of 14 shot attempts in the third quarter as the Lady Panthers surged in front.
The Lady Bobcats' shooting woes continued with a 1-for-12 performance in the fourth quarter, leaving them at 3-for-26 (12 percent) in the second half.
"We're just a streaky shooting team," Phil Campbell coach Amy Moss said. "We got some pretty good looks in the second half, but we just couldn't get anything to go in."
Despite their struggles from the field (and despite being whistled for two intentional fouls in the game's final 20 seconds), the Lady Bobcats still had a chance to send the game into overtime. A three-point attempt by Shelly Cooper rimmed off with less than 10 seconds remaining, and Hackleburg's Paige Pope made 1-of-2 at the foul line to seal the win.
The Lady Panthers left the door open by making just 4-of-13 free throws in the fourth quarter, including four straight misses following a pair of intentional fouls just seconds apart by Phil Campbell in the final minute.
Even though Hackleburg was unable to capitalize at the line, Moss said the intentional fouls were still very costly to her team.
"They didn't make the free throws, but those intentional fouls gave [Hackleburg] extra possessions to run their stall and run more time off the clock," she said. "The first one didn't look like an intentional foul to me. I thought it was just a reach-in foul. The second one was a good call. We just pushed them in the back, and you can't do that."
Hackleburg led 15-11 early in the second quarter, but a three-point play by Chasity Morgan sparked a 14-2 run by the Lady Bobcats. A three-pointer by Cooper and four free throws by Caitlin Stancil made it 21-17, and back-to-back baskets by Jessica Taylor pushed Phil Campbell's lead to eight midway through the second quarter.
A pair of threes by Hope Hudson helped the Lady Panthers trim the lead to two by halftime.
Hackleburg led 42-37 early in the fourth quarter before five straight points by Morgan tied the game with less than two minutes remaining. Hudson scored to give Hackleburg a 44-42 lead, but a layup by Cooper tied the game again with 1:30 remaining.
A free throw by Hudson moments later gave Hackleburg the lead for good.
Morgan finished with 16 points to lead Phil Campbell. Cooper added 10, and Stancil and Taylor each had eight.
Pope led Hackleburg with 16 points, and Hudson and Cindy Kivette each added 11.
Phil Campbell traveled Tuesday night to face Cherokee in its Class 2A, Area 16 opener.
"We're still not playing pressure defense like I want us to," Moss said. "We're not getting in the passing lanes, and we're not putting enough pressure on the ball. I guess you can probably attribute that to our youth, but we have to do a better job in that area."
