Vina girls advance to finals
By Staff
Mike Self, FCT Sports Editor
Heather Holland had 21 points on Thursday as Vina's girls advanced to the finals of the Vina Christmas Invitational with a 51-32 rout of Brilliant.
The Lady Red Devils will face county rival Tharptown in today's championship game at 4 p.m.
Kayla Bridges made four three-pointers in the first quarter on Thursday, helping Vina jump out to a 19-5 lead.
"We played much better today than we have been playing," Vina coach Paul Humphres said. "We did a good job of limiting our turnovers, and we played pretty good defense. [Brilliant] had two girls who really hurt us the first time we played them, but we were able to keep them under control today."
Bridges finished with 12 points, and LeShe McGee added seven for Vina. Jessie Norwood had six.
In other action at the tournament on Thursday:
Varsity boys
Vina 64 Brilliant 58
The Red Devils avenged a 30-point loss to Brilliant earlier this season and advanced to face Hackleburg in today's championship game at 5:30 p.m.
Blake Thorn led Vina with 20 points, including a key three-point play late in the fourth quarter.
The game was tied when Morgan McCarley came up with a steal and passed underneath to Thorn, whose basket and free throw with 2:30 remaining put the Red Devils on top for good.
"When we lost to Brilliant the first time, it was the night after we had blown a seven-point lead with two minutes to go against Belgreen," Vina coach Sonny Tibbs said. "I think the kids were still a little heartbroken. We were in a much better frame of mind today.
"We hadn't played in a week, and I think the time off helped us. Our guys had fresh legs today. We were able to limit our turnovers, and we did a good job making our free throws."
The Red Devils finished the night 30-for-47 at the foul line, compared to just 16-for-44 by Brilliant.
Anthony Hester, Patrick Cochran, Brent Townsend and Tony Jennings each had eight points for Vina. McCarley added seven.
The Red Devils led 29-15 at the half before Brilliant out-scored them 26-15 in the third quarter to get back in the game.
