Lady Bulldogs in finals again with win over PC

By Staff
Scot Beard
RED BAY – Belgreen had trouble shooting early, but pulled away late to earn a 58-39 victory against Phil Campbell Thursday during the semifinals of the Franklin County Basketball Tournament.
With the win the Lady Bulldogs clinched their fourth-consecutive berth in the finals. They will play the winner of Friday night's Red Bay-Tharptown game.
That game ended too late to be included in today's edition of The Franklin County Times.
Belgreen coach Shauna Humphries said some of the rust might be due to the Lady Bulldogs thin schedule since the Christmas break.
"It always makes a difference when you're off for a while," Humphries said. "They were dealing with their nerves in addition to being off."
Although Belgreen never trailed in the game, the Lady Bobcats were able to hang around and threaten Belgreen's chances of advancing into the fourth quarter.
A 3-pointer by Sarah Hilliard at the end of the first quarter cut Belgreen's lead to 15-10. Phil Campbell continued to rally in the second and briefly tied the game 17-17 on a pair of free throws from Caitlin Stancil.
The Lady Bulldogs then began to settle in and rebuilt a six-point lead by halftime. The Belgreen lead remained at six-points by the end of the third quarter.
Ciara Harville, one of Phil Campbell's top scorers, fouled out during the third quarter, allowing Belgreen start pulling away.
Whitley Yocom scored late in the third to pull the Lady Bobcats within eight points, but Belgreen ended the game on an 11-0 run to secure the win.
Humphries said one of the things that saved the Lady Bulldogs early was their ability to out rebound Phil Campbell. Loren McVicker led the Lady Bulldogs with 15 rebounds to accompany her 17 points.
"We definitely had to get on the boards," Humphries said. "(McVicker) played huge. She played the type of ball she knows she is capable of playing. She will sneak in when you least expect it. Some players just thrive in (big pressure games)."
Katelin Barber also scored 17 points for Belgreen while Amber Smith scored seven. Other scorers for the Lady Bulldogs include Lydia DeVaney (5), Katy Britton (5), Brooke Davis (4), Erica Smith (2) and Kristi O'Dell (2).
Stancil scored a game-high 19 points for Phil Campbell. Also scoring for the Lady Bobcats were Yocom (6), Hilliard (6), Harville (4) and Taylor Scott (4).
Humphries said the team is ready for another shot at claiming a county title.
"We're excited," Humphries said. "It could have gone either way. Everybody in the county is playing so well."
The championship game is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Red Bay High School.
Phil Campbell 60,
Vina 25
The Lady Red Devils fought hard through the first quarter, but Phil Campbell's size and depth proved too much down the stretch as the Lady Bobcats advanced to the semifinals of the Franklin County Tournament with a 60-25 victory against Vina.
Vina led for most of the first quarter, but Phil Campbell scored a pair of late baskets to take a 13-10 lead it would not give up.
The Phil Campbell defense limited Vina to only eight points during the second half. All eight of those points were scored during the fourth quarter.
Stancil recorded a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for Phil Campbell. Harville added a game-high 20 points for the Lady Bobcats.
Also scoring for Phil Campbell were Tiffany Miller (14), Scott (9), Hilliard (3), Yocom (2) and Lindsey Jackson (2).
Devyn Childers led the Lady Red Devils with nine points while Claudia Townsend scored five.
Also scoring for Vina were Chelsea Darracott (3), Brandy Brooks (3), Katlin Gates (2), Andrea Parrish (2) and Courtney Watson (1).