Vina girls win round one of area

J.R. Tidwell/FCT Morgan Humphres (11) of Vina looks for an open teammate against Phillips Monday night at Tharptown.

The Vina Lady Red Devils defeated the Phillips She Bears 46-42 to win the first round of the 1A Area 13 girl’s basketball tournament at Tharptown on Monday night.

Vina had a good lead through most of the game, but the She Bears made a run late that almost won them the game.

“We have trouble closing people out, and [Phillips] played good,” Vina head coach Paul Humphres said.

The game was tied at 4-4 halfway through the first. Vina had the lead at 6-4 by the end of the first after a long field goal by Morgan Humphres.

A field goal by Alex Miller extended Vina’s lead to 8-4 early in the second, and a layup by Shelby Boyd put the Lady Red Devils up 11-6 with 5:30 left in the first half.

A short field goal by Boyd gave Vina a 14-9 advantage at the midpoint of the second.

Humphres hit a field goal later on to put the Lady Red Devils up 18-10. Vina took an 18-10 lead into the locker room at halftime.

A Humphres layup and an Andria Parrish and one put the Lady Red Devils up 25-17 midway through the third. Two field goals by Miranda Howard extended Vina’s lead late in the third, and the Lady Red Devils took a 36-20 advantage into the final quarter of the match.

Phillips had narrowed the gap to 40-31 with four minutes to go in the game. Parrish hit a field goal to put Vina up 43-35, but a Phillips 3-pointer and field goal put the She Bears down only by three.

Humphres hit a foul shot and a layup late to cushion the Lady Red Devils’ lead, and Vina’s defense only allowed Phillips two more points to secure the win.

“We’ve got to get ready for Tharptown’s pressure,” Humphres said. “We have to try to get tough to handle their pressure.”

Humphres led Vina in scoring with 15 points. Parrish added 11, and Howard had 6. Also scoring for the Lady Red Devils were Boyd (5), Jessica Pickle (5), Amanda Patterson (2) and Miller (2).