2012-13 basketball recap
J.R. Tidwell/FCT Belgreen’s Brock Hester (50) puts up a shot from inside the paint against the Phil Campbell Bobcats this season.
Another basketball season has come and gone, as the 2012-13 season came to a close for all of the teams in Franklin County last week.
None of the boys teams, much like last year, were able to make the Northwest Regional this season.
The Red Bay Lady Tigers were unable to get past the Cold Springs Lady Eagles at the Northwest Regional. This made them the final team in the county to have their year end.
There were many ups and downs all around. There were a few surprises and some expected results.
In the end no team in the county would come away with a title in the playoffs past the area, but that does not mean that there was not plenty of success between the six schools in the area.
Two of the most improved teams were the Vina Lady Red Devils and the Tharptown Wildcats.
The Lady Red Devils knew that they would have a better season than last year after defeating the Belgreen Lady Bulldogs on their home court.
Their 12-9 record (all records are as shown on AHSAA.com) was five wins better than last year’s mark.
The Wildcats had the luxury of playing with Kelby Hallmark for this entire season, and the number of games put in the win column went up a few.
The Wildcats went 15-10 but were unable to make it past the area tournament thanks to stiff competition from Belgreen and Phillips.
Two good seasons that did not come at much of a surpise to anyone were the Belgreen Bulldogs and Red Bay Lady Tigers.
Despite losing a lot of talent to graduation, the Bulldogs seemed poised to once again have a great year on the hardwood.
The team came in at 18-8, but a surprise loss to Red Bay in the county tournament kept them from repeating as county champs.
Phillips and Belgreen battled for supremacy in 1A Area 15, but it was the team from Bear Creek that won in the end.
The Bulldogs faced Shoals Christian in the sub-region game that most felt like they could or even should win, but a down night ended their season abruptly.
The Red Bay Lady Tigers did not surprise anyone when they repeated as county champs once again.
They did not surprise anyone when they retook the Area 16 crown either, but a tough sub-region game with Lexington proved that the playoffs would be tough going this time around.
The Lady Tigers played with Cold Springs the whole way through the game at Wallace State, but the Lady Tigers fell short by one point, ending an otherwise stellar year.
The Tharptown Lady Wildcats and Phil Campbell Lady Bobcats had good years also, though neither team could make it to the Northwest Regional.
The Lady Wildcats finished an undefeated run in 1A Area 15 before Shoals Christian ended their playoff run in the subregionals.
Despite losing a lot of good players from the previous year, Tharptown posted a 16-7 record.
The Lady Bobcats had a 15-15 season, much the same as last year.
However, having a .500 record while playing the likes of Red Bay and Colbert Heights is no mean feat.
No matter what the Lady Bobcats did when tournament time rolled around, the Red Bay Lady Tigers were always there to knock them out, and the Lady Bobcats fell to the Tanner Lady Rattlers in the sub-region.
Having 13 wins is a good accomplishment, but for the Phil Campbell Bobcats who expected more from their season, it still felt like a disappointment.
The team had a 13-14 record this year but had expected to make a bigger splash.
The Red Bay Tigers had a 9-15 record this year but surprised everyone by defeating Belgreen and Phil Campbell to win the county tournament.
They could not repeat that success in the area tourney finals, however, and Tanner put an end to their year in the sub-region.
Russellville picked up a 9-15 record against solid 5A competition, and they will look to improve upon that next season. They were put out by East Limestone in the sub-region.
The Lady Golden Tigers had a 3-16 year, and the Vina boys finished at 0-22.
