Vina girls win area contest over Tharptown
By Bart Moss / For the FCT
The Vina Red Devils fended off the Tharptown Wildcats to capture a critical early area contest between the two schools, 61-53.
The game was tight right up until the end. Vina hit 10 three-point shots in the game, but neither team had a stellar night from the free-throw line. Tharptown made only eight of 24 (33 percent) from the free throw line. Vina wasn’t much better, making only 13 of 29 (44 percent) from the line.
Vina jumped out to a 23-15 first quarter lead, but Tharptown battled back to cut the Red Devils’ lead to one, 31-30, at halftime.
Both teams exchanged leads several times in the third quarter as Tharptown tied game 45-45 going into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter started the way the third quarter, ended with the two rivals swapping leads several times. However, three-pointers by Emma Humphres and Abby Hester with 2:34 to go in the game gave the Red Devils the cushion they needed to force Tharptown into a foul situation late in the game.
“This was a big win for us,” said Vina coach Richie Hester. “Tharptown’s girls played tough tonight. They were tough inside and played us well. We did what we had to do to get the win. It was a total team effort.”
Hester led the way for Vina with 25 points. Humphres followed with ten points. Kaitlyn King finished with nine points. Kaley Vandiver (7), Rayleigh Guinn (5), Sarah Johnson (4) and Sarah Scott (1) also scored for Vina.
Brooke Daily and Shaylee Wieting led Tharptown with 16 points each. Ameliah Dawson scored eight points, Gracie Montgomery six points, Adrianna Borden four points and Linda Bahena three points.
The Tharptown Lady Wildcats rolled to an easy win over area foe Hackleburg early last week, 55-20. Daily and Bahena led Tharptown with 13 points each. Wieting followed with 11 points. Catie Dawson finished with five points. Borden and Ameliah Dawson scored four points each. Aly Vandiver contributed three points and Anslee Bottoms two points.
Boys
Tharptown 67, Vina 33
The Tharptown Wildcats went on a 25-point tear in the first quarter and cruised to an easy win over the Vina Red Devils 67-33.
Tharptown led Vina 25-13 at the end of the first quarter and had extended the lead to 45-22 at halftime on the way to the win.
Edward Lopez led the Wildcats with 20 points. Lopez was followed by freshman Winston Nolen with 12 points and Levi McCormack with 11 points. Aaron Creasy finished the game with nine points, Cole Daniel eight points, Carson Petree with five points and Skyler Fields two points.
Zarek Barnett and Timothy Newell led Vina with eight points each. Elijah Whitfield followed with seven points. Tanner McAlister and Blake Hardin scored three points each. Braden Moomaw and Dawson Miller had two points each.
Shoals Christian 77, Vina 70
Vina’s Newell scored 32 points in a 77-70 loss to the Shoals Christian Flame last week.
Shoals Christian led Vina 19-14 at the end of the first quarter, and the Flame extended the lead to 43-29 at halftime. The Red Devils made a second half comeback, outscoring Shoals Christian 18-8 in the third quarter to cut the lead to 51-47. The fourth quarter comeback bid, however, fell short.
Jackson Landers followed Newell’s performance with 12 points. Hardin finished with nine points, Whitfield with seven points, Barnett with six points and McAlister with four
