County teams see pre-tournament basketball action
By Bart Moss / For the FCT
The following games were played recently prior to Franklin County Tournament action.
Varsity Girls: Vina 56, Tharptown 51 (Overtime)
Kaitlyn King and Abby Hester scored five points each in overtime to help lift the Vina Red Devils over the Tharptown Wildcats 56-49 in overtime to capture their 20th win on the season.
“That was a big win for us,” said Vina coach Richie Hester. “Getting 20 wins is a big accomplishment for any team. This team did it last year, so it’s not new to them, but it is a big accomplishment. We have some big goals out in front of us, and that is what they are focused on.”
Vina opened the game with a 16-8 first quarter lead. Tharptown clawed their way back to cut Vina’s lead to 20-19 at halftime. The Wildcats took a 34-28 lead into the fourth quarter.
Emma Humphres hit a 12-foot jumper with 2:46 to go in the game to regain the lead for Vina. Two free throws by Aly Vandiver gave the lead back to the Wildcats 44-43 with 2:10 remaining in the game.
Abby Hester went to the line with 1:07 to go to hit two free throws and give Vina a 45-44 lead. Hester found herself back on the free throw line with 18 seconds to go in the game, making one-of-two to give Vina a 46-44 lead.
After missing the back end of the one-and-one, Linda Bahena grabbed the rebound for Tharptown and went the length of the floor. She dished the ball off to Brooke Daily, who hit a layup to send the game into overtime.
Tharptown opened the overtime period with a 5-0 run to take a 51-47 lead over Vina. After that, it was all Vina. The Red Devils went on a 10-0 run that included two big shots by Kaitlyn King and five free throws by Hester to win the game.
Hester led all scorers with 19 points. King followed Hester with 16 points. Humphres added 13 points. Kayley Vandiver added three points, Rayleigh Guin two points, Sarah Johnson two points and Sarah Scott one point.
Aly Vandiver led Tharptown with 17 points. She was followed by Brooke Daily with 10 points. Adrianna Borden added nine points, Linda Bahena five points, Shaylee Wieting three points, Catie Dawson three points, Gracie Montgomery two points and Ameliah Dawson one point.
Varsity Boys: Tharptown 101, Vina 48
The Tharptown Wildcats had their best shooting night of the year in a 101-48 victory over the Vina Red Devils. Eleven of the 12 players dressed out for the game contributed to the scoring.
“We were hitting shots tonight we haven’t hit all year,” said Tharptown coach Shannon Benford. “We played a lot of guys, and our bench was able to outscore our starters tonight. Many of our B-team players got playing time and played a significant role in the scoring.”
One of the B-teamers was Britton Kennamore, a sophomore, who made seven-of-eight three pointers and scored 24 points to lead the Wildcats.
“Britton has never scored more than six points in a B-team game, and he hit seven three’s tonight,” said Benford. “He was in the zone.”
Tharptown scored on the opening tip and on the last shot of the game to pass the century mark.
Tharptown essentially put the game away in the first quarter, outscoring Vina 34-10. The Wildcats extended their lead to 59-24 at the end of the first half and 82-37 at the end of the third quarter.
Levi McCormack followed Kennamore with 15 points, and Edward Lopez had 14 points. Winston Nolen added nine points, Aaron Creasy nine points, Carson Petree eight points, Reuben Alfaro seven points, Cole Daniel six points, Miseal Saldana three points, Skylar Fields three points and Les Montgomery two points.
Blake Hardin led Vina with 25 points. Timothy Newell added 12 points. Jackson Landers finished the game with four points, Dylan Peterson two points, Issac Harper two points and Ethan Colvin two points.
Varsity Girls: Belgreen 61, Carbon Hill 60
The Belgreen Bulldogs held off a fourth quarter comeback attempt by the Carbon Hill Bulldogs last Monday, 61-60.
Carbon Hill led Belgreen 11-8 at the end of the first quarter and 26-23 at halftime. Belgreen blew past Carbon Hill in the third quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs from Walker County 19-9 to take a 42-35 leave into the fourth quarter. Carbon Hill outscored Belgreen 25-19 in the fourth quarter.
Emma Dempsey led Belgreen with 17 points. Gracie Dempsey and Jasmine Martin followed with 12 points and 11 points respectively. Katie Dempsey added eight points, Ansley Tate three points and Emma Willingham two points.
Varsity Boys: Belgreen 54, Carbon Hill 47
The Belgreen Bulldogs stopped a two-game losing skid with a 54-47 win over the Carbon Hill Bulldogs last Monday.
Carbon Hill led Belgreen 13-12 at the end of the first quarter. Belgreen took the lead at halftime 25-23 and extended the lead to 41-37 at the end of the third quarter.
Jacob Mayberry and Mason Bragwell led Belgreen with 15 points and 14 points respectively. Seth Taylor followed with 10 points. Eli Hiser added six points, Peyton Scott five points, Gaven Taylor two points and Ashlee Britton two points.
