1A, Area 13 Girls: Belgreen advances; Tharptown, Vina’s seasons ends
By Bart Moss / For the FCT
Semifinals: Belgreen 76, Vina 52
If you don’t shoot, you can’t score. That seemed to be Belgreen’s defensive philosophy in the third quarter of Tuesday night’s 76-52 semifinal win over Vina – that, and dominating play inside the paint by Emma Dempsey and Ansley Tate plus some hot shooting by senior Jasmine Martin from the perimeter.
“We tried to stress the importance of staying close to (Abby) Hester, going over the top of her ball screens and having help in the lanes to contain her driving to the basket,” said Belgreen coach Chad Green. “We had to do all of that while staying close to their shooters and getting rebounds.
“I thought our post players did a great job on the offensive boards, and we did a good job on the boards on the defensive end as well,” Green added.
The win sent the Bulldogs to the finals, where they will play second-ranked Phillips Friday night. Vina’s season comes to an end.
Belgreen and Vina both relied on the three-point shot early in the game. Belgreen jumped out to a 15-9 lead early in the first quarter and led 22-18 at the end of the quarter. Vina kept fighting, taking the lead early in the second quarter 24-22 after going on a 6-0 run. Belgreen reclaimed the lead for good midway through the second quarter on a short jumper by Gabbie Moore. The Bulldogs pulled out to 36-32 lead at halftime.
Vina shot just under 50 percent in the first half to Belgreen’s 36 percent. The Bulldogs, however, took twice as many shots at the Red Devils. Vina was eight-of-17 from the field. Belgreen was 12-of-33.
Belgreen limited Vina to just three field goal attempts in the first seven minutes of the third quarter. Vina didn’t make a field goal until Abby Hester sank a short jumper with 38 seconds left in the quarter. Belgreen went on a 17-5 run during that time and led 55-40 at the end of the third quarter.
Belgreen slowed the game down in the fourth quarter, forcing Vina to foul and giving the Bulldogs the free throw line the rest of the way.
Martin led Belgreen with 20 points, hitting four three-pointers. Dempsey followed with 18 points, going 10-12 from the free throw line. Moore added eight points, Tate seven points, Gacie Dempsey five points, Autumn Bragwell three points, Emma Willingham two points and Katie Dempsey two points.
Hester led Vina with 27 points. Kaitlyn King added six points, Emma Humphres six points, Sarah Johnson five points, Kaley Vandiver four points, Rayleigh Guinn three points and Sara Scott one point.
Semifinals: Phillips 88, Tharptown 46
The Tharptown Wildcats had a tall task in trying to take down the second-ranked 1A team in the state. Although the Wildcats stayed with Phillips early in the game Tuesday night, the end result was like many of the previous – an easy win for a very talented team. Tharptown’s season came to an end with the 88-46 lopsided loss to the Bears.
Phillips led Tharptown by six at the end of the first quarter, 21-15. The Bears, however, blew the game wide open in the second quarter, outscoring Tharptown 30-7 to take a 51-22 halftime lead. Phillips extended the lead to 70-33 at the end of the third quarter, and the Bears were on their way to the finals to face Belgreen.
Aly Vandiver and Gracie Montgomery led Tharptown with 15 points and 13 points respectively. Brooke Daily added six points, Ameliah Dawson four points, Adrianna Borden three points and Shaylee Wieting two points.
Julianna Taylor sank 30 points for Phillips.
Quarterfinals: Tharptown 42, Hackleburg 24
Before they ultimately fell to Phillips, the Tharptown Wildcats blanked the Hackleburg Panthers in the first quarter in route to an easy 42-24 win in the quarterfinals of the 1A, Area 13 girls tournament.
Tharptown raced out to a 17-0 first quarter lead and took a 21-8 lead into the halftime locker room. The Wildcats extended their lead to 33-15 at the end of the third quarter before cruising their way to the win.
Brooke Daily led the Wildcats with 18 points, including going 8-of-13 from the free throw line before fouling out of the game. Aly Vandiver added seven points, Caite Dawson six points, Shaylee Wieting four points, Adrianna Borden four points and Gracie Montgomery four points.
