Ticket to finals: Phil Campbell, Lamar County face off Friday

By Bart Moss / For the FCT

1A, Area 14 Girls Semifinals: Phil Campbell 70, Sulligent 23

The Phil Campbell Bobcats didn’t waste any time putting away the Sulligent Blue Devils in Monday night’s semifinal matchup. The Bobcats went on runs of 13-0 and 18-0 in the first half leading to the 70-23 blowout win.

The Bobcats will face the Lamar County Bulldogs in the finals Friday night at 6 p.m. at Phil Campbell.

Phil Campbell’s full-court pressure stymied Sulligent all through the first half, as the Bobcats caused 18 Blue Devil turnovers. Phil Campbell raced out to a 22-6 first quarter lead and outscored Sulligent 19-2 in the second quarter to take a 41-8 halftime lead. The Bobcats extended their lead to 59-13 at the end of the third quarter.

Abby Davis led Phil Campbell with 23 points and five steals. Kallie Allen followed with 15 points.  hloe Roberson and Darby Elliott score six points each, with Elliot racking up six steals. Kaci Harris and Katie Thomas finished the game with four points each. Caitlyn Mills, Carley Nix, Emily Swinney, Cimber Davis and Olivia Taylor contributed two points each to the win. Gracie Raper and Dakota Elliott added one point each, while Elliott garnered eight assists.

1A, Area 14 Girls Semifinals: Lamar County 49, Red Bay 39

The Red Bay Tigers dominated the first quarter of Monday night’s semifinal matchup with the Lamar County Bulldogs, but then it all began to unravel. The Lady Tigers lost 49-39, ending their season much earlier than usual.

Everything seemed to be going Red Bay’s way in the first quarter as the Tigers exploded out to a 20-3 lead.  Then, it all went wrong.

Turnovers and missed shots plagued the Tigers as Lamar County slowly chipped away at Red Bay’s lead. The Bulldogs outscored Red Bay 14-7 in the second quarter, including a short corner shot at the buzzer to cut the Tigers’ lead to ten points, 27-17, at halftime.

Lamar County continued the comeback in the third quarter, outscoring Red Bay 13-6, including another buzzer-beater to cut the Tigers’ lead to three, 33-30. Lamar County tied the game at 33-33 early in the fourth quarter and took the lead for good midway through the quarter.

Carlie Lindley led Red Bay with 15 points on the night. Macy Faulkner and Mallori Miller added seven points each. Reagan Kuykendall finished the game with six points. Destiny McCollister and Savannah Shaw contributed two points each.