Haleyville girls end Red Bay win streak
By Staff
Mike Self FCT Sports Editor
HALEYVILLE - Few teams can match the Red Bay girls when it comes to defensive intensity.
Haleyville is one of those teams.
The Lady Lions, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A, tightened the screws on defense in Tuesday's fourth quarter to turn a close game into a senior night celebration, ending the Lady Tigers' win streak at nine with a 67-49 victory.
Red Bay (16-6) had trimmed a 10-point deficit down to two before going the first four-plus minutes of the fourth quarter without a field goal.
Haleyville (23-4) went on a 12-2 run during that span to push the lead back into double digits and never looked back.
"Sometimes, after we got back in the game, it seemed like we got in a hurry on offense," Red Bay coach Donnie Roberts said. "I told our girls that it was important to run good sets every possession, but we rushed it a few times and made some turnovers."
The Lady Tigers finished the game with 19 turnovers and shot just 34 percent from the field.
They also were out-rebounded 39-31 and allowed Haleyville to grab 15 offensive boards.
"The No. 1 thing that got us beat tonight was that we did a terrible job blocking out and rebounding," Roberts said. "We gave them way too many second and third shots."
Roberts pointed to a putback attempt for Red Bay that didn't fall as the turning point of the game.
With the Lady Tigers trailing by three early in the fourth quarter, Lauren Tucker missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Chelsea McWilliams grabbed the offensive rebound and got the ball back to Tucker, but the junior guard's floater in the lane bounced off the back iron.
Ashley Boykin then scored on the other end to spark a 10-1 spurt that gave Haleyville a 53-41 lead with 4:00 remaining.
Boykin had nine points in the first quarter as Haleyville threatened to pull away early, but two three-pointers by Tucker and another by Mallory Garrison kept Red Bay within striking distance at 21-12.
The Lady Tigers trimmed the lead to 29-23 by halftime.
Boykin and Janna Tinker each hit a three-pointer early in the second half as Haleyville's lead grew to 35-25, but Red Bay rallied behind the play of Tucker and Kendra Sparks.
Sparks scored 10 of her team-high 17 points in the third quarter, and Tucker added six as the Lady Tigers closed the period on a 14-6 run to get within two at 41-39.
Tucker finished with 12 points, and Garrison added seven. McWilliams had five points and seven rebounds, and Alyssa Horton also scored five.
Mandy Lowery added three points.
Boykin scored a game-high 24 points and also had eight rebounds for Haleyville. After the game, she received a plaque commemorating her nomination for the McDonald's High School All-American team.
Katti Miller added 11 points and six rebounds for the Lady Lions, who shot 56 percent from the field in the second half. Tinker finished with nine points, and Tara Pace had eight.
Despite Red Bay's first loss since late December, Roberts remained in a positive frame of mind.
Red Bay hosts Belmont tonight in its regular season finale. The Lady Tigers will get a bye in the first round of the area tournament before facing the winner between Colbert Heights and Cherokee.
In other local action:
Belgreen 51 Speake 47
Amanda Hester had 17 points on Tuesday in Belgreen's home win.
Kala Dill added 12 points for the Lady Bulldogs (15-6), and Mary Billingham had 10.
Belgreen trailed by one before out-scoring Speake 15-10 in the fourth.
Kylie Black led Speake (13-9) with 26 points, and Pinata Orr had 19.
