Russellville girls win area opener.
By Staff
Mike Self, FCT Sports Editor
RUSSELLVILLE – Jordan Dollar had 22 points and Sasha Willingham added 14 for Russellville on Tuesday as the Lady Golden Tigers opened play in Class 5A, Area 16 with a 55-46 win over Decatur.
"That's huge. I don't know if we've ever won our first area game of the season before," RHS coach James Bostick said. "We're young, but we just have to keep improving. We've got another area game against Muscle Shoals on Friday, and we have to be ready for that one."
After trailing by as many as nine points in the first half, Decatur hung around in the second half and threatened to spoil Russellville's area opener. But each time the Lady Raiders would get close, Dollar and Willingham seemed to come up with a big play to preserve the lead.
The two seniors combined for 22 of Russellville's 30 points in the second half.
"Jordan and Sasha made some key buckets for us in the second half," Bostick said. "I thought Victoria [Taylor] did a good job handling the ball, too. She was able to penetrate and dish it off for some open shots."
After Decatur trimmed the lead to one late in the third quarter, Willingham responded with a layup and two free throws to push the lead back to five.
A three-pointer by Shana Hubbard got Decatur back within one early in the fourth quarter, but Dollar answered with a three-point play to make it 39-35 with 7:19 remaining.
When Russellville's lead dwindled back to two midway through the fourth, Willingham knifed through the defense and converted another three-point play to push the lead back to five.
A steal led to two free throws by Erin Reynolds that made it 46-39 with 4:00 remaining, and Decatur would get no closer than four the rest of the way.
Bostick said his team's defense improved in the second half.
"They had three girls who could shoot pretty well," he said. "No. 24 [Whitney Fletcher] was their best player, and the other two girls were mainly standstill shooters. We did a better job of getting a hand in their face in the second half, especially in crucial situations."
Taylor added eight points for Russellville, and Reynolds finished with six. Tasha West had five.
Ashley Henderson led Decatur with 14 points, and Fletcher added 12.
Russellville will host Muscle Shoals on Friday.
