Winning start: Phil Campbell teams cruise to opening wins
The Phil Campbell girls (1-0) used a stifling full court pressure defense to discombobulate the Tharptown Lady Wildcats (2-1) Friday night, winning easily 65-15.
Phil Campbell’s defense forced 25 Tharptown turnovers and held the Wildcats to just one field goal in the game, which came early in the first quarter.
“I was really proud of the way we got after it on defense tonight,” said Bobcat coach Craig Thomas. “This is the style of game we want to play, and tonight it worked about as well as we could have asked for.”
Phil Campbell jumped out to a 16-5 first quarter lead but blew the game wide open in the second quarter, outscoring Tharptown 28-8 to take a 44-13 lead into halftime. Phil Campbell held Tharptown scoreless in the third quarter and allowed just two points in the fourth quarter en route to the easy win.
Russellville transfer Kallie Allen led the way for the Bobcats with 15 points and 10 steals. Abby Davis and Darby Elliott followed with 13 points each. Meagan Bullock scored eight points, Kaci Harris had seven points, Chloe Roberson added five points, and Dakota Elliott and Carley Nix finished with two points each.
Aly Vandiver, Adrianna Borden and Gracie Montgomery scored three points each for Tharptown. Brooke Daily and Annslee Bottoms finished with two points each. Shaylee Wieting and Ameliah Dawson finished with one point each.
Varsity Boys: Phil Campbell 67, Tharptown 34
The Phil Campbell Bobcats had no problems dispatching the Tharptown Wildcats Friday night in their opening game, winning soundly 67-34.
“I thought we played well for our first game,” said Bobcat head coach Brett Thomas. “Our seniors did a great job setting the tone. We still need to clean up our turnovers and work on our backside rebounding a little more, but overall I was pleased with how we played.”
Phil Campbell outscored Tharptown in all four quarters of play, leading 16-8 at the end of the first quarter and 34-15 at halftime. The Bobcats extended their lead to 50-25 by the end of the third quarter.
Phil Campbell had three players in double figures. Rhett Benford was top scorer for Phil Campbell with 16 points. Peyton Thomas followed with 15 points, and Nate Owens had 13 points. Joe Hardy and Brody Nix scored seven points each. Cody Cothum added four points and Isaac Cummings two points.
Sophomore Edward Lopez led Tharptown with 14 points. Misael Saldana added eight points, and Levi McCormack scored five points. Cole Daniel, Aaron Creasy, and Carson Petree scored two points each. Winston Nolen finished with one point.
B-Varsity Boys: Phil Campbell 56, Tharptown 23
The Phil Campbell Bobcats defeated the Tharptown Wildcats in the B-Varsity game 56-23.
Luke Garrison led the Bobcats with 23 points. Matt Chaffin followed with 16 points.
