RHS loses 4 to start new year
Russellville’s Braxton Duncan and Jaxon Shelton of West Point leap for the ball. CONTRIBUTED/BRANNON KING
High School Sports, Russellville Golden Tigers, Sports
Brannon King For the FCT
 By Brannon King For the FCT  
Published 6:00 am Wednesday, January 14, 2026

RHS loses 4 to start new year

The Russellville Golden Tigers hit the varsity basketball court for games to start the new calendar year. Russellville’s girls and boys faced tough competition against Brooks, Jasper and West Point.

The RHS girls defeated the Brooks Lady Lions on Jan. 5 by a score of 57-31. Russellville used a 21-2 first quarter to get off to a fast start. The Lady Tigers led 40-10 at the half and 55-20 after three quarters of the contest.

Ella Copeland led Russellville to victory with 19 points. Laila Hill added 14 and Angeleah Smith scored seven. Blevyn Sappington scored six, Alexia Groce had four points, and Elizabeth Davis added three. Sadie Odom and Callie Odom scored two points each.

Russellville’s girls traveled to Jasper the following evening and fell to the Lady Vikings, 50-39. Copeland led RHS with 17 points and Smith had 15. Sadie Odom scored four, Davis had two points, and Hill added one point.

The girls hosted West Point for an area game on Jan. 9 and the Lady Warriors got a 69-46 win. WPHS led 39-23 at the half and 58-37 after three quarters of game action.

Russellville (10-8 overall, 1-1 area) was led in scoring by Copeland’s 22 points. Hill added 15 and Smith scored five. Bella Malone and Sappington had two points each.

Russellville’s boys fell to Brooks by a 54-42 score. Braxton Duncan led RHS with 12 points and Sir Williams had 11. Tripp Cleveland scored eight, Daniel Aycock had five, Malaki Groce added three, Parker Odom had two points, and Noah Smith scored one for the Golden Tigers.

Class 6A Jasper defeated Russellville 85-24. The Vikings led 22-2 at the end of the first quarter and held a 52-13 advantage at the half.

Russellville’s Duncan had 10 points. Groce scored six while Cleveland and Williams had four points each.

The Russellville boys fell to 0-2 in the area with a 56-40 loss to West Point. The Golden Tigers trailed by only two points at the half, but were outscored by nine points in the third quarter and by five in the fourth.

Williams led RHS with 17 points. Cleveland had eight, Aycock scored six, Odom added four, Groce scored three, and Duncan had two points.

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