Vinemont's Sarah Smith tries to dribble past Holly Pond's Haley Higginbotham.

HANCEVILLE — Holly Pond began its quest for four straight titles with a 58-15 win over Vinemont during the first round of the 2016 Cullman County Basketball Tournament on Monday night.

Ruth Horton drilled five 3-pointers in the first quarter to stake the Class 3A No. 8 Lady Broncos (15-8) to an early 24-7 advantage against the Eagles inside Tom Drake Coliseum.

It didn’t get any better for the seventh-seeded Red and White.

Horton finished with a game-high 19 points. Seven other players had at least three points to help the second-seeded Green and White advance to the semifinals, where they’ll meet the winner of No. 3 Cold Springs and No. 6 West Point Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

“We started out shooting pretty well,” Holly Pond coach Scott Adams said. “Ruth was hitting them, but I’d like to see some other girls step up to hit some, too. Overall, the effort was good and we were fairly efficient. We did our job. We’ll get ready for the next round.”

The Broncos took respective halftime and third-quarter leads of 35-9 and 48-15 and never trailed.

Melissa Clingman and Lauren Camp complemented Horton with eight points apiece, while Haley Higginbotham added seven.

Other contributors were Presley Marks, five points; Molly Gambrill and Taylor Tankersley, four each; and Sophie Slaten, three.

Should the Green and White pick up a win Thursday night, they’d take part in their eighth consecutive title bout on Saturday.

Not too shabby.

“We just want to compete,” Adams said. “We know our work is cut out for us ahead. If we don’t play our best, we’ll be going home. We’ll try to get better these next two days.”

Vinemont’s Laura Smithson earned six points. Zoe Thomas (four), Kelsey Rodgers and Mykenzie Lamb (two apiece); and Leigh Ann Smithson (one) rounded out the scoring for the Eagles.

While the Broncos were particularly pleased with the win, they were much happier to see one of their own supporting the team from the bench.

Cidney Hays, a Holly Pond sixth-grader who was diagnosed with Leukemia back in September of 2015, took in the county tournament scene for a victory against the Red and White. Junior Taylor Tankersley approached Adams with the idea to let Hays join the club on the bench. The coach, without hesitation, instantly shined to the suggestion.

“I told Taylor, ‘Of course she can,’” Adams said. “It’s been a tough time for her. She’s been going through a lot. Finally, through her treatment, she was able to join us tonight. It’s a great thing for her to experience.”