PREP BASKETBALL: Lady Eagles soar past Holly Pond; Broncos earn 10th straight win

Published 10:09 pm Monday, December 18, 2017

Holly Pond's Zach Shaw is defended by Cold Springs' Dylan Byrd this season.

COLD SPRINGS — If the Lady Eagles aren’t on a roll, they’re certainly riding a big wave of momentum.

Cold Springs overwhelmed Holly Pond from start to finish on Monday night, grabbing their third straight victory following a dominant 70-34 performance inside Jesse George Gymnasium.

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The Eagles (8-5) claimed double-digit contributions from Camryn Crider (18), Elizabeth Hill (17), Neely Ellison (15) and Toni West (12), while Zoe Strawbridge, Prisca McAnnally and Kinley Campbell offered points as well in the home triumph.

Crider (five rebounds, four steals, three assists), Ellison (three rebounds, two assists), Hill (six rebounds, five assists, three blocks) and West (five rebounds, four assists, two steals) all secured much more than just buckets for longtime coach Tammy West.

And that’s just fine with her.

“The last time we played Holly Pond, Camryn and Elizabeth were my only two scorers really,” she said. “Basically, I just told them we aren’t going to win many games if that’s the case. We need contributions from everybody else, and I think that definitely happened tonight. It’s definitely one of our better halves and games we’ve played this year.”

Though the Blue and Gold led by 17 at halftime, they increased it to 35 after outscoring the Green and White 20-2 in the third quarter — Ellison’s quartet of 3-pointers and the team’s super defense certainly helped the cause — to take full command of the matchup.

Holly Pond (3-10) was led by McKenna Folds, who netted 12 points. Presley Marks was next in line with eight, while Maddie Heatherly and Elizabeth Miller each added four.

% Hanceville 58, Moody 28: The Lady Bulldogs grabbed a ho-hum victory during the first round of the Susan Moore Christmas Tournament on Monday.

Malia Howell (17), Cassidy Campbell (16), Kelly Pickett (11), Karmen Johnson (seven) and Kierra Merriweather (seven) nabbed all the points for Hanceville, which improved to 7-5 overall this year.

% Hartselle 62, West Point 49: The Lady Warriors were outscored 22-7 in the final frame Monday night, dropping their fourth straight bout after a perfect 10-0 start to the season.

Miriam Oldacre spearheaded West Point’s offensive spirit with 23 points. Lexi Shadix (seven), Olivia Ball (six), Brooke Brownfield (five), Micah Oldacre (five) and Mackenzie Carter (three) also contributed.

% Brewer 42, Fairview 33: The Lady Aggies couldn’t overcome a rough start on Monday night, dropping a tough one to the Class 6A No. 8 Lady Patriots.

Abbi Taylor paced Fairview (10-4) with 11 points, while McKinna Yearwood (eight) and Taylor Ann Yeager (seven) made multiple shots as well.

The Purple and Gold trailed 15-8 after the first quarter and 23-13 at halftime.

% Hanceville 61, Carbon Hill 43: The Lady Bulldogs improved to 3-0 in area play after Saturday’s win.

Malia Howell (18), Kelly Pickett (16) and Karmen Johnson (15) picked up double figures for Hanceville in the home victory. Cassidy Campbell (six), Kierra Merriweather (five) and Hannah Flanigan (one) also put in buckets for the Purple and Gold.

% Other score(s): Addison 77, Cordova 34; Decatur Heritage 59, Addison 44 (Saturday)


Varsity Boys

% Holly Pond 64, Cold Springs 35: The Broncos built a 25-point halftime advantage en route to a 10th straight victory on Monday night.

Holly Pond (12-2) secured terrific contributions from Zach Shaw (12), Griffin Morris (11), Kyler Chaney (nine), Jake Harris (eight) and Cooper Jones (eight) in the road win. Five other players scored at least three points.

Cold Springs (1-10) was led by Adam Hill (11) and Hunter McClendon (nine) offensively.

% Hartselle 67, West Point 64: The Warriors had a chance to pull off the upset on Monday night, but a costly turnover with less than two seconds remaining led to a pair of free throws and an eventual victory for the homestanding Tigers.

West Point (6-7) lost to Hartselle by 35 points a week ago but gave the home team all it could handle — and then some — for 32 minutes before falling just short.

Stats, however, were unavailable.

% Brewer 67, Fairview 51: The Aggies fell to 6-4 overall after Monday night’s road loss to the Patriots. 

Luke Yarbrough (16), Bryson Fletcher (nine), Cameron Guthrie (seven) and Austin Turner (seven) came up with the majority of the points for Fairview.

% Hanceville 48, Carbon Hill 34: RJ Evans recorded a team-high 21 points to propel the Bulldogs to an area and home victory on Saturday night.

Damion Johnson (eight), Zeke McDonald (six) and Raiden Morgan (six) also showed out to improve their team’s record to 7-3 overall and 3-0 in area play.