Hanceville's Kierra Merriweather — Charlotte Cummings Memorial Scholarship.

HANCEVILLE — For the first time since 2016, there’s a new varsity girls Cullman County Basketball Tournament champion.

And, for the first time since 2006, that champion is West Point.

Miriam Oldacre battled through sickness for 17 points, and twin sister Micah Oldacre caught fire for 16, playing massive roles in the top-seeded Warriors’ 50-48 title effort against No. 2 Fairview. Toss in spectacular second-half defense by Mackenzie Carter and Ryleigh Jones — not to mention the former’s slew of blocks and steals — as well as contributions from the entire roster — including injured starters turned cheerleaders Olivia Ball and Brooke Brownfield — and coach John Welborn couldn’t have been any prouder of his team.

“I’m excited, and I know they’re excited,” he said. “We had different girls step up tonight than we normally do, but that’s what we had to do. We needed to play some closer games to see what kind of toughness we have. Tonight, we showed we’re pretty tough. We battled through not very good play to come out on top.”

After West Point’s 60-29 win over Fairview in mid-December, it wasn’t crazy to think Saturday’s rematch had the potential to be equally one-sided. But Welborn knew better, and the Aggies proved him right, making Class 5A’s eighth-ranked squad sweat right up until the closing seconds.

Fortunately for the Lady Warriors (22-4), Carter and Jones each sank a pair of free throws to extend the late lead to five points, ensuring Payton Golden’s banked 3 at the buzzer for Fairview (15-9) was all for naught.

Welborn was able to pinpoint exactly why he had a feeling Round 2 against the Aggies would be no walk in the park.

“Because it’s the county tournament,” he said. “It’s the county tournament. Everybody’s been telling me, ‘Y’all got it, y’all got it, y’all got it.’ But I knew Fairview was scrappy. Fairview’s good, and I knew it’d be a close game. Give them credit. He (Justin Billings) had a great gameplan, and it almost worked.”

Welborn closed out his last sentiment with a smile, a not entirely uncommon occurrence among those sporting Maroon and White.

“It’s a good feeling,” Miriam Oldacre said. “I don’t know how to describe it, honestly. This team is my family. I love them. We’re all best friends. That’s why we have such good chemistry.”

That chemistry shone especially bright during a red-hot shooting stretch in the first half for Miriam’s more soft-spoken sibling. Of Micah’s three treys in the championship clash, her loudest came in the form of a four-point play from the corner to cap off a rousing 10-0 run.

Ever the mild-mannered teen, Micah unsurprisingly diverted the attention from herself to her teammates.

“I mean, when they left me open, I shot it,” she said. “Without other people doing all they did rebounding and passing it, gosh, we wouldn’t have won.”

Carter joined the Oldacres in double digits with 10 points. Jones tallied four, and Shadix — in addition to being a pesky defender around the basket — added three.

Payton Golden was Fairview’s high scorer with 19 points. Maddie Yeager (11), Molly McKelvy (five), Katie Ball (four), Daisy Manasco (four), Isabella McGukin (three) and Morgan Lindsay (two) also contributed offensively for the Aggies, who came oh so close to being on the other side of the celebration.

“Down the stretch, we missed a few rebounds, missed a few shots around the rim,” said first-year Fairview coach Justin Billings. “Ultimately, it came down to a couple of possessions at the end. Next time, we just have to clean the game up.”

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All-Tournament Team

Micah Oldacre – West Point

Miriam Oldacre – West Point

Lexi Shadix – West Point

Payton Golden – Fairview

Molly McKelvy – Fairview

Camryn Crider – Cold Springs

Elizabeth Hill – Cold Springs

Kelly Pickett – Hanceville

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All-County Team

Camryn Crider – Cold Springs

Elizabeth Hill – Cold Springs

Toni West – Cold Springs

Payton Golden – Fairview

Molly McKelvy – Fairview

Savanna Derrick – Good Hope

Kelly Pickett – Hanceville

Maddie Heatherly – Holly Pond

Olivia Ball – West Point

Mackenzie Carter – West Point

Miriam Oldacre – West Point

Lexi Shadix – West Point

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Charlotte Cummings Memorial Scholarship

Kierra Merriweather – Hanceville

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Bill Shelton Award

Camryn Crider – Cold Springs