STATE TOURNAMENT: No. 2 Cold Springs upended by top-ranked Collinsville 58-45

Published 12:17 pm Friday, February 28, 2020

BIRMINGHAM — Cold Springs’ bid for a second straight Class 2A title came up short on Friday.

Top-ranked Collinsville delivered a terrific defensive effort inside Legacy Arena to upend the No. 2 Lady Eagles 58-45 and claim the first state championship in program history.

The Lady Panthers wrapped up their season at 29-3, while the Blue and Gold finished 31-5.

“I’m just extremely proud of my team,” coach Tammy West said. “We played in the game that we wanted to play in all year long. Didn’t work out the way we wanted it to. But I told them all year that if we’re going to lose to somebody, we want to lose to somebody that we’re worthy of losing to. Today, we ran up against a very good team. They were very well-rounded, fundamentally sound, didn’t make a lot of mistakes, rebounded well, shot the ball well, had great composure. We fell short, but it was to a really good team — as is our team.”

The two squads combined to hit six 3-pointers in the game’s first eight minutes, with Collinsville holding a slim 15-14 cushion at the end of the first quarter.

A Toni West 3-pointer gifted Cold Springs a 20-18 lead with 6:22 remaining in the second frame before the Lady Panthers reeled off a 10-1 spurt to go in front 28-21.

Neely Ellison, though, made a 3-pointer — the first basket by the Lady Eagles since West’s shot — just ahead of the buzzer to bring her team within four points at halftime.

The Lady Panthers outrebounded Cold Springs 20-7 in the first half — they claimed 11 offensive rebounds alone — and recorded 10 second-chance points.

“The rebounding was the difference in the first half,” West said. “We would work so hard to give them a contested shot, and then we had to battle again and again. Sometimes, it was multiple offensive rebounds on one possession.”

Coach Jon Tidmore’s squad controlled the final 16 minutes en route to the triumph.

Collinsville notched the first two buckets of the third stanza to go up 32-24 and eventually took a 42-32 lead entering the final quarter.

The Lady Eagles stayed in it, though, holding the Lady Panthers scoreless for the first 3:59 of the frame and bridging the gap to just six points (42-36).

But a devastating 3-pointer by Hadley Hamilton — she drilled four total — put Collinsville back in front by nine, and Cold Springs never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.

“That 3 killed us,” West said. “I felt like we had some momentum, and then we give up a wide-open shot.”

The Lady Panthers drained 7-of-7 shots from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to close out a game in which they led for 27:54, outrebounded the Lady Eagles 32-19 and held them to just 32 percent shooting (10 of 31) after the first quarter.

“They played great defense,” West said. “They doubled and triple-teamed inside. Took away some things we tried to do. I want to give all the credit to their defense for causing us to have to rush our shots and not making anything easy for us.”

West made five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 17 points for Cold Springs.

She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Elizabeth Hill, who provided 13 points.

Ellison (eight), Lacey Rice (six) and Kylon Hamby (one) also contributed offensively.

Collinsville’s Brittany Rivera was named MVP after netting 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Hamilton (16), Olivia Akins (16) and Tyla Tatum (13) also made the All-Tournament Team.

Despite the outcome, the Lady Eagles have plenty to be proud of this season.

They earned the 2A, Area 12 Tournament and Northwest Regional Tournament titles and advanced to state championship game for the second straight season.

For a pair of talented seniors in Ellison and Hill, it’s not something they’ll soon forget.

“I’ve loved the past four years,” Ellison said. “I can’t wait to come back and watch … I know they’re going to have a successful year next year. I just loved every minute, and it was great to make it back this year.”

Added Hill: “I’m just very thankful for all my coaches and teammates and the community we have. To make it here twice, it’s a big accomplishment.”