PREP ROUNDUP: Holly Pond smothers Vinemont for 54-42 win, area tournament title
Published 2:21 am Tuesday, February 4, 2025
VINEMONT — Holly Pond’s varsity girls dropped both of their regular-season clashes against Vinemont.
Behind a superb defensive effort Monday night, though, the Broncos made sure that skid didn’t reach three.
Ava Thomas led a quartet of double-digit scorers with a game-high 19 points as No. 8 Holly Pond took down seventh-ranked Vinemont 54-42 for the Class 3A, Area 11 Tournament title.
Coach Mary Hartline’s squad trailed 10-4 early in the first period but soon put the clamps down defensively, which fueled a 33-6 run that effectively put the contest on ice.
And while Vinemont attempted to chip away in the second half, Holly Pond’s free-throw shooting in the final period (9 for 11) allowed the Broncos to maintain a comfortable cushion.
“Defense has been our thing all season — and that’s what we’ve hung our hat on,” Hartline said after the win. “Most of the time I feel like we’ve done a good job executing our defensive plan … Vinemont is really good and has so many weapons, so it was the same thing tonight. Our defense definitely set the tone again, but I really thought our offense played more relaxed and played with confidence. And when you knock down some shots you can win some games.”
Thomas collected MVP accolades and was joined on the All-Tournament team by Millie McBee, Maggie Nail, Alana Phillips and Madison Butts.
McBee (12), Nail (11) and Butts (10) each reached double figures for Holly Pond (19-8).
Reagan Robinson, meanwhile, guided Vinemont (22-6) with 18 points. Carley Stephens (nine), Morgan Flanagan (seven) and Caroline Miller (seven) also pitched in offensively.
Robinson, Flanagan and Miller each landed on the All-Tournament team — as did Hanceville’s Alex Twitty.
See more local roundup below.
Monday — February 3
Varsity Boys
Class 2A — Area 11 Tournament
Cold Springs 68, Falkville 63
Breydon Hallmon: 25 points
Ayden Black: 16 points
Ethan Day: 15 points
Class 5A — Area 14 Tournament
Guntersville 71, Fairview 59
Varsity Girls
Class 1A — Area 14 Tournament
St. Bernard 42, Addison 33
Ella Davis (SB): 16 points
Caroline McBride (SB): 10 points
Gracie Roberts (A): 9 points
Katie Barrett (A): 9 points
Ava Bartlett (A): 8 points
*First area tournament title for St. Bernard since 2005
Class 2A — Area 11 Tournament
Cold Springs 56, Falkville 21
Kenady Graves: 13 points
Macie Huffstutler: 12 points
Ella Dickerson: 9 points
Hagen Ellis: 8 points
Class 4A — Area 13 Tournament
Good Hope 72, Danville 38
Sophie Konrad: 16 points
Ava McSwain: 15 points
Lucie Adams: 14 points
Lexi Marshall: 9 points
Class 5A — Area 15 Tournament
West Point 46, Russellville 38
Camryn Faulkner: 16 points
Laklin Shadix: 12 points
Kealie Harbison: 7 points
Friday — January 31
Varsity Girls
Addison 37, Meek 30
Karson Wyatt: 12 points
Lauryn Cunningham: 8 points
Ava Bartlett: 8 points
*Class 1A, Area 14 Tournament
St. Bernard 44, Cullman Christian 37
Ella Davis (SB): 25 points
Caroline McBride (SB): 12 points
Lila Sellers (CC): 11 points
Piper Coots (CC): 11 points
Zoe Powell (CC): 8 points
*Class 1A, Area 14 Tournament
Holly Pond 31, Locust Fork 20
Ava Thomas: 11 points
Millie McBee: 8 points
*Class 3A, Area 11 Tournament
Vinemont 63, J.B. Pennington 24
Caroline Miller: 22 points
Morgan Flanagan: 11 points
Reagan Robinson: 8 points
*Class 3A, Area 11 Tournament
Good Hope 59, West Morgan 30
Lexi Marshall: 16 points
Ava McSwain: 14 points
Ella Gossett: 13 points
*Class 4A, Area 13 Tournament
Saturday — February 1
Varsity Boys
Meek 70, Cullman Christian 21
*Class 1A, Area 14 Tournament
Addison 55, St. Bernard 12
Carter Pratt (A): 9 points
Jed Wilkins (A): 9 points
Kash Turner (A): 8 points
Joel Rose (SB): 9 points
*Class 1A, Area 14 Tournament
Locust Fork 81, Hanceville 46
Peyton Twilley: 22 points
Drake Bentley: 13 points
*Class 3A, Area 11 Tournament
**Hanceville ends season at 9-17
J.B. Pennington 32, Holly Pond 31
Ty Dunn: 10 points
Cade Allbright: 9 points
*Class 3A, Area 11 Tournament
**Holly Pond ends season at 13-16
Good Hope 70, East Lawrence 48
Gavin Pace: 20 points
Tucker Malin: 13 points
Owen Armstrong: 8 points
Tyler Cone: 8 points
*Class 4A, Area 13 Tournament
West Point 68, Lawrence County 56
Jay Lamar: 16 points
Maddox Chapman: 14 points
Jaxon Shelton: 12 points
Brier Taylor: 10 points
Cade Welborn: 9 points
*Class 5A, Area 15 Tournament
Varsity Girls
Cullman 61, Jasper 53
Molly Wilson: 26 points
Molly Dorough: 14 points
*Class 6A, Area 13 Tournament
Arab 67, Fairview 29
Whitney Quick: 11 points
Peyton Defoor: 6 points
*Class 5A, Area 14 Tournament
**Fairview ends season at 16-15