MIDDLE SCHOOL BASKETBALL: Hanceville’s boys, West Point’s girls claim county titles
Published 3:41 pm Monday, December 23, 2019
HOLLY POND — Hanceville’s boys and West Point’s girls earned their respective county crowns following stellar performances at the Cullman County Middle School Basketball Tournament, which wrapped up play on Saturday at Holly Pond’s Felton Easterwood Gymnasium.
The top-seeded Bulldogs took down No. 2 Good Hope 36-32 for their third straight title, while the second-seeded Lady Warriors edged No. 1 Parkside 24-23 in a thriller to claim their championship hardware.
Hanceville trailed 21-13 at halftime but battled back for the wild victory.
Good Hope’s Tucker Malin made a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining in the contest to tie things up at 32.
But the Bulldogs immediately pushed the ball up the floor, and Konnor Helms put Hanceville back in front by two following a layup with four seconds left on the clock.
The Raiders were then hit with a technical foul after signaling for a timeout when none remained.
Noah Jones swished two free throws shortly afterward to officially seal the deal for the Purple and Gold.
Jones led the Bulldogs (12-2) with 15 points, while Carson Garrett netted 12.
Marquies Leeth (five), Helms (two), Jake Cornelius (one) and Keiton Whatley (one) also contributed offensively.
Malin paced Good Hope (11-6) with 12 points.
Weston Hancock (eight), Konner Stevens (six), Colten Whatley (two), Dakota Overton (two) and Ethan McGraw (two) rounded out the scoring.
“I am so proud of these guys for a great season,” Hanceville coach David Miller said. “This game had two great teams battling one another the whole game. (Good Hope coach) Austin Hardiman does a great job. We fell behind, but our guys did a tremendous job of battling back in the second half.
“They have worked hard all season, and I am so proud of them.”
Ella Minck, meanwhile, sent the West Point faithful into a frenzy on Saturday following her game-winning 3-pointer.
Trailing by two with less than three seconds left, the Lady Warriors corralled a rebound after a missed free throw, and the ball was quickly tossed ahead to Minck.
The eighth-grader then took a couple of dribbles past the half-court mark and let fly a shot that found nothing but the bottom of the net as time expired on the back-and-forth game.
“I had no idea she was going to pass it to me,” Minck said of the final moments. “When I shot it, I just prayed it was going to go in. I was crying because I was happy. It’s really exciting. I’ll remember this one.”
West Point, which trailed 16-7 at halftime, finished its season with a 13-5 record.
“It was 50-50,” West Point coach Hayden Voce said of the final sequence. “It wasn’t planned at all. I’m just so happy it went in. That girl deserves it. She has worked her tail off for me for two years, and she deserved that.”
Liberty Shadix led the Lady Warriors with six points, while Minck and Carsyn Blankenship notched five apiece.
Lela Fisher (four), Sara Owens (three) and Hallie Wheeler (one) also scored.
“We cut back on turnovers in the second half, and we started scoring,” Voce said. “I couldn’t be any more proud of them than I am right now.”
Jayla Gorham registered a game-high 14 points for Parkside, which capped off its season at 21-3.
Sadie Smith (four), Peyton Salazar (three) and Allison Davis (two) contributed as well.
See below for All-County Teams
Boys
Landon Bishop, Cold Springs
Kobe Payne, Fairview
Jameson Goble, Fairview
Cade Yeager, Fairview
Carson Garrett, Hanceville
Noah Jones, Hanceville
Braxton Broad, Hanceville
Seth Ingram, Harmony
Kollin Brown, Holly Pond
Konner Stevens, Good Hope
Weston Hancock, Good Hope
Tucker Malin, Good Hope
Trace Richardson, Parkside
Isaiah Jones, Vinemont
Kolton Perry, West Point
Girls
Ciara Calvert, Cold Springs
Kenady Graves, Cold Springs
Sommer Harris, Fairview
Kabri Redding, Fairview
Jolee McHan, Hanceville
Autumn Johnson, Harmony
Emma Earl, Holly Pond
Kamryn Tankersley, Holly Pond
Lexi Collins, Good Hope
Emma Bailey, Good Hope
Jayla Gorham, Parkside
Sadie Smith, Parkside
Reagan Dunkin, Parkside
Katelyn Evans, Vinemont
Lela Fisher, West Point
Hallie Wheeler, West Point