WEST POINT — Taiya Ponder and Christina Skinner had Senior Nights to remember on Friday.

Even if it wasn’t their own.

Ponder put up 17 points, Skinner corralled 15 and Cullman sank 27 of a hefty 40 free throw attempts to scoot by West Point 65-59 in the regular season finale for both rivals.

The Bearcats and Warriors traded the lead nine times before Cullman took control on a 14-4 run to open the final quarter. Skinner, Victoria Barker and Ponder accounted for all of the offensive production on the deciding outburst that handed the Black and Gold a much-welcomed fourth victory.

“I think, to be honest with you, they want to win a game so bad they made the adjustments,” first-year Cullman coach Jessica Posey said. “They just played basketball. I don’t know if there’s a better way to say that, but they just played basketball, and I was proud of them.”

Anna Evans joined Ponder and Skinner in double digits with 13 points, as did Barker with 10. The majority of Evans’ output came on a trio of 3-pointers.

Kennedy Wren rounded up five points, Alyssa Rossie added three, and Madison Cobbs and Elli Dixon each drained a free throw for the Bearcats, who were already in the bonus by the closing minute of the first quarter.

Cullman sported a 16-of-20 clip from the charity stripe in the first half alone and received 14 and 17 tries in the second and fourth frames, respectively.

“Oh. My. Gosh. I’m so sick and tired of losing,” Ponder said. “West Point’s one of our rivals, so we came out and we were ready. We’ve been talking about this game for like two weeks. We wanted to win so bad. It feels great, honestly, to get our fourth win.”

The loss by West Point, which was 14 of 21 from the free throw line, spoiled a stellar 20-point outing from Olivia Ball, who dialed in on a handful of treys.

Senior Jeri Beasley came on late for 11 points, and seventh-grader Lexi Shadix shone for the Warriors with 10. Tess Hembree, the squad’s only other senior, tallied seven points.

Bailee Yearwood and Lillie Burdette (four points apiece), Molly Pendley (two) and Mackenzie Carter (one) rounded out the scoring for West Point.

The Bearcats and Warriors are both in for tough first-round matchups for next week’s area tournaments. Cullman will take on Class 6A No. 4 and Area 15 host Austin Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., the same time but two days later than West Point’s Monday date with 5A No. 5 and Area 14 host Lawrence County.

Varsity Boys

Cullman 67, West Point 57

A road win in hostile territory was a wonderful way for the Bearcats to end the regular season.

Do it again next week, and they’ll be assured a spot in the sub-regional stage.

Gage Goodwin and Seth Swalve put on matching 18-point performances, and Jacob Heatherly and Fletcher Reeling played twinsies with identical nine-point displays to help Cullman notch the season sweep.

The ‘Cats (19-7), who drilled 16 of 19 free throws, put some distance between themselves and the Warriors (14-13) early in the second quarter and coasted from there.

Still, Black and Gold coach Bobby Meyer admitted the triumph was no cakewalk.

“West Point’s always a tough battle for us, a rivalry game, and it certainly was tonight,” he said. “It was close throughout. We were able to squeeze out a few buckets to get a double-digit lead and hang on to it. I’m proud of our effort with execution in the second half. It’s something that we can step forward and build on for next week.”

Dylan Finch worked inside for five points, Nic Handley chipped in four for Cullman, and Reese Harbison and Kiefer Quick each had two.

Tanner Rusk piled on half of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to surpass 1,000 for his career. The West Point senior entered the game needing 16 points to reach the milestone.

Seth Parker pitched in 13 points for the Warriors, and Kobe Smith kicked in eight. Cameron Moore (six points), Alex Hernandez (five), Brandon Farley (three), Brady Kent (two) and Andrew Shaw (two) capped off West Point’s offensive contributors.

Rusk, Smith, Kent and Jaxson Garrison, as well as Beasley and Hembree on the girls side, were recognized during Senior Night festivities between games.

Third-seeded Cullman will travel to 6A No. 5 and Area 15 No. 1 Austin for a first-round meeting with Decatur next Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The Warriors will stay planted to host Fairview Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Area 14 tournament action.

The Bearcats fell 50-47 late last month at home to split the season series with Decatur. They won 58-48 on the road the first time around.

“The area, everybody’s going to battle tough, even the four seed with Hartselle,” Meyer said. “They’re playing well right now. Of course, Austin’s got a really strong team, and Decatur’s done some good things of late. Hey, it’s show up and see who can grit out the best performance on two nights in a row.”