BHS and PCHS girls, RBHS boys advance to AHSAA Northwest Regional Tournament
Three Franklin County high school varsity basketball teams advanced to the AHSAA Northwest Regional tournament to be held in Hanceville this week.
The Belgreen Lady Bulldogs, the Phil Campbell Lady Bobcats, and the Red Bay Tigers advanced to the next round of the playoffs with wins in the subregional over the weekend.
Belgreen, champions of Class 2A Area 14 and ranked No. 8 in 2A, hosted Lamar County and dominated the game 57-18 on Friday night. Jumping out to an early lead, the Lady Bulldogs never looked back. In the first period alone Belgreen dropped 22 points, more than enough that would be needed to beat the visitors from Vernon.
Lilliana Willingham led BHS with 14 points and junior Bryn Scott added 10 points.
Belgreen’s next trial in the Northwest Regional semifinal will be one of its toughest of the season; the Lady Bulldogs take on the top-ranked team in Class 2A, Decatur Heritage, at Tom Drake Coliseum on the campus of Wallace State Community College on Tuesday, February 11 at 6 P.M.
Phil Campbell’s girls also orchestrated a convincing win, going on the road and beating Winfield 52-42 on Friday.
The Lady Bulldogs started hot and went on a 12-0 run from tip-off. The early lead later proved vital as the Lady Pirates mounted a comeback that saw hosts pull back within a few points in the second half. Phil Campbell managed to weather the storm, though, and was eventually able to create a cushion in the fourth and win the game.
After defeating the Class 3A Area 10 champions, the Lady Bobcats’ path doesn’t get any easier. Phil Campbell’s opponent in the Northwest Regional, set to tip-off on Tuesday at 9 A.M., is Holly Pond, the No. 8 team in 3A.
The Red Bay High School boys’ varsity basketball team was the final Franklin County team to advance to the regional. The Tigers, ranked No. 6 in Class 2A, took down Covenant Christian, last year’s Class 1A runner-up, 42-29 on Saturday night.
Red Bay got out to an early lead and never surrendered it. A low-scoring game, the Tigers nevertheless took care of business at home to advance.
Red Bay’s opponent in the regional semifinal will be the Tanner Rattlers. That game is set to tip off at 7:30 P.M. on Tuesday night.
The Belgreen boys and the Russellville girls’ and boys’ teams were all defeated in the subregional round.
The Bulldogs, after leading at halftime and for nearly the entire second half, allowed the visitors from Sulligent to tie the game up late. Tied up 50-50 at the end of the fourth the game was sent to overtime where Belgreen came out on the wrong end of the result. Sulligent outscored BHS 10-2 in the four-minute overtime period to win 60-52 and eliminate Belgreen from the postseason.
The Russellville varsity girls’ basketball team went on the road to No. 6 Priceville for its subregion contest. The Lady Golden Tigers played well but were ultimately outmatched, falling by a final score of 70-50.
Similarly, the Russellville boys, after failing to win a fifth-consecutive area tournament championship, faced a tough path to Hanceville. The Golden Tigers traveled to Athens for a matchup with No. 4 East Limestone.
Russellville hung around in the first half, but things got out of hand quickly after halftime. The Indians took a 10-point lead into the break and expanded it to 18 at the final buzzer as the Golden Tigers ended their season in an 80-62 defeat.