Lady Golden Tigers’ season ends with loss to No. 2 Guntersville at Northwest Regional
The 2025-26 campaign came to a close for the Russellville High School varsity girls’ basketball team Thursday morning with a 60-36 loss to the No. 2-ranked Guntersville Lady Wildcats (30-4) at the Northwest Regional tournament semifinal in Hanceville.
After falling behind by as many as 16 points in the opening period of play, Russellville (19-13) surged in the second quarter to pull back to within five late in the half. However, that would be as close at the Lady Golden Tigers would come to touching the Lady Wildcats. Guntersville responded to Russellville’s quick burst and closed out the first half with a 12-0 run to take a 40-23 advantage into halftime.
In the third quarter, Russellville kept within striking distance of the Lady Wildcats but ran out of steam in the fourth. Up 11 with eight minutes to play, Guntersville slowed the game down, ultimately forcing Russellville to foul late. That sent Guntersville to line where it scored seven of its 16 fourth-quarter points; meanwhile, the Lady Golden Tigers hit just one of their 12 shots in the final period.
Russellville head coach Jermaine Groce said he was proud of the way his team competed against one of the top teams in the state and battled for all four quarters.
“They showed determination and grit,” Groce said of his team. “They played hard and they played aggressive. We were down early as we have been before, but we cut that margin to five points at one point in the first half. I thought the zone scheme we were running kind of gave (Guntersville) fits and slowed them down a little bit, but we just need a few more shots to fall.
“Our girls fought hard. Ella (Copeland), Laila (Hill), Angeleah (Smith)—they led the way offensively. The rest of our girls—Sadie Odom, Blevyn Sappington and the rest of that starting lineup—definitely made it tough for Guntersville for three quarters to get what they wanted,” he added.
“We kept it close the first through the third quarters…but they started to slow their game down and stall us out of the zone in the fourth, so the only way we could get them to speed up and try to get more possessions was to go man (defense), which is the last thing you want to do against a team that has great guard play. But we had to do it based on the clock. There at the end they (GHS) were able to capitalize on it and put the game out of hand. That’s just a great testament to them as a team, being well-rounded.”
RHS ended the game shooting 29.2 percent from the field compared to Guntersville’s 40 percent. And while both teams forced turnovers, the Lady Wildcats consistently took advantage of their chances, scoring 17 points from turnovers compared to Russellville’s four.
Junior Ella Copeland, who averaged 25 points per game for the Lady Golden Tigers this season, led RHS with 17 points in the loss. Senior Laila Hill scored nine points, sophomore Angeleah Smith added eight points, and eighth-grader Samantha Wilson rounded out the scoring for RHS with two points. Hill recorded a team-high seven rebounds and also added a block. Wilson and sophomore Blevyn Sappington had two assists each.
The defeat ended the most successful campaign for the RHS girls’ basketball program in over 15 years. Russellville’s regional appearance was the first for the program since 2010 and its 19 wins the most since the 2011-12 campaign.
As disappointing as Thursday’s result was for the Lady Golden Tigers, there’s a lot for RHS to be optimistic about when thinking about this season and the ones to follow. The program has obviously developed and improved over the past few years with RHS reaching the postseason in each of the last three seasons. Groce hopes this campaign’s experience can continue to propel the program in the years to come.
“A lot of the girls on this team have endured the previous two postseason losses in the sub-region and contributed in some way in those games,” Groce said. “I’ve talked to the girls all year about building on the season before. To go on the road in the sub-region for the third year in a row and then beat Sardis this year, a top 10 team, and have an opportunity to step on the court at Wallace (State), it’s just a testament to their continual hard work.
“We had belief this year that we could step on the court and win and we scheduled it that way. I think we played 15 or so teams that were ranked or made it to the postseason, so it was a tremendously tough schedule, but I think it prepared us for what we were able to accomplish here at the end,” he added. “To play within five points of knocking off a top five team in West Point in the area championship game and then to compete and battle with Guntersville for three quarters, it just proves that the schedule and everything these girls have done this year has prepared them for these moments and hopefully gives them the experience and belief that next year we can do it again.
“We only lose one piece next year—a tremendously big piece in Laila Hill, but she’s the only one we’re losing; we’re bringing everybody else back—so we just talk to the girls about continuing to build off what we’ve done. We made it to Wallace this year so step one next year is to repeat that. Obviously with the realignment it’ll be more difficult but not impossible, and we fully believe our girls, with the experience they’ve gotten this year, they’re capable of doing that. It won’t be without its challenges, but hopefully next year we can punch our ticket through to the Elite Eight.”