Russellville girls beat Lady Bulldogs, Belgreen boys topple Golden Tigers in county basketball contests Tuesday

The Belgreen High School and Russellville High School varsity girls’ and boys’ basketball teams met on the hardwood Tuesday night, each school walking away with a victory apiece.

Russellville, the visitor in the contests, secured a 72-62 win in the girls’ game, while the Belgreen boys toppled the Golden Tigers 45-38.

The game between the Lady Bulldogs and the Lady Golden Tigers was a back-and-forth affair with multiple lead changes. Ultimately it was RHS, which trailed by a point heading into the fourth quarter, that overtook BHS and won by a 10-point margin.

To start the contest, the hosts jumped out to a 13-8 lead which they took into the second quarter. Russellville rebounded in the next period, though, outscoring Belgreen 22-13 to take a 30-26 advantage into the halftime break.

Coming out of the locker room, Belgreen, led by a 10-point period from Randi Terry and nine points from Jemma Moore, found another offensive surge and won the third quarter 26-21 to retake the lead, 52-51.

In the end, however, it was RHS that finished strongest. In the fourth, the Lady Golden Tigers matched their total from the third period—21 points—while holding the Lady Bulldogs to just 10.

Russellville guard Ella Copeland, who reached the 1,500 career points milestone during the contest, took over in the second half and scored 25 of her 31 total points in the final 16 minutes of play to help lead the Lady Golden Tigers to victory.

Three other players also reached double digits for RHS: Angeleah Smith and Laila Hill each scored 12 points and Sadie Odom added 10.

For Belgreen, Terry finished as the team’s top scorer in the game with 18 points. Moore also finished in double figures with 12 points.

Russellville’s girls improved to 5-3 with the win while Belgreen dropped to 5-3 overall.

In the nightcap, Belgreen’s boys defeated Russellville by seven points to improve to 4-3 on the year.

The Bulldogs led throughout the low-scoring affair. Holding a 16-11 advantage after the opening eight minutes, BHS took a 27-19 lead into the halftime break. 

In the third quarter, Russellville, led by a six-point period from Daniel Aycock, managed to cut the deficit to two points by doubling up on Belgreen 12-6. But the hosts took care of business in the final period, outscoring the Golden Tigers 12-7 to win the game 45-38.

Sir Williams, with 16 points, was the top scorer for Russellville in the loss. Aycock finished with 11 points for the Golden Tigers, who dropped to 1-3 this season.

The Bulldogs’ Jake Dill and Jonathan Mendoza both had game-high 17-point performances to propel BHS to victory over their Class 5A opponent.

Up next for Belgreen: A road game at Haleyville for both the varsity girls and varsity boys on Friday, December 5.

Both Russellville varsity teams will travel to Deshler for their next contests on Thursday, December 4.