By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
DANVILLE - Brewer’s reign of supremecy in Morgan County just keeps getting stronger.
The Lady Patriots’ lengthy history in the Morgan County Tournament grew Saturday when Brewer powered past West Morgan 55-43 to win its third straight county championship.
Brewer has won 14 county championships since the 1990 season.
Trailing by four points at the half, Brewer head coach Ricky Allen challenged his players and Heather Steelman quickly accepted the challenge.
And it was an unlikely offensive scheme that sparked Brewer’s championship run. Leading by just two points going into the final quarter, Allen put the Lady Patriots into a semi-stall to overcome foul trouble.
Brewers Elizabeth Bromirski hit a 3-pointer 1:25 into the fourth quarter and Dabbs added another trey just a minute later to give the Lady Patriots a commanding 42-34 lead.
Dabbs picked up her fourth foul in the first three minutes of the quarter, but Steelman picked up the Lady Patriots with her play on the offensive end of the floor.
West Morgan never got any closer than five points down the stretch.
Steelman scored 16 points on her way to tournament most valuable player honors. She scored nine points in the fourth quarter to help the Lady Patriots stretch its advantage to as much as 12 points at the end of the game.
Steelman added 14 rebounds.
Emily Dabbs led Brewer with 18 points as the Lady Patriots overcame West Morgan shooting sensation Hayden Hamby.
Hamby scored 26 points in the final. She scored 14 points in the second quarter as West Morgan turned a four-point deficit into a 27-23 halftime lead.
Morgan Crawley and Dabbs both picked up their third fouls in the third quarter, limiting the Lady Patriots’ aggressive defense.
Brewer struggled in the first half in a physical game that was called closely by officials. Several players, including Dabbs and Crawley, found themselves in early foul trouble.
West Morgan shot 12 free throws in the second quarter to erase a 14-10 deficit.
After watching Hamby have her way at the free throw line in the first half, Brewer held the guard scoreless in the third quarter during a 13-7 Brewer run.