Hartselle comes up short against Bob Jones

By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
DECATUR - Rikeya McKinnon’s free throw with 22 seconds left sent Bob Jones to a 31-30 victory over Hartselle in the championship of the Decatur Orthopaedic Clinic Classic last Wednesday at Decatur High School.
The free throw ended a great run for Hartselle that included wins over Class 6A foes Clay-Chalkville and Decatur.
Hartselle had a chance late in the game to pick up the upset win over the No. 2 ranked Lady Patriots, but Hartselle missed three shots in the closing seconds.
Tiarra Pritchett blocked a Stewart shot that would have given Hartselle the lead.
Bob Jones held a four-point advantage over the Lady Tigers with just over a minute to play, but Hartselle’s Katie Young scored on an inside move to trim the lead to 30-28.
Stacey Stewart followed with a pair of free throws that tied the game at 30-30 with 26 seconds left.
Hartselle led early in the game by as much as seven points, but Bob Jones answered with a 6-0 run as the two teams battled to a 15-15 tie early in the third quarter.
Hartselle led 15-13 at the half, but Bob Jones scored early in the second half to tie the game. The Lady Patriots outscored Hartselle 11-7 to take a two-point lead into the fourth quarter.
But the Lady Patriots had trouble pulling away from Hartselle despite shooting 57 percent from the field in the second half.
Bob Jones made just eight of 22 free throws in the game, including a stretch over the final two minutes where the Lady Patriots made just three of 12 free throw attempts.
Hartselle had three players named to the all-tournament team following the championship game: Holmes, Young and Taylor White.
Also earning all-tournament honors were Priceville’s Melissa Johnson.
Hartselle 42, Decatur 37
Alex Holmes and Taylor White scored 13 points each as Hartselle knocked off the host Lady Red Raiders 42-37 in the second round.
Katie Young added seven points for the Lady Tigers.
Hartselle scored just eight points in the first half - including just two points in the second quarter - but exploded with a 34-20 run over the final 16 minutes of play to seal the win.
Britney McCloud led Decatur with 14 points. Rexchelle Jarman added eight points for the Lady Red Raiders.
Hartselle scored 23 points off Decatur turnovers.
Priceville 51, Cullman 45
Priceville used a strong run in the third quarter to pull away from Cullman in a loser’s bracket game in the tournament.
Melissa Johnson led the Lady Bulldogs with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Presley Darling added 12 points and 13 rebounds in the win.
Morgan Smith scored a team-high 15 points for Cullman.
Priceville led 21-20 at the half, but the Lady Bulldogs used a 19-point third quarter to open a five-point lead heading into the final eight minutes of the game.
Priceville struggled offensively early in the game, making just 19 percent of its shots from the field.
Hartselle 46, Clay-Chalkville 27
Hartselle’s defense limited Clay-Chalkville to just 22 percent shooting in a 46-27 victory in the first round of the tournament.
Hartselle’s Taylor White led all scorers with 16 points after hitting six of her 12 shots in the win.
Katie Young added 11 points, while Alex Holmes finished with eight points.
Clay-Chalkville’s Katie Strickland led the Lady Cougars with seven points.
Hartselle opened up a 15-2 lead in the first quarter and coasted to the win over the Class 6A Lady Cougars.
Austin 66, Priceville 47
Priceville opened up the tournament with a 19-point loss to Austin, who had five players score in double figures.
Sheyene Turner led Austin with 16 points, while Ashton Cowan finished with 14 points.
Priceville’s Melissa Johnson scored 17 points for the Lady Bulldogs after making eight of 12 shots from the field.
Presley Darling added seven points and five rebounds for the Lady Bulldogs.
Priceville scored just five points in the opening quarter and trailed 39-20 at the end of the first half.
The Lady Bulldogs struggled offensively and finished with 30 turnovers in the loss.