Lady Tigers shake off slow start to defeat Cullman
For the Enquirer
The Hartselle Lady Tigers shook off a slow start to dominate the visiting Cullman Lady Bearcats in their 56-30 win.
The Lady Bearcats led 14-7 midway through the first quarter before the Lady Tigers cut into the lead with a 6-2 run to close the quarter. They trailed 16-13 heading into the second quarter.
Both aspects of the Lady Tigers’ attack dominated the second quarter. The offense scored 19 points in the quarter, while the defense held Cullman to zero points in the quarter. Hartselle went from trailing by three as the second quarter opened to leading 32-16 heading into the halftime break.
The offense kept rolling in the third quarter, scoring 22 points while holding Cullman to seven points. The Lady Tigers led 54-23 going into the fourth quarter. With a running clock in the fourth quarter, the Lady Bearcats outscored Hartselle 7-2 in the final eight minutes to make the final score 56-30.
Burks finished with 22 points, four rebounds, three steals, three assists, and one block to lead Hartselle. With her sixth point, a free throw in the first quarter, Burks eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her career.
Itsede added 16 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and two steals. Itsede’s double-double was her third in a row and tenth of the season. Ella Springer finished with nine points.
Boys
Cullman 53, Hartselle 50 The Tigers took Cullman to the wire before falling 53-50 to the Bearcats.
Cullman jumped out to a 7-1 lead before both teams finished the quarter with five points each. The Bearcats took a 12-6 lead into the second quarter. Behind the play of Ty Odom, who scored 16 points in the quarter, Hartselle outscored Cullman 23-13 to grab a 29-25 lead heading into halftime.
The Bearcats outscored the Tigers 14-8 in the third quarter to grab a 39-37 lead heading to the fourth quarter. Cullman went on to out-score Hartselle 13-12 in the fourth to secure the three-point victory.
Odom finished with 23 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists to lead the Tigers. Reed Springer added eight points, four rebounds and two assists, while Rhett Boyd had six points.
