Hartselle teams come up short in area matchup with Muscle Shoals
For the Enquirer
The Hartselle boys’ and girls’ basketball teams fell short in their area battles with visiting Muscle Shoals last Friday. The Lady Tigers overcame a slow start to force overtime before losing 49-47 to the Lady Trojans. The Tigers stayed close to the visiting Trojans but could never breakthrough in their 50-46 loss.
Muscle Shoals 49, Hartselle 47
The visiting Lady Trojans defeated the Lady Tigers 49-47 in overtime, giving Hartselle its first area loss.
Muscle Shoals jumped out to a 14-4 first-quarter lead and led 23-14 at halftime. The Lady Trojans extended their lead to 35-23 heading into the fourth quarter.
Hartselle outscored the Lady Trojans 18-6 in the final quarter to force overtime. The Lady Tigers closed the quarter with a 6-0 run to tie the game at 41-41.
The Lady Trojans outscored the Lady Tigers 8-6 in overtime to get the win but had to hold their breath as Hannah Burks got off a three-pointer at the buzzer that bounced around the rim before falling off to get the win. Mary Frances Itsede led Hartselle (22-4, 5-1) with 15 points and seven rebounds. Burks added 11 points and six rebounds.
Muscle Shoals 50, Hartselle 46
The Hartselle Tigers, coming off two uncharacteristic games in losses to Decatur and Austin, held their own with Muscle Shoals before falling 50-46 in area play last Friday.
The Trojans led 15-11 after the first quarter and 28-23 heading into halftime. They extended the lead to 38-31 following the third quarter. The Tigers won the fourth quarter but unfortunately came up short in the loss. Ty Odom led Hartselle with 19 points and three rebounds. Hudson Buckelew added a career-high 15 points.
Earlier in the week Girls Hartselle 45, Austin 35 Burks and Itsede each scored 18 points, lead-ing the Lady Tigers to a 45-35 win last Tuesday. Hartselle led 19-11 after the first quarter and 30-25 at the half. The Lady Tigers’ defense held the Lady Black Bears to 10 points in the second half, including only four in the fourth quarter.
Burks also had nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks, while Itsede had 11 rebounds, two steals and two assists. Anna Hampton Burroughs added nine points.
Boys
Austin 65, Hartselle 29 Odom scored 12 points in last Tuesday’s 65-29 loss to Austin. The Tigers trailed 21-3 after the first quarter and 33-6 at halftime.
Brady Stiles added six points, while Gray Bennich had four.
