Lady Tigers claim return trip to regionals
For the Enquirer
The Hartselle Lady Tigers showed why they were among the top four teams in 6A girls’ basketball last week. Hartselle used a strong defensive effort to win three games last week, including a sub-regional win over visiting Buckhorn this past Friday.
“The defensive effort by my girls this week has been the best we have had in recent memory,” coach Amber Deline said. “Our defense has fueled our offense for much of the season, and this week has been no different.”
Hartselle 56, Buckhorn 36 The Lady Tigers punched their ticket to the 6A Northwest Regional with a 56-36 victory over visiting Buckhorn.
“I am really proud of this group of girls,” Hartselle coach Amber Deline said. “They have bought into what we are doing and show that every night. They never stop fighting, no matter the situation.” The game was tight throughout the first half, but Hartselle slowly and methodically pulled away from the Lady Bucks. After the first quarter, the Lady Tigers led 14-10 and 26-20 at halftime. They began pulling away in the third, extending their lead to 43-33. They held Buckhorn to just three points in the final quarter. Hannah Burks finished with 18 points and five rebounds to lead Hartselle (25-5). Mary Frances Itsede added another double-double, finishing with 16 points and 15 rebounds. It was Itsede’s 12th double-double of the season. Anna Hampton Burroughs contributed 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Ella Springer added seven points.
Hartselle 51, Muscle Shoals 28 The Lady Tigers bounced back from a two-point overtime loss to Muscle Shoals with a 51-28 win, earning their fifth con-secutive area tournament championship.
After falling behind 8-1 midway through the first, Hartselle rallied to tie the game at 8-8 going into the second quarter. The Lady Tigers defense, which was the game’s story, held the Lady Trojans to just five points in the second as they took a 21-13 lead into halftime.
Hartselle busted open the game in the third quarter as they outscored Muscle Shoals 15-6 to extend their lead to 36-19 headed to the final quar-ter.
Elsie Boyd was the story of the ballgame, as her defensive effort was the talk of the fans on both sides of the gym. She was tasked with guarding McKenzie Sears, the Lady Trojans’ leading scorer, averaging more than 20 points a game. Boyd answered the bell time and time again in guarding Sears. By the final buzzer, Sears scored only four points, all free throws, thanks to quite possibly the best singlegame, individual defen-sive performance in Hartselle Lady Tigers’ history.
“We gave Elsie the task of guarding Sears,” Deline said. “Elsie’s performance was better than we expected and could have imagined. And the rest of the defense was energized by her perfor-mance.” Burroughs led the Lady Tigers with 17 points and four steals. Burks added 15 points, five rebounds and three steals, while Itsede had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Hartselle 61, Decatur 44 The Lady Tigers cruised to a 61-44 win over Decatur to open the 5A Area 15 tournament.
Burks finished with 27 points and six rebounds to lead Hartselle. Burroughs added 19 points, four rebounds and three steals, while Itsede had 10 points and eight rebounds.
ENQUIRER PHOTO BY JIM MEADOWS
Hartselle head coach Amber Deline talks to her team in the first half of Hartselle’s 56-36 sub-regional win over Buckhorn.
ENQUIRER PHOTO BY JIM MEADOWS
