| Clif Knight

Brewer’s Lady Patriots completed the first leg of their run for a second straight state basketball title by hammering Columbia’s Lady Eagles, 69-40, in the final of the Class 5A, Area 12 Tournament on their home court Saturday night.

The win extended the Lady Patriots’ record to 29-1 on the season and earned them host status for a pairing against Area 12 runner-up Boaz in a sub-regional game Thurs., Feb. 14, at 7 p.m.

The Patriots raced out to an 11-2 lead in the first 1:25 of the game and were ahead 28-6 after one period. The third period was a different story, however, as the visitors brought out its full-court defense and produced a 20 to 17 run. The Lady Patriots got their momentum back in the final stanza as they outscored their opponent 12-to-7.

“This wasn’t us at our best tonight,” said Brewer senior Riley Northway. “We’ll be ready to play the next game.”

“We played three great halves and then turn the ball over eight times and let our opponent outscore us 20-to-17,” said head coach Ricky Allen. “Going forward that’s something we’ll get fixed.”

“”These girls know their mission,” he added. “They have a lot of determination and they’ve been there and done that before. They have five more games and they’ll take them one at a time.”

Northway claimed game-high scoring honors with 21 points. She also had 14 rebounds. Rheagan Harvel scored 10 points and had 11 assists and Savanna Flack scored nine points and had seven rebounds.

Jasmyn Batts led Columbia in scoring with 20 points.

Harvel, Northway, Flack and McLemore were named to the all-area team.