Buzzer beater sinks Patriots
Caleb Suggs
Hartselle Enquirer
Last second shot earns win for Lady Tigers
The third time is the charm. It’s an old cliché, but on Thursday January 28th the Brewer Lady Patriots were hoping it would ring true. As Brewer hosted the Hartselle Lady Tigers, this would be the third time this season that the two squads would meet. The first time came early in the season at Hartselle and the second time came in the opening round of the Morgan County tournament. Hartselle won both contests and even went on to win the Morgan County championship. This time though, the Patriots were hoping for a different outcome.
Early on the game went back and forth as both teams tried to take control. Brewer took an 11-8 lead with about two minutes left in the first quarter. Hartselle would take control back when both Anna Stinson and Mariah Taylor nailed three pointers to take a 15-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter would belong to the Patriots. After a couple Temera Chatman three pointers and two Madisen Adam free throws, the Patriots would take a 20-17 lead. Anna Mathis would tie it at 20 with a three pointer but Brewer would surge back ahead with two three pointers from Brook Childers and Presley Craft. At the end of the first half Brewer held a 26-22 lead over the Tigers.
In the second half, Brewer looked to seal the deal. McCarley Northway started the half off with 6 points to give the Patriots a 32-22 edge. Lindsay Berry and Jordan Finn would work together to cut the lead to 34-28.
By the end of the third quarter Brewer now only held a 37-34 lead. The fourth quarter didn’t feature a whole lot of scoring but it came down to a nail biter at the end. With just a few seconds left Brewer held a 52-51 lead. Freshmen Mariah Taylor took the ball rushing down the court and took a shot which bounced off the backboard, but luckily for the Tigers, senior Kayla Key was there for the rebound and she proceeded to put it back in for the score at the buzzer. Hartselle would win the game 53-52.
The varsity boys were also in action later in the night. The Hartselle Tigers were obviously not too happy about their narrow defeat to the Morgan County champion Priceville Bulldogs earlier in the week and they took it out on the Patriots. At the end of the first half, the Tigers held a 34-18 lead over the Patriots and would proceed to go on and win the game 65-52.