Lady Tigers drop Austin in overtime
Hartselle fends off Austin comeback to win fifth straight
Caleb Suggs
Hartselle Enquirer
Overtime games seem to be the Hartselle Lady Tiger’s specialty. Last week the Tigers mounted a comeback to defeat Cullman in second overtime. This week it was Hartselle fending off the comeback against Austinin overtime, however the result was still Pro-Tiger.
The first quarter featured a lot of back and forth action. Lindsay Berry and Anna Mathis tallied all of the Tigers points as they each finished with five for the quarter as Hartselle took a 10-7 lead. Mathis scored five straight to end the quarter.
The Tigers kept it going in the second quarter. Lindsay Berry shot two three pointers and Taylor added one of her own as Hartselle took a 20-17 lead. Then the Tigers finished the quarter on a 16-4 run. Berry added two more three pointers while Allie Mayfield notched a three-point play of her own. Hartselle took a 36-21 lead at halftime. Berry finished the half with 17 points.
In the second half, Austin mounted a comeback. Whitney Watkins notched a three-point play as Austin cut the lead to 36-26. However, Taylor reeled off six straight points to extend the lead back to 42-26. A 12-3 run by the Black Bears helped cut the lead to 45-38. From there, Austin just kept chipping away at the lead. Back to back three pointers by Watkins and India Lynch cut the lead to 47-46. Four points by Mathis extended the lead back to 51-48. Austin finally took the lead 53-51 behind a three pointer from Taylor Woods.
The last two minutes of the game would feature a lot of excitement. The two teams traded the lead until two free throws by Berry tied it at 57. Austin took a 58-57 lead but Eria Mayes missed two free throw shots to extend it even more with 12 seconds left. Hartselle’s Moriah Taylor was then fouled and she hit a tying free throw to send the game into overtime tied at 58-58.
Mathis gave Hartselle the lead in overtime 61-58 but Watkins cut it to 61-60 with free throws. Austin had a chance to take the lead and possibly the win but missed two free throw shots. However, the Tigers committed a turnover on their ensuing possession, which gave Austin one more chance. Hartselle’s Anna Mathis came up big one more time as she intercepted Austin’s inbounds pass to seal the game. Hartselle went on to win 62-60.
Lindsay Berry and Anna Mathis finished the game leading the Tigers as Berry accounted for 19 points while Mathis tallied 18. Moriah Taylor finished as the only other player in double figures with 16 points while Allie Mayfield added six points. Maggie Anderson, Billie Shelton and Madison Lawler each finished with a single free throw. Bri Hodges and Whitney Watkins led the Black Bears. Hodges finished with 18 points while Watkins had 17.