Brewer advances to Regional finals; Hartselle, Danville ousted

By Staff
Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
HANCEVILLE - Elkmont took away Danville’s offense in the Class 3A Northwest Regionals semifinal game and earned another shot at Lauderdale County in the process.
The Lady Red Devils, who have lost two of three to Lauderdale County this season, will get a fourth shot at the Lady Tigers after dismantling Danville 55-32 Thursday afternoon at Wallace State Community College’s Tom Drake Coliseum.
Danville struggled to get any offense going in the opening quarter, missing its first six shots before Lindsay Simmons scored on a short jumper with 4:14 remaining in the period to cut Elkmont’s lead to 11-2.
Elkmont jumped out to an early lead in the game and never looked back.
Danville went scoreless on its first nine trips up the floor in the first quarter and Elkmont took advantage with a strong start to open up a 55-32 lead at the half.
The shots didn’t get much better in the third quarter. Danville struggled to score just six points in the quarter, allowing Elkmont to stretch its lead to 44-25 heading into the final eight minutes of play.
The Lady Devils, making their first-ever appearance in the Northwest Regional tournament, improved to 20-11 overall. Elkmont will face Lauderdale County Saturday in the Class 3A regional championship game.
Danville closed out its season with a 22-10 mark.
Elkmont’s Jamie Lack scored a team-high 17 points and added 15 rebounds in the win. Bailee Robinson added 14 points, while Brooke Presnell finished with 12 points.
Alaina Fitzgerald, playing in her final game for Danville, scored 13 points, including 11 in the first half.
Wednesday’s games
Brewer 73, Mortimer Jordan 38
A showdown between Class 5A, Area 13 rivals Brewer and Hartselle won’t take place in the Northwest Regionals this year.
Brewer reached the regional final with a 73-38 victory over Mortimer Jordan in the semifinals, but Hartselle’s season came to an end with a 54-38 loss to Wenonah.
Brewer trailed 12-5 early in the game before running off on an 18-0 tear against the young Lady Devils.
Morgan Crawley led all scorers with 18 points in the Lady Patriots’ win. Kendra Jones added 13 points.
Mortimer Jordan’s Shea Bowman led the Lady Devils with 12 points.
Peyton Davis, a 6-foot-4 sophomore post player, finshed with 12 rebounds and nine points.
Brewer will face Wenonah in the Class 5A Northwest Regional championship game at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Tom Drake Coliseum on the Wallace State Community College campus.
Wenonah 54, Hartselle 38
Wenonah took advantage of its front line size to beat Hartselle 54-38 in a Northwest Region semifinal game Wednesday.
Hartselle, who beat Wenonah last season on the way to a Final Four berth, finished the year with a 19-13 record.
Alex Holmes led Hartselle with 16 points after hitting six of her 15 shots from the field. Jessi Smith, a University of North Alabama signee, concluded her Lady Tigers’ career with 15 points.
Wenonah’s Karneisha Garrett scored 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for the Lady Dragons. Terrenisha Hollis added 14 points and six rebounds.
Hartselle scored just 15 points in the first half, but the Lady Tigers trailed just 18-15 at the break.
The Lady Tigers struggled from the field, hitting just 14 of 48 shots against the Lady Dragons.
The Lady Tigers’ loss was the final game for five Hartselle seniors - Anna Reeves, Lauren Dye, Smith, Kaitlin Faulkner and Heather Speegle - who reached the Northwest Regional tournament for four straight years.