It was a battle for a regional berth on Tuesday night. When the smoke cleared, it was the Lady Bulldogs who were assured a spot in the Region 1-A tournament.
Hampton held on to take a 53-43 victory over North Greene inside Vanhuss-White Gymnasium in varsity girls action. The win clinched the two-seed for the Lady Bulldogs in the District 1-A tournament as well as secured a berth in the Region 1-A tournament.
In the boys’ game, Hampton jumped out early and never looked back as they rolled to a 75-24 victory.
The Lady Bulldogs controlled the game early as Alexus Grubbs scored four early points to power Hampton to a 7-0 lead. North Greene countered with buckets from Macy McNeese and Lauren Baxter, but Grubbs stopped the run with a trey and two free throws to power Hampton to a 14-9 lead after a quarter of play.
After Alexis Bowers hit a pair of free throws to open the second period, the Lady Huskies pulled within one point with a quick 4-0 run. Hampton, however, countered with a 10-0 run that was sparked by a Madi Weir bucket to give the Lady Bulldogs an 11-point advantage.
Taylor Payne countered for North Greene with back-to-back 3-pointers after a timeout that set the stage for a 10-2 North Greene run. Hampton finished the half with a pair of baskets from Shyanne Tuelle and a Megan Garland bucket to take a 32-26 lead at the half.
North Greene saw Payne and Baxter hit early shots, and a Kaitlyn Weems runner cut the Hampton lead to one point with just under two minutes to play in the third. Garland and Kim Swearingen answered on the other end for Hampton. However, Baxter hit four straight free throws to cut the Lady Bulldogs’ lead to 38-37 heading to the fourth quarter.
Hampton started the final period on a 6-0 run before a Baxter trey put North Greene on the board. The Lady Bulldogs, however, continued to suppress the North Greene offense while adding four free throws on the other end. A Payne jumper with 1:39 closed the gap back to four points, but that was as close as North Greene could get in the final minute.
Hampton was paced by Grubbs’ 16 points, while Bowers tossed in 13 points.
North Greene was paced by Baxter’s 13 points, while Weems tossed in 10 points for the Lady Huskies.
In the boys’ game, Hampton jumped out to a 24-6 lead after a quarter of play and maintained a 34-6 advantage midway through the second quarter. In the first quarter, Stanley Valentine tallied seven points while Coby Jones tossed in four points. The Bulldogs held a 42-11 lead at the break.
In the second half, Valentine opened the third quarter with seven straight points as the Bulldogs were off to the races again. Hampton held North Greene scoreless in the final quarter.
Valentine finished with a game-high 17 points, while Cheyenne Camillo tossed in 13 points. Nathan Norris and Jones had nine and seven points, respectively.
Postgame Audio
Hampton Girls’ Head Coach Bud Hazelwood
North Greene Girls’ Head Coach James Buchanan
Hampton Boys’ Head Coach Ned Smith
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”54″ gal_title=”Hampton_NorthGreenebball_Feb_2_2015″]
