Holiday hoops are mixed bag for Russellville
By Brannon King for the FCT
Mortimer Jordan 61, Russellville 45 (Girls)
The Russellville Lady Golden Tigers dropped their second game of the Danville Thanksgiving Tournament Nov. 22 to the Blue Devils.
RHS fell behind 15-9 to start the game and trailed 34-22 at the half. Mortimer Jordan outscored the Lady Golden Tigers by three points in the third quarter and by only one in the final period.
Kallie Allen had 15 points to lead Russellville. Madison Murray also scored in double figures with 13. Treyvia Pruitt (9), Krista Sikes (4) and Makayla Phifer (4) also scored for RHS.
Decatur 55, Russellville 44 (Girls)
The Danville Thanksgiving Tournament came to a close for the Lady Golden Tigers Nov. 23 with a loss to the Red Raiders.
Madison Murray led RHS in scoring with 16 points. Kallie Allen also scored in double figures with 13 for Russellville. Treyvia Pruitt and K.K. Harvey each had five points. Krista Sikes (3) and Jamie Hill (2) also scored for RHS..
Russellville 49, Hamilton 48 (Girls)
Russellville’s Madison Murray made a clutch shot in the final second of the game to give the Lady Golden Tigers their first win of the season in thrilling fashion Monday night.
The Lady Golden Tigers came on strong in the second half to claim the victory. Hamilton jumped out to a 20-8 first quarter lead and led 28-19 at the half. RHS outscored the Lady Aggies 16-7 in the third and by one in the fourth quarter, with the help of smothering defensive pressure and the good usage of substitutions by Head Coach Corey Thomaston when the team found itself in foul trouble.
“We got going a little bit on offense, found the right people and hit some big shots from the perimeter and just kept battling back,” Thomaston said after his first win as head coach of RHS. “I’m super proud of their effort tonight. We’ve still got a lot of room to improve, but when we come out and we fight like that every night, we’re going to give ourselves a chance.”
Russellville’s Kallie Allen led all scorers in the game with 21 points. Madison Murray added 12, while Treyvia Pruitt (8), Krista Sikes (3), K.K. Harvey (3) and Jamie Hill (2) also scored.
Russellville 63, Hamilton 46 (Boys)
The Golden Tigers traveled to Hamilton Monday night and came away with their second victory in as many games this season.
Russellville jumped out to a 16-6 first quarter lead and held a 31-16 advantage at the half. Hamilton battled back in the second half by outscoring RHS 18-14 in the third period before Russellville put the game away in the final quarter. Playing conditions on the floor caused concern for the teams because of a slippery court due to moisture in the air on the rainy night.
“The game was kind of sloppy because of the conditions with the floor being as slick as it was with the humidity, and it really slowed the game down for us,” Russellville Head Coach Patrick Odom said. “I was proud of our guys for finding ways to manage and deal with the circumstances and do what we had to do to come out with the win.”
Eight Golden Tigers scored in the contest. Bailey Motes led the way with 17 points. Devin Buckhalter (13) and Austin Stidham (12) also scored in double figures. Taylor Vincent (7), Judd Ward (6), Lucas McNutt (3), Caden Parker (3) and Grant Masterson (2) all had points for RHS.