Hartselle rolls past Lee-Huntsville
Feb. 10—HARTSELLE — It was pretty cut dry for the Hartselle Tigers on Friday night.
Facing off against Lee-Huntsville, the Tigers cruised to an easy win, rolling past the Generals 52-30.
While Hartselle did struggle some shooting early, the Tigers' defense held Lee in check all night.
"We knew defensively we had to do a good job because they do a good job around the rim and crashing the boards," said Hartselle head coach Amber Deline. "We stayed in the 1-2-2 zone, and even though our shots weren't falling early, we limited their shots and eventually ours started falling."
The Tiger defense was especially good in the middle two quarters, holding the Generals to just seven total points.
"Our defense was amazing tonight. We were in all our spots, and it led us to our win," said Hartselle's Hannah Burks.
Hartselle led 14-7 by the end of the first quarter, 22-10 at halftime and 37-14 at the end of the third.
Burks led the team with 17 points, while Mary Itsede had 14 and Gracie Hill added 13. London Harris led Lee with 10.
Hartselle, the Class 6A, No. 8 team, advances to the Northwest Regional tournament, where the Tigers will play Muscle Shoals on Thursday at Wallace State Community College. Also in the tournament are Hazel Green and Clay Chalkville, 6A's No. 1 and No. 2 teams.
"It's one game at a time," Deline said. "It is one of the toughest regionals in the state, but we can't get ahead of ourselves. We just have to come up with a good game plan and execute."
Despite their 20-6 record and No. 8 ranking, the Tigers feel like they're the underdog coming into the tournament as people focus on Hazel Green and Clay Chalkville. That's something they think will work to their advantage.
"Being the underdog, you have everything to prove," Burks said. "Hazel Green and all them are good teams, but we're a good team, too."
—caleb.suggs@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2395. Twitter @CalebSuggs2
