GDW Analysis:
HANCEVILLE: Cullman Lady Bearcats could never get offensive Thursday afternoon in the 6A Northwest Regional semifinal with arch rival Hartselle at Wallace State.
Cullman connected on just 4 FGs in the 1st half to 9 for Hartselle. A 19 to 6 run by the Lady Tigers in the 2nd gave them breathing room to put away the Lady 'Cats 56 to 25.
Center Mary Frances Itsede was solid in the 1st half for Hartselle with 5 of 7 from inside the paint and 13 points at the half for Hartselle to lead 25 to 10.
The game got worse for Jessica McBrayer's Lady 'Cats with Amber Deline's Lady Tigers hitting four straight treys in the 3rd and the lead was at 41 to 19 when the period ended.
In the 4th, Itsede made it 51 to 21 with her 17th point of the contest.
The 17 points by the senior and sophomore Hannah Burks led the Lady Tigers.
Elise Boyd was 4 of 10 in threes and scored 12 points.
Hartselle was 60 percent from long range in the 2nd half with 4 being made in the 3rd.
Dorough said in the news conference, she turned her ankle while trying to get the ball from going out of bounds. She played 12:30 but suffered from pain after she was back in the game.
Hattie Graham gave them a lift with 7 points off the bench, hitting 3 FGs, one a three pointer. Molly Wilson scored 7 and had 5 rebounds.
Rachel Hoffman stood out on the boards with six.
A positive to end the game was a FG by reserve guard Presley Burden, a senior.
"Hartselle is an incredible team," McBrayer said afterwards. "They were ready for the moment. They are a prolific team on offense.
"We wanted to soak it in and to enjoy it."
A positive for Cullman was they held Hartselle with scoring for the game's first 4:00. They were down 6 to 4 when time ran out before Hartselle used Itsede's inside scoring in the 2nd to extend the lead and go from there.
Photo of Cullman coach Jessica McBrayer, left with Hartselle coach Amber Deline in pregame before Thursday's Northwest Regional at Wallace State.
GDW photo by Johnny Thornton.
