Cedar Bluff compensated for a less-than-stellar first half with a dominant third quarter last Tuesday (Jan. 9) at Gaylesville.

The above effort brought the Lady Tigers back from an eight-point halftime deficit and propelled them to a 66-57 Class 1A, Area 13 win in girls' basketball.



The visitors had a rough initial 16 minutes, with several turnovers and missed shots contributing to a 33-25 shortfall at intermission.

Cedar Bluff didn’t help its cause by shooting 33 percent (5-for-15) from the free throw line over the first two quarters.

The Lady Tigers, however, came out in the second half like a different team.

Leigha Blake’s foul shot 50 seconds into the third period set off an 11-2 run, with Jessica Brannon’s basket at 4:12 giving Cedar Bluff a 36-35 advantage.

Sloane Brewster’s lay-up with 3:41 left in the frame made it 38-37 in favor of the Lady Trojans, but Tanessa Fife’s bucket on the next possession and Blake’s buzzer-beating jump shot bookended a 12-2 stretch that gave the visitors the lead for good.

The closest that Gaylesville could get was five points on Brewster’s basket with 4:22 left in the game.

Two quick lay-ups by Brannon restored the Lady Tiger lead to double digits, and Blake’s two free throws with 30.5 on the clock completed the Cedar Bluff comeback.

Blake finished with 26 points while adding seven rebounds.

Brannon scored 16 points and came up with four steals.

Fife notched a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Bridget Tripp collected eight rebounds and eight steals.

Brewster led Gaylesville with 28 points.

Mechelle Adams’ two foul shots at 3:39 of the first quarter provided Cedar Bluff with a 15-10 lead, which turned out to be the highlight of the Lady Tigers’ first half.

Gaylesville answered Adams free throws with six straight points from Brewster.

Two baskets from Amber Moseley and one by Cassandra Waldron capped the hosts’ 12-0 run and put Gaylesville ahead 22-15 after the initial eight minutes.

Fife’s three foul shots early in the second frame drew Cedar Bluff within three points, but Brewster accounted for eight points of Lady Trojans’ ensuing 11-3 run to push the Gaylesville advantage to 33-22.

Blake’s three-point basket with 20 seconds left in the quarter sent the Lady Tigers into halftime trailing by eight points.

CEDAR BLUFF (66): Blake 26, Brannon 16, Fife 13, Moten 4, Adams 4, Tripp 3.

GAYLESVILLE (57): Brewster 28, Waldron 8, Moseley 8, Krysta Nichols 7, Matthews 2, Kayla Nichols 2, Aldridge 2