By Kyle Parmley
MOUNTAIN BROOK — The Lady Huskies played a solid first half, but were unable to overcome a 19-point third quarter from Mountain Brook, as they fell 53-38 in their final Class 7A, Area 6 contest of the season on Friday night at Spartan Arena.
Mountain Brook employed a press for the majority of the evening, one that wore Hewitt-Trussville down in the latter stages of the game.
“We were tired. We’ve got to go back to the drawing board and try to condition a little bit more,” head coach Tonya Hunter said.
The Lady Huskies did, however, make some things happen to break the press in the first half. Gabby Hill put together another strong performance overall, filling up the stat sheet to the tune of nine points, six rebounds, a pair of steals and four assists. Three of those assists came in a strong run to end the first half, pulling her team within five at the break.
Hewitt-Trussville senior guard Cayla Dillard dribbles against Mortimer Jordan earlier this season.
file photo by Ron Burkett
Also in the first half, senior point guard Cayla Dillard broke the press singlehandedly and knocked down a floater in the lane. On the team’s next trip down the floor, Bailey Berry converted a four-point play, hitting a three from the wing while being knocked to the floor.
Dillard broke the 1,000-point marker in the team’s previous game against Mountain Brook, but found herself with more room to operate this time around. She led the team in scoring with 13 points, burying a 3-point shot in each of the first three periods. The point guard also dished out three assists, all in the second half.
Briana Howard scored six points and added three rebounds for the Lady Huskies. Sara Borden hit a long range shot from the top of the key in the second and secured the first two boards of the game for her team.
Mountain Brook’s Sara Carr punished Hewitt-Trussville in the paint all evening, scoring a game-high 25 points, almost all of them near the basket and at the free throw line. Neely Francis also had a big game for the Lady Spartans, scoring 17 of her own.
With area play concluding, Hewitt-Trussville plays three non-region games next week before the Class 7A, Area 6 tournament, which will be hosted by Spain Park. Hunter will not allow her team to look ahead.
“We are trying to win at all costs in those three games,” she said. “I feel like we need that going into the area tournament. We still have a lot to do to try to win. We’ve got to go back and try to fix some things quickly.”
The Lady Huskies take to the floor again Monday, as they will head three miles down the road to take on Class 6A fourth-ranked Clay-Chalkville. Tip time is 6 p.m.
