By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
MOODY – On Thursday night, the Moody Lady Blue Devils hosted the 5A Area 11 championship game against the rival Springville Lady Tigers in a game that saw all of the excitement of a rivalry game with an area title on the line.
Both teams came out swinging like heavyweight boxers in the first quarter of the game defensively. Springville would manage just 11 points for the period and Moody would score one less with 10. Leading the way for Springville would be Farrah Hawkins, who had 7 of the 11 points herself. For Moody, Tori Pyles would hit a pair of three-pointers to lead the Blue Devils with 6 points in the first quarter.
The second was much of the same as the teams would tie for quarter with 12 points each. Pyles would be held scoreless for Moody, but teammates Ryleigh Hodges (7 points) and Serenity Rutledge (3 points) would take up the slack. For Springville, Olivia Carroll would have 6 points followed by a three-pointer for Audrey Talton in the quarter. Springville would go into the half with a narrow 23-22 lead.
The third quarter would prove to be the turning point in the game. Half way through the period, the Tigers held a one-point lead over Moody, 30-29. Then tragedy struck for Springville with 3:30 left in the period. Audrey Talton went down with an apparent knee injury that required a long time out and a trip off of the court on a stretcher. Her message to her team was “please win.” The Tigers took that message to heart.
From that point on, Springville played with a passion they did not have the previous 2.5 quarters of play. Moody was on a 7-0 run at the time of the injury but the Tigers would outscore Moody 10-2 for the remainder of the quarter, outscoring them 17-9 for the entirety of the period. Springville was led by Hawkins with 10 points and Moody’s Rutledge would lead the Blue Devils with 3. The score heading into the fourth quarter would be 40-31 Springville with all of the emotion and momentum on the Tigers’ side.
The final quarter of the game would go back to the status quo of the first two quarters with the teams going toe to toe, with one point separating them as Springville outscored Moody 13-12 in the fourth. Serenity Rutledge would try to bring Moody back with an 8-point quarter but it would not be enough. Hawkins had 7 in the quarter for the Lady Tigers. The final would be 53-43 with Springville winning their first area championship since 2015.
On the night, Moody’s Serenity Rutledge led the Blue Devils with 17 points, followed by 9 from Ryleigh Hodges and 10 from Tori Pyles. Springville was led by Farrah Hawkins who had 24 points and Olivia Carroll with 9.
“It was a tough loss,” said Becca Davis, Moody’s Head Coach. “We didn’t play our best and had too many mistakes to win. We played hard, just not well. We want to offer Audrey Talton our sincerest thoughts as she recovers from her injury. Springville had a solid game plan. We wish them good luck in the playoffs. As much as this one hurt, we have to let it go and prepare for a talented Southside team.”
“I was very proud of how our team responded after Audrey’s injury,” said Springville coach Warren House. “The team went on a 10-point run when play resumed. They worked hard on the boards and out-rebounded Moody 35-23. For most of the night, the girls worked really hard defensively. They had to. Moody has several girls who do a great job scoring. My girls have the utmost respect for the way the Moody girls play.”
Springville’s Farrah Hawkins won tournament MVP and teammates Leah Bowden and Audrey Talton were named to the all-area team.
The Tigers will host the winner of Friday night’s game between Southside and Alexandria while Moody travels to play the winner of the same game. Both games will be played on Monday night.