By Mike Goodson/Sports Correspondent
The Westbrook Christian Lady Warriors ran into a buzzsaw in the form of Brindlee Mountain on Saturday (Feb. 21), coming up short by the score of 57-42 in the AHSAA Class 3A Northeast Regional Tournament at Jacksonville State.
The game was a see-saw affair during the early going until the Lady Lions took control midway through the second quarter and never looked back.
“They beat us up and down the court,” said Westbrook head coach Jamie Barkley. “I don’t know if it was the atmosphere. I don’t know what it was that was different today, but they beat us.
“We couldn’t get some things going offensively that we had going all year long,” Barkley added. “That was the difference in the game.”
After trailing 20-18 midway through the second quarter, Westbrook (22-6) scored seven straight points to take a five-point lead with 3:20 left in the first half at 25-20.
The Lady Lions (25-7) finished the second quarter on a 7-0 run, however, and took a 27-25 into intermission.
Brindlee Mountain then scored seven points to open the third quarter to extend its lead to 34-25.
The Lady Warriors struggled to score after the break, finishing the second half shooting 6-of-37 from the field for 16.2 percent. Senior shooting guard Abby Lockridge, who came into the game averaging over 20 points, was held to seven. Four of her points came off free throws.
“Abby hasn’t had a seven-point basketball game since probably midway through the season last year,” Barkley noted.
The Lady Lions led 43-35 after three quarters and scored the first seven points of the final period to jump out to a 50-35 advantage with five minutes left.
Westbrook cut the deficit to 51-42 with 3:16 remaining but was unable to get any closer. Olivia Graham finished with 24 points, including 16 in the first half. She also had 13 rebounds.
“This was a great experience,” Lockridge said. “I’m glad we got to go my senior year and [Westbrook] will be back next year, I’m sure.”
“You have to set goals at the beginning of the season that you want to meet,” Graham said. “I feel like since we were able to come up here this year that we have a lot to build on.” Mattie Lloyd grabbed six rebounds, for the Lady Warriors, while Lockridge had five. Grace Cockrell had three blocks.
Courtney Yarbrough led Brindlee Mountain with 17 points.