By Mike Goodson/Sports Correspondent
Hokes Bluff earned a trip to the Northeast Regional Tournament at Jacksonville State with a 54-34 drubbing of Saks Lady in the Class 4A subregional round Monday (Feb. 9) at HBHS.
The Lady Eagles were led by Hannah Evans and her game-high 27 points.
“This was one of our team goals, to make it to Jacksonville,” said Hokes Bluff head coach Jason Shields.
Hokes Bluff (22-9) will face Locust Fork in the regional semifinals at 9 a.m. on Saturday at Jacksonville State.
The contest started out slowly, with Hokes Bluff taking a 9-4 first quarter lead. The Lady Eagles increased their advantage to 22-13 at the half.
“”We felt like we needed to speed up the tempo in the second half,” said Shields.
Speed it up they did as Hokes Bluff would increase their advantage to 13 points by the end of the third quarter. Saks made a brief run in the third to draw within 24-20, but Hannah Evans went on a 12-point scoring outburst to help the Lady Eagles to a 36-23 lead.
The fourth quarter was much the same, with Evans adding seven more points and Tylynn Register adding eight.
Register finished with 12 points, while Amanda Noah added eight. Jordan Briskey, Maiya Northard and Daja Johnson each scored eight points for Saks.
“We appreciate our fans and would love to see them in Jacksonville,” said Shields.