By BY BRUCE HIXON – SPORTS EDITOR
If the season ended today, the W.S. Neal Lady Blue Eagles would be headed to Andalusia for a first-round date against the current top seed and host Lady Bulldogs in the upcoming Class 4A Area 2 Tournament.
That is not good news for the Lady Blue Eagles after they were blistered 66-11 at Andalusia Thursday.
The 11 points scored by the Lady Blue Eagles, who dropped their sixth straight game, broke their previous low water mark of the season of 23 points set Jan. 11 against Pleasant Home.
Andalusia (8-8 and 4-0 in Area 2) made more field goals (30) than W.S. Neal even attempted (26). In fact, the Lady Bulldogs got off 34 more field goal attempts and shot 50 percent (30-for-60) for the game.
Meanwhile the Lady Blue Eagles (5-13 overall and 0-4 in Area play) hit just three of 26 shots (12 percent) for the game, endured a 13-minute stretch without a point and a 19-minute stretch without a field goal.
The first five minutes were not that bad for W.S. Neal. The Lady Blue Eagles' first field goal, which was delivered by Tiara Matthews, had the Lady Blue Eagles down just 6-3.
The next 27 minutes were a different story.
Andalusia's Anjelica White, who had nine first quarter points, scored five in a row that triggered a 7-0 run and stretched the Lady Bulldogs' lead to 13-3. As it turned out, Andalusia did not need any additional points.
Andalusia went on a 16-0 run in the second quarter that swelled the gap to 32-7 at that junction.
Two free throws by Freida Folmar stopped that run, but they preceded an ugly 28-0 run by the hosts that did not end until Rachel Davis connected on a field goal with six minutes left. Andalusia's lead was 60-9 prior to that shot.
W.S. Neal, which played at T.R. Miller Friday, steps out of Area play Monday when it hosts Northview, Fla. at 5:30 p.m. The game is a make-up contest from Jan. 8.
At Andalusia
W.S. Neal 5 4 0 2 - 11
Andalusia 15 23 20 8 - 66
W.S. NEAL (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Matthews 2-0-2-6; Davis 1-0-1-3; Folmar 0-0-2-2 (Total: 3-0-5-11)
ANDALUSIA (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) White 6-0-2-14; Carlson 6-0-0-12; Leslie 4-1-0-11; Alverson 4-0-0-8; King 3-0-0-6; Pryor 2-0-0-4; Wyten 2-0-0-4; Lawrence 1-0-1-3; Peacock 1-0-0-2; Anderson 0-0-2-2 (Totals: 29-1-5-66)
Hillcrest tops WSN
The Lady Blue Eagles came up on the short end of a 42-32 decision at home to the Hillcrest Lady Jaguars Tuesday in another Class 4A Area 2 tilt.
W.S. Neal fell behind 8-6 through one quarter and 24-17 by halftime despite the efforts of senior Tiara Matthews. Matthews nearly kept W.S. Neal within striking distance single-handedly, as she had 10 of her 12 points in the first half. That included eight in the second quarter on a pair of field goals and two free throws.
Hillcrest dealt W.S. Neal's hopes a big blow in the third quarter when it went on a 12-2 run that extended the gap to 36-19.
The Lady Eagles mounted a strong comeback in the fourth quarter thanks to three field goals and three free throws by Rachel Davis. Davis' efforts brought W.S. Neal within six points.
Hillcrest won despite the fact it did not make a three-pointer or free throw.
At W.S. Neal
Hillcrest 8 16 12 6 - 42
W.S. Neal 6 11 2 13 - 32
W.S. NEAL (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Matthews 4-0-4-12; Davis 3-0-3-9; Elliott 2-0-1-5; Folmar 1-0-2-4; Jones 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 11-0-10-32)
HILLCREST (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Kw. Thomas 5-0-0-10; Ka. Thomas 4-0-0-8; Smith 3-0-0-6; Maye 2-0-0-4; Norton 2-0-0-4; Kyser 2-0-0-4; Mims 1-0-0-2; Floyd 1-0-0-2; Montgomery 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 21-0-0-42)