While the focus was on the Dadeville seniors, Elmore County’s Madison Britt stole the show in a non-area girls basketball game. The 6-foot junior posted a double-double scoring 13 points and grabbing 17 rebounds in the Panthers 41-23 victory on the road.
“If we can ever get her rolling right under the basket, she’s going to make those shots,” Panthers coach Amy Rachel said. “The past couple of games, she’s been in foul trouble so we’ve had to be careful. But (Friday night), it was great to see her be able to play through like that.”
The win avenges a November home loss to Dadeville and expands the Elmore County winning streak to two games — it beat Catholic earlier in the week — heading into the area tournament.
“We got a good win over Catholic (on Thursday) and they beat us earlier in the season and then we got a good win over Dadeville (on Friday),” said Rachel. “I think that we are building momentum at the right time and that will help us as we gear up for the area tournament.”
The Panthers are second in Class 4A Area 5 and will travel to Handley to play the area tournament.
Dadeville (Class 3A Area 7) is also the No. 2 team and will travel to Beulah to compete in its area tournament.
While Britt battled for buckets and boards underneath the hoop, she had help elsewhere on the floor. Cheyenne Thornton finished the night with nine points, seven of which came in the second half alone. CK Bolton just missed a double-double with eight points and nine rebounds.
Nhylee Banks led the Tigers with 12 points but was silenced in the second half, scoring just three through the final two periods.