Lady Vols advance at AAA State

SDN Staff

COLUMBIA – It was a good start to the AAA State Tournament for the Starkville Academy Lady Volunteers on Tuesday night.

With a strong first quarter, the Lady Vols were able to ride that momentum to a 6043 victory over Hillcrest Christian School at Columbia Academy.

Starkville Academy held a 19-8 lead after one quarter and increased the margin to 29-16 at halftime.

Mary Peyton Passons and Lillie Alpe scored 15 points each for the Lady Vols. Passons pulled down nine rebounds.

Starkville Academy (21-15) plays the winner of Kirk Academy and Columbia Academy on Friday at 2:15 p.m.

The Vols enjoyed a good start to its first round game at the AAA State Tournament, but couldn’t sustain it as they fell by one point.

After jumping out to a 16-12 lead in the first quarter, Adams County Christian came back to outscore the Vols 12-9 in the second quarter to cut the margin to 25-24 at halftime.

Adams County Christian edged SA 14-12 in the third quarter and held off the Vols in the fourth quarter to take the close victory.

Starkville Academy was out-shot by Adams Christian, which hit 45 percent (20-of-44) from the field. The Vols made 40 percent (18-of-45). Adams County Christian also held the rebounding advantage 27-23. Brady Richardson was the leading scorer for Starkville Academy with 13 points and Noah Methvin also scored in double figures with 12 points.

The Vols saw their season come to an end with a 19-10 overall record.