UNIONVILLE – The Community Viqueens led the Cornersville Lady Bulldogs by just four points heading into the final quarter, but the Viqueens pulled away with a 21-point quarter and defeated the Lady Bulldogs 62-52 in a non-district basketball game Tuesday night.
It was an evenly played opening quarter as both teams traded 6-0 runs. Led by six points from Ady Gentry, Cornersville (8-11) took its biggest lead at 9-5 after its run. Zoey Dixon scored five points as Community (15-5) went on its run and retook the lead at 14-12. The game was tied at 14-14 heading to the second quarter.
The Viqueens trailed 18-16 in the quarter before going on a 7-0 run. Anna Haskins came off the bench to score seven points, including a trey with 5:10 remaining that put the Viqueens up 21-18 and gave Community the lead for good.
The Lady Bulldogs stayed close with Camille Franklin scoring six points, but a late three-pointer by Haley Mitchell gave the Viqueens a 30-23 lead at the intermission.
“We did a good job offensively finding the open person and taking the shots,” Coach Cody Pierce of the Viqueens said.
Mitchell had five points in the third quarter as Community led 35-26 with 6:10 left, but the Lady Bulldogs fought back. Alicia Polk scored nine points as Cornersville went on a 5-0 run to cut the Viqueen lead to 35-31. Community finished the quarter with a 41-37 advantage.
Haskins started the fourth quarter with two treys as the Viqueens upped their lead to 47-40. Led by six points from Anna Wood, the Lady Bulldogs trailed 49-45 with 4:28 left before Community widened its lead. M. J. Simmons scored seven points and Mitchell added six as the Viqueens scored the next eight points to go up 57-45 en route to their 10-point win.
“We shot it well outside and it helped us out a lot when we were struggling to defend,” Pierce said.
Balanced scoring was the theme for both teams.
Haskins scored 16 points to lead four Viqueens in double figures. Simmons finished with 15 points while Mitchell added 14. Dixon had 13 points for Community.
Polk and Gentry each had 13 points while Wood finished with 12 for the Lady Bulldogs.
The Viqueens were 2-of-3 at the free throw line while the Lady Bulldogs were a perfect 5-of-5.
“My girls battled. We battled for every loose ball,” Coach Hayden McMahon of the Lady Bulldogs said.
“There were a few instances where we could have been better,” McMahon added.
“They’re a good team,” McMahon said. “They’ve got six seniors and were a sub-state team last year.”
“They shot well. We had a hard time defending them,” Pierce said. “It was a little frustrating at times, but they hit some big shots. I’ve got to give them a lot of credit.”
The Viqueens travel to Grundy County for a 6:30 p.m. District 7-AA game Friday.
“It was good to get a lapse of not playing a district game,” McMahon said. “We get another game under our belt and go back to district play Friday night.”
“This is a good team to get a good experience against,” McMahon added. “Playing good teams makes you better.”
Cornersville 14 9 14 15 - 52
Community 14 16 11 21 - 62
Cornersville: Alicia Polk 13, Ady Gentry 13, Anna Wood 12, Jayli Childress 5, Katie Powers, Camille Franklin 6, Annabelle Mulliniks 3, Emma Dunivan.
Community: M. J. Simmons 15, Haley Mitchell 14, Zoey Dixon 13, Shelby Cawthon 4, Addison Brothers, Anna Haskins 16.
3-Point goals: Cornersville (7): Wood 4, Polk, Childress, Mulliniks; Community (8): Haskins 4, Mitchell 3, Dixon.
Halftime score: Community 30, Cornersville 23.
