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  • Cullman's Morgan Smith puts in 2 points against Athens at the Northwest Regional Wednesday afternoon at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville. Amanda Shavers-Davis

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  • Cullman basketball coach Jonathan Hayes celebrates with senior guard Jorden Quick after the Bearcats defeated Athens 71-36 to advance to the finals of the Northwest Regional Wednesday afternoon at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville. Amanda Shavers-Davis

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  • Cullman's Morgan Pitts leaves her feet while patrolling the post during the Bearcats' dominating win over Athens. Amanda Shavers-Davis

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  • Cullman coach Jonathan Hayes welcomes Morgan Smith to the bench late in the fourth quarter Wednesday. She had 21 points. Amanda Shavers-Davis

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  • Cullman's Rachel Fisher dishes out a pass to a teammate Wednesday morning. Amanda Shavers-Davis

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  • Cullman's Hannah Shelton works on a defender as coach Jonathan Hayes yells out instructions during Wednesday's game. Amanda Shavers-Davis

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February 22, 2012

(UPDATED) NORTHWEST REGIONAL (CLASS 5A): 'Ready for revenge'

Bearcats dominate Athens, set for 4th meeting vs. Brewer

By Rob Ketcham The Cullman Times

HANCEVILLE — It took only 29 seconds for Cullman to score more points against Athens Wednesday morning than it did in the entire first half of last year's regional semifinal.

The Bearcats then used the remaining 31 minutes to completely dominate the Golden Eagles in every possible way and advance to the Class 5A final of the Northwest Regional Tournament with a statement 71-36 victory.

"Mentally, it's kind of hard to come back from last year, being down like we were," said Jorden Quick, who scored 12 straight points for Cullman in the second quarter and lit up the scoreboard with a 21-point performance. "In the locker room, we were saying this is a new game, a new team. It's completely different from last year, so we just focused on playing our game today — and that's what we did."

A single point was all the Bearcats were able to muster as they went 0-fer from the field in the first two quarters against J.O. Johnson in last year's opening round.

Not again. 

This time, No. 4 Cullman (28-6) entered halftime leading 36-18 behind 17 points from Quick, nine from Morgan Smith and six from Morgan Pitts. A lockdown effort on defense didn't hurt matters, either.

"I know you all know what what happened last year," coach Jonathan Hayes said after the game. "It didn't faze them. We talked about it. We weren't going to hide the fact. I couldn't be more proud of the girls for putting it behind them and coming out like it never happened. 

"They make my job easy. When they go out and put that kind of intensity in their defense, control the rebounds and go to the hole and finish like they did today, I couldn't be more proud."

Smith matched Quick's 21-point total and pulled off a double-double with 12 rebounds. The junior also snagged four steals, dished out four assists and had two blocks.

Seniors Morgan Pitts and Abby Adams were critical in the Bearcats' ability to establish a presence in the post. Pitts battled hard for eight points down low, and Adams unleashed a few fancy inside moves to wind up with seven. Pitts also had two blocks.

Rachel Fisher added six points and five rebounds, Baylee Johnson came off the bench for four points, and Blair Nall and Emily Tucker each contributed two apiece.

Athens (22-11) got 11 points from Destany McLin, nine from Alliyah Smith and eight from Destiny Bailey.  

 

Cullman will now face No. 5 Brewer (29-3) in the regional championship game Friday at 12:20 p.m.

It will be the fourth time the area rivals have met this season. Brewer currently holds a 2-1 edge, but that doesn't matter to Quick or Smith.

"I'm ready for revenge," she said. "They beat us in the area championship and we'll beat them in the regional championship. We're ready."

Smith added: "We know their stuff. They know ours. We know exactly what we've got to do."

The victory, which set a school record for wins in a season, came one day after Cullman student and star athlete Andrew Winfrey suffered severe injuries in a single-vehicle accident. 

Quick said a lot of the team and the community attended a prayer service for Winfrey at Temple Baptist Church Tuesday night in the injured student-athlete's honor.

"It just brought the community together," the point guard said. "I actually think it was more helpful for our game. If he was here, we knew he'd be cheering his guts out."

Smith added, "It gave us more motivation to know that he would've been in a front-row seat cheering for us."

Rob Ketcham can be reached at 256-734-2131, ext. 257 or at robk@cullmantimes.com.

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