HAYDEN — Santa made his list, he checked it twice and the Good Hope girls basketball team must've been awfully nice for old Kris Kringle to hand-deliver the Raiders a third straight Hayden Christmas Classic on Saturday night.
Faulkner signee Kayla Tillman unleashed 16 points and seven rebounds, and Darcie Wilson added 14 points and two blocks to give Good Hope one last dose of Christmas cheer in the form of a close 48-46 championship-clinching victory over the host Wildcats.
The Raider's less-than-stellar 4-9 start to the 2012-13 season was a distant memory in Saturday's title tilt, as the Red and White received six points apiece from Cara Goodwin and Kayla Scott, three from Alannah Henke, two from Katelyn Bishop and one from Kacy Thomas to pull off their eighth win in a row.
Good Hope advanced to the final after defeating Cordova on Thursday and Homewood the following evening. Tillman led the Raiders' scoring efforts in all three games.
The Red and White (12-9) will seek to improve their win streak to nine with a tough test at home versus Class 3A, No. 6 Holly Pond on Jan. 7.
% The Times' sports editor Rob Ketcham contributed to this report.
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