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  • Macey Knight and the Hanceville Bulldogs earned their first win of the season by defeating St. Bernard 33-30 Thursday. Rob Ketcham

    Macey Knight

  • St. Bernard’s Audrey Cofield sets up the offense during Thursday’s game against Hanceville. Rob Ketcham

    Audrey Cofield

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December 1, 2011

PREP BASKETBALL: Taste of victory

Hanceville notches first win with narrow defeat of St. Bernard

By Rob Ketcham The Cullman Times

HANCEVILLE — Hanceville and St. Bernard both went into Thursday night’s game desperately wanting to grab their first win of the season.

By the time the in-county matchup was over, it was the Bulldogs who were able to snag the elusive victory, edging the Saints by a narrow 33-30 margin.

Hanceville coach Becky Cobb didn’t have to think hard about what made the difference in her team finding a way to remove their big goose egg from the win column.

“I think what won it tonight for us was heart,” she said. “They wanted it so bad. They’ve been through a lot and they needed that win. It was sheer will.

“We’re still learning and that was a good win for us.”

St. Bernard jumped out to a 19-13 advantage at intermission behind a seven-point first-half effort by Katherine Gamble.

She sank the first shot of the game, used her size to control the boards and kept the Saints on top early on.

The tide turned the Bulldogs’ way in the second half, though. Brittani Armstrong made a basket to put Hanceville up 22-20, but St. Bernard clawed back to a 28-all tie late in the fourth.

From there, Macey Knight hit a 2-point shot, and the Bulldogs never trailed again, holding off its counterpart that wanted its first victory just as badly as they did.

The Saints were inconsistent from the free-throw line in the second half, hitting only seven-of-20 of their shots from the charity stripe.

Madison Norman scored all seven of her points in the final two quarters for Hanceville.

“She’s a senior, and I don’t need her to wait until the second half,” Cobb said. “I need some senior leadership and I feel like she’s trying to step up and play her part.”

Armstrong finished with a game-high 13 points, and Michayla Brown’s nine was tops for St. Bernard.

The Bulldogs are now 1-4 (0-1) and will play again today at Holly Pond.

“We have a lot to work on still,” Cobb said. “But we’re going to take this win, enjoy it for today and be back at it tomorrow. We’re going to come out focused and ready.”

The Saints’ (0-4) next opportunity to earn its first season win will be next Tuesday when they take on Coosa Christian at home.

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

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