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January 28, 2009

‘KEEP BELIEVING’

Nation leads Bulldogs into tourney semifinals

By Justin Graves

HANCEVILLE — Kyle Chamblee never would’ve thought two little words could have such a big impact.

Keep believing.

Chamblee told his players that twice during a 49-44 win over West Point Wednesday night in the Cullman County tournament. And since the phrase worked so well, the Bulldogs coach said it again after the game.

“We’re just going to keep believing,” said Chamblee, whose Bulldogs play Cold Springs tonight in the tournament semifinals. “Just keep on believing.”

Chamblee has good reason to be optimistic. His team had just overcome a tremendous amount of adversity.

After a dismal start, Hanceville found itself trailing 14-2 after the first period. West Point had held Bulldogs star LaSheena Nation scoreless, and Chamblee’s team appeared to be on the ropes.

That’s when Chamblee uttered the simple phrase that has now become his team’s motto.

“I just looked out at the players and said, ‘Keep believing.’ We can do this,” Chamblee said. “We’ve done it before, and we can do it again.”

Hanceville responded.

Nation piled up 10 points in the second period, helping the Bulldogs cut the lead to four before halftime.

It was a battle from that point on.

Even though West Point held Nation scoreless in the third period, Hanceville managed to keep pace.

Brionna Morgan cut the lead to one early in the third period with a layup, and a basket from Koneisha Timmons tied the score a few minutes later.

Hanceville took its first lead of the night early in the fourth period when Morgan turned a steal into an easy basket. The Bulldogs scored 18 points off turnovers.

“With the exception of the first period, that’s the best we’ve played all year,” Chamblee said. “That’s the best team effort we’ve had in a while. We were getting points from lots of different players, not just Sheena. That was great.”

With the game on the line, Nation took over in the final period. She scored eight points in the final eight minutes, including a layup in transition that iced the win with less than 10 seconds remaining.

Nation led Hanceville with 18. Emilee Thomas followed with eight, while Nicole Miller tossed in seven.

Sarah Perry led West Point with 18 points.

Just moments after Hanceville secured a spot in Thursday night’s semifinal matchup, Chamblee used his team’s new catch phrase again. That’s probably because his team will face top-ranked (2A) Cold Springs.

Chamblee knows beating Cold Springs will be a tall task. But after Wednesday night’s thriller, he’s just going to keep on… Well, believing.

“That’s all we can do,” he said. “Just enjoy the ride and keep believing.”

‰ Justin Graves can be reached by phone at 734-2131, ext. 257 or by e-mail at jgraves@cullmantimes.com.

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