Thompson girls pick up thrilling win over Wildcats

Published 10:05 am Thursday, January 26, 2023

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By SETH HAGAN | Special to the Reporter

ALABASTER – The Thompson Warriors got a big area victory from their girls basketball program on Tuesday, Jan. 24 in a critical, must-win situation at home.

Thompson entered the night 0-4 in Area 5, including a 38-34 loss to its opponent, Tuscaloosa County, back on Jan. 10, but used a fourth quarter comeback to pull out a gutsy 49-48 result at home.

The tight battle was a game of runs the entire night and the first quarter was no exception.

The teams traded the lead in the opening minutes, but, down 8-6, the Wildcats went on a 12-0 run fueled by the defense forcing double-digit turnovers in the period.

The run drifted into the second quarter, but that was where Thompson made its move.

Senior Mylah Dixon hit three shots from beyond the arc in the first half, two of which contributed to the Warriors’ 13-0 run that gave them the lead back.

However, the Wildcats responded again, scoring the next dozen points of the match, including the first 10 of the second half.

Jayla Forbes got Thompson back on track on both sides of the court scoring two baskets in the back end of the period and several big blocks in the paint to cut the deficit.

Down five heading into the fourth quarter, the Warriors traded baskets with the Wildcats, but turned to the charity stripe to complete their comeback.

Two more triples from Dixon were huge, but Thompson’s other 11 points in the period came courtesy of free throws.

The Warriors got to the line a dizzying 18 times including 10 attempts from freshman Morgan Adolphus.

All 12 of Adolphus’ points came there as well, only missing on two of them good for 85 percent on the night.

On the other side, the Wildcats missed on both of their one-and-one chances from the line which ended up being the difference in the game.

Dixon led all scorers with 15 points, Adolphus added her 12 and senior Zyon Gaiters chipped in seven including a free throw to put the Warriors up by three with seconds remaining.