By: Maggie Wilks
The Cornerstone Christian Academy Lady Eagles started the week hosting the Valley Fellowship Fire and Hope Christian Warriors and ended by traveling to the Tabernacle Torches at Gardendale. Details of each game follow.
Cornerstone 65 –Valley Fellowship 24
The Lady Eagles thoroughly extinguished the Valley Fellowship Fire in this conference game. After struggling initially with only a one-point lead after the first quarter (12-11), the Eagles made the necessary offensive changes and outscored the Fire 16-8 with sophomore Darby Culpepper responsible for half of the points. They went into halftime on top of Valley 28-19. After halftime, the Lady Eagles returned to the court and flooded the fire with 22 more points, only five of which the Fire answered. The Eagles then held the Fire scoreless for the fourth quarter and finished the games with a 65-24 win in the record book. Darby Culpepper finished the night with 21 points, and senior Abbie Sims and freshman Laura Beth Wells each scored 12. Reagan Gatewood scored 7 points of her own followed by Erica Couch with 6 and Jacie Bell with 5.
Cornerstone 54 – Hope Christian 21
After a slow beginning, the Lady Eagles managed to pull off an impressive 22 point 2nd quarter to go into halftime with a 31-16 lead. Sophomore Darby Culpepper (16 points) and freshman Laura Beth Wells (14 points) showed out in the Eagle’s domination of the Warriors for a combined 30 points. After halftime, the Eagles continued to maintain their command with senior Abbie Sims tossing in 9 points, Erica Couch scoring 6, and Jacie Bell finished the night with 5 points. It was an overall impressive win for the Lady Eagles as they continue to improve their record, now at 11-2.
Cornerstone 27 – Tabernacle 51
The Lady Eagles came into this rivalry game determined. Improved and better prepared after facing a home loss to the Torches, Cornerstone Christian made some effective changes offensively and defensively to diminish the torches. The Lady Eagles led at the half 21-16, but unfortunately could not keep their own flame kindled. The Torches returned after half time with an 18-0 scoring run to leave the Eagles burn out. After a hard fought fourth quarter, the Torches seized the win with a 51-27 final score. Leading the Eagles in scoring was Laura Beth Wells with 12 points, followed by Raegan Gatewood with 6, and Shelby Harrison, Darby Culpepper, Abbie Sims, and Erica Couch each contributing a basket. Coach Harrison stated, “I believe our girls fought hard and played very well for the first half. We were just unable to finish, and we still have some areas to improve in, but overall I’m proud of the way our girls came out and fought.”