For the past seven years, the St. Clair County Basketball Tournament in the girls division has been dominated by either Ashville or Springville.

The Lady Tigers won the crown in 2004-05 and again in 2008-09.

Ashville won two years straight in 2006-07 and won again this past Saturday, beating Springville in the finals 51-44.

Springville defeated Moody 43-27 to earn the right to play in the championship game while Ashville had its hands full with Ragland before knocking the Lady Purple Devils out of the tournament with a 50-43 win.

Ragland 74, SCCHS 52

Ragland had little trouble with St. Clair County High beating the Lady Saints 74-52.

The Lady Purple Devils were up 21-8 after the first quarter and they stretched their lead to 40-18 at intermission.

The second half was even with both teams scoring 34 points each to make the final score 74-52.

Four Ragland players scored in double figures and leading the way was Emily Church with 19 points. Brook Evans pumped in 16 points while Paige Gann added 14 points. JJ Looney netted 12 points. Leah Byers scored 3 points while Lauren Wright, Madison Oliver, Reagan Campbell and Kia Lindsay had 2 points each.

Leading the Lady Saints and all scorers was Kreshala Mickens with 30 points. Diamond Buckanon scored 11 points while Teara Williams added 7 points. Taylor Lomas scored 2 points while Heather Brownlee had 1 point.

Ashville 50, Ragland 43

In what was a thriller from start to finish, the Lady Bulldogs survived and outlasted a Ragland team that was determined more than ever to stay in the title hunt. Coach Rush Rutledge’s girls ran out of gas down the stretched and Jacie Tipton nailed 5 treys to keep Ragland rallies shut down.

The Lady Purple Devils started out the gate on fire as they were up 11-6 early on and led 15-8 after the first quarter.

Tipton hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the second quarter to make it 20-17 but Ragland’s Madison Oliver nailed a couple of treys herself to extend the Lady Purple Devil lead to 26-17 with 3:30 remaining before halftime. When Ragland hit another bucket to make it 28-17, Ashville coach Dale Beason called timeout.

The timeout seemed to work for Ashville as they finished the first half on a 6-0 run to make the halftime score 28-23.

The Lady Bulldogs won the scoring battle in the third frame 13-9 to close the gap to 37-36 headed into the fourth quarter.

With 6:44 remaining, a lay-up by Kim Fuller tied the game at 38-38 and a shot by Bianca Bothwell gave Ashville the lead 40-38 with 5:51 remaining.

While Ragland went down and calmly regained eth lead at 41-40, Tipton once again hit back-to-back treys that gave Ashville a 46-41 lead, a lead they would not relinquish. The final score was 50-43.

Tipton led Ashville with 15 points, all on 5 3-pointers. Fuller pumped in 12 points while Bothwell was good for 10 points. Stormy Penland accounted for 6 points while Courtney Elders, Destiny Montgomery and Kristen O’Barr scored 2 points each. Taylor Coffee had 1 point.

Oliver had 14 points to lead Ragland. Brooke Evans added 9 points while Paige Gann and JJ Looney scored 7 points each. Emily Church and Reagan Campbell had 3 points each.

With the win, Ashville improved to 21-1.

“That was a close one,” said Beason. “It was a very exciting game. Our girls showed a lot of guts coming back the way they did. We battled back against a very good basketball team. Ragland will go far in the state playoffs. I am very proud of our girls.”

Springville 43, Moody 27

The Lady Tigers advanced to the finals to face Ashville after beating Moody 43-27. The game was actually won by Springville in the first quarter as they jumped out to a 15-2 lead. The two teams were evenly matched the rest of the way.

Springville led 20-6 at halftime and 30-15 headed into the fourth quarter. The final was 43-27.

Nine Lady Tigers scored and leading the way was Kate Riker with 10 points. Geri Wilson and Danyelle Martin pumped in 6 points each while Raianna Wilson added 5 points. Molly Lindsey, Dixie Rhodes and Kirsten Gipson netted 4 points each while Savanna Hennings and Anna Marie Ronderos scored 2 points each.

Leading the Lady Blue Devils was Lea Crutchfield with 11 points. Alyson Tipton scored 6 points while Lori Turrentine and Karlye Burson had 4 points each. Caroline Clark added 2 points.

Ashville 51, Springville 44

It was the third meeting of the year between these two teams. Ashville had won the first two games by scores of 42-22 and 47-20. This game, however, would be different.

This game would be controlled by the Lady Tigers the first three quarters. This game would go down to the wire. This game was for all the marbles. This game would decide the county champs. So, both teams were playing as hard as possible.

Trailing 9-6, Springville hit back-to-back 3-pointers to take a 12-9 lead with 3:25 remaining in the first quarter. By the end of the opening stanza, Springville’s lead was 17-16.

The Lady Tigers continued to control the tempo of the game and was up 29-23 at halftime.

Halfway through the third quarter, Springville’s lead was up to nine at 32-23.

Ashville then went on an 11-2 run that changed the complexion of the game as they tied it 34-34 on a bucket by Bothwell. Springville’s lead after three quarters of play was 40-38.

Ashville hit two quick buckets to start the fourth quarter to take a 42-40 lead. They would not trail again. Tipton and Bothwell nailed crucial free throws in the final 90 seconds to secure the victory and take come the county title.

Beason said he was pleased to win the county title.

“Springville had a good game plan and they made a lot of shots,” Beason said. “You have to give our girls credit. They fell behind but did not get down.”

Leading Ashville was Bothwell with 13 points. Fuller added 8 points while Howard was close behind with 7 points. Elders totaled 6 points while Coffee and Lori Stephenson had 5 points each. Tipton netted 3 points while Penland and O’Barr had 2 points each.

Springville was led by Riker and Lindsey with 15 points each. Rhodes scored 5 points while Gipson added 4 points. Hennings and Wilson scored 2 points each while Ronderos had 1 point.

Ashville’s Kim Fuller was named the tournament MVP.

Other players making the All-County Tournament Team included Taylor Coffee, Bianca Bothwell and Jacie Tipton from Ashville; Kate Riker, Dixie Rhodes and Molly Lindsey from Springville; Tiffany Evans and Lea Crutchfield from Moody; JJ Looney and Brooke Evans from Ragland; and Kreshala Mickens from SCCHS.