By PATRICK CASEY
The opening day of the Freeport girls Hilton Sandestin Beach Basketball Blowout saw South Walton lose their first game of the year while Freeport lost to eventual champion St. Benedict.
Starr’s Mill, a school from Georgia, opened the 8-team tourney with a 40-26 win over Mobile Davidson.
South Walton saw their 16-game winning streak come to an end quickly against Cookeville as the Tennessee squad jumped out to a 14-5 lead after the first quarter and increased the margin to 31-8 by halftime.
The Seahawks hit only 3-of-17 shots from the floor in the first half while the Cavaliers hit 13-of-24 shots from the field as Riley Masters scored 10 points in the first half with Sydney Bean hitting three shots from behind the arc for nine points.
The game got worse in the second half as Cookeville posted a 21-2 scoring margin in the third quarter to trigger the Mercy Rule when the score reached 45-10. The Cavs ended the period up 52-10 and substituted liberally in the fourth quarter.
South Walton finally got the offense going in the final quarter of play as Megan O’Neal scored nine of her 18 points during that time. Only three players scored for the Lady Seahawks in the contest as Savannah Slade had three points and Devany Beard one.
Cookeville had three players in double figures as Bean finished with 12, Masters 11 and Courtney Savage had 10.
Lafayette County won the third game of the opening day with a 39-27 decision over Fort Dale.
Freeport had the unenviable task of facing St. Benedict in the final game and trailed 49-2 before falling by a score of 56-11. Brooke McBride had three points to lead the Bulldogs as the first day of competition came to an end at Freeport Middle School.
The second day began with South Walton falling to Mobile Davidson 57-56 in overtime. The Lady Seahawks trailed 12-11 after the first quarter as turnovers and offensive woes continued to hinder the Walton County squad. South Walton got back-to-back three point shots from Hayley Seible and Megan O’Neal late in the first half to move ahead 27-21 at intermission.
The Warriors athleticism helped them to rally in the third quarter with a 20-7 scoring advantage for a 41-34 lead entering the fourth quarter.
South Walton came back in the fourth quarter as they posted a 13-6 rally with the help of two key free throws from Allee Coble in the final minutes to force the game into overtime after Davidson missed an opportunity to win the game on their final possession of regulation.
Gracie Ricci hit a pair of three point shots to help the Seahawks to a 56-55 lead but the Warriors stole the final inbound pass of the game with 1.7 seconds left as junior guard Kiara Richard banked in a shot as time expired to steal a 57-56 win, leaving the Seahawks players, coaches and crowd stunned.
Slade finished with 19 points and Coble 15 as the Seahawks exited the tourney with two losses and a 16-2 record.
Freeport trailed Fort Dale 29-9 at halftime of their consolation bracket battle and the Eagles went on to a 47-22 victory. McBride and Molly Head each had five points in the loss as Freeport ended 2015 with a 4-12 record.
On the final day of the event all games were played at Freeport High School with Mobile Davidson earning fifth place with a 68-33 win over Fort Dale. Starr’s Mill took third place with a 52-41 win over Lafayette County.
St. Benedict won the tourney title to complete a 3-0 run with a 51-49 victory over Cookeville in a New Year’s Eve battle.