Lady Hornets stage rally for first win under Quick

MONTGOMERY CITY - The No. 6 seed Fulton Lady Hornets outscored No. 7 Montgomery County 18-11 in the fourth quarter Wednesday to rally for a 41-38 victory in the consolation semifinals of the Montgomery County Invitational Tournament.

The win was Fulton's first of the season under new head coach TJ Quick. The Lady Hornets (1-1) were able to rebound after a 61-17 loss to No. 3 seed Bowling Green in first-round play Monday night.

"It feels good; you always try to get that first one out of the way," Quick said. "This was so big after Monday night, it was such a morale-killer. This boosts our spirits.

"We played as a team and squeaked one out."

Fulton trailed throughout Wednesday's game and was down 27-23 to start the fourth quarter, before putting together its comeback over the final 8 minutes.

"We started controlling the ball; we got in the middle (of Montgomery County's zone defense), we were popping out and then we started making shots," Quick said. "We were finally able to execute."

Senior forward Corri Hamilton topped the Lady Hornets with a game-high 13 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out late in the game. Junior guard Stephanie Hughes tallied nine points, while senior guard Rachel Washington contributed seven rebounds, three steals and three assists.

"A lot of people stepped up after Corri fouled out," Quick said. "(Senior forward) Lola Weiss gave us some huge minutes off the bench."

Rachel Miller, with 11 points, was the only player to reach double figures for Montgomery County.

"The girls played great defense and communicated," Quick said.

Fulton will play either No. 5 seed New Haven or No. 8 Wellsville for fifth place at 6 p.m. Friday.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.