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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

COLUMBIANA – After falling 46-44 on the road to the Vincent Yellow Jackets on Dec. 13, the Shelby County Wildcats were out for revenge in the return game on Tuesday, Jan. 28.

In the end, the Wildcats showcased their growth since that night in a commanding performance as they beat Vincent 47-19 at home at Shelby County High School.

Like in many of their games this season, Kenna’d Buie and Morgan Arnold led the way for the Shelby County offense. Buie started out the game strong, scoring eight points in the opening quarter.

She accounted for just more than half of her team’s 15 first-quarter points as Arnold, Sanyia Floyrd and Kaydence Connell each found the bottom of the net in the opening eight minutes of the contest.

However, it was the Wildcats defense that largely paved the way for the victory. Shelby County surrendered just five points in the first quarter and nine for the first half.

Vincent’s offense was largely limited to just KK McGinnis, who scored three points in the first quarter to pair with a Kinsley Perkins basket.

After taking a 15-5 lead into the second quarter, the Wildcats continued building on it from there. Arnold added six points to her first-half total while Buie and Nancy Hall each had a field goal and a free throw as the trio combined for 12 points.

As a result, Shelby County took a 27-9 lead into the halftime locker room.

The Jackets turned to McGinnis to try and shift the tides as she scored six points in the third to get her into double figures. However, those were the only points that Vincent could muster, leaving the Wildcats with an opportunity to pull away even more.

Buie and Arnold remained in control on the offensive end, scoring six and five points in the third, respectively. Daleigh Griffin also got the chance to score her first points of the game in the third as Shelby County extended its lead to 40-15 ahead of the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats continued to remain in front during the final minutes as they used their double-digit lead to keep the Jackets at bay and secure the 28-point win.

Buie led all scorers with 17 points, but Arnold was just behind her with 16 points. Hall also added five points in the win.

McGinnis was Vincent’s top scorer with 11 of its 19 points.

The Wildcats improved to 15-6 on the season with the win. They will finish out the regular season on the road on Thursday, Jan. 30 against Jemison and at home on Friday, Jan. 31 against Center Point. Both games will start at 6 p.m.

The Jackets dropped to 13-7 to finish out the regular season. They will hit the road for the area semifinals on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 6:30 p.m. to take on the Horseshoe Bend Generals at Ranburne High School.