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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

NORTH SHELBY – The Briarwood Christian Lions punctuated a special night with a statement performance over a county foe.

Briarwood defeated the Montevallo Bulldogs 51-8 on Friday, Dec. 13 at Briarwood Christian School to sweep the season series.

It was a celebratory night for the Lions as they honored junior Emma Kerley for surpassing 1,000 career points. Kerley accomplished the feat during the Pelham Turkey Tipoff during the week of Thanksgiving, and this was the first scheduled home game since the milestone moment.

Kerley received a commemorative basketball during a special ceremony with her parents, Briarwood head girls basketball coach Lorie Kerley and former head boys basketball coach Bobby Kerley.

As for the game itself, the Lions defense locked in throughout the first half, causing chaos and holding Montevallo scoreless at the halftime break.

The offense took advantage as Kerley and AT Baker combined for all 15 of Briarwood’s first-quarter points. Kerley started out the night with eight points while Baker scored seven to give the hosts a 15-0 lead after the first quarter.

From there, the Lions got more 3-pointers to fall in the second quarter as Baker hit her second of the night and Sasha Munikar scored from deep. Clara Crawford scored her first four points of the evening in the second quarter while Kerley got into double figures for the first half.

After leading 27-0 at halftime, Briarwood maintained its double-digit lead even as the Bulldogs got on the scoreboard with their first eight points of the game, including 3-pointers from Zabdy Perez and Alexis Morgan.

The Lions continued to spread the ball around on the offensive end. Kerley scored four more points to add to her big night, but Baker, Sarah Travis and Grace Garrett also joined in with baskets to increase the lead to 37-8 at the end of the quarter.

Briarwood kept its foot on the gas until the very end, shutting out Montevallo in the fourth quarter while Garrett led the offense with six points.

Kerley finished out her night with another field goal, but the bench carried much of the load in the fourth. Peyton Casey, Julia Thompson and Bentley Watts all found the bottom of the net as the Lions finished out the 43-point victory.

On her celebratory night, Kerley led the way with 16 points, nine rebounds, five steals, four assists and two blocks. Baker earned 12 points and four steals while Garrett finished with eight points and five rebounds.