An early postseason exit for Hartselle Lady Tigers basketball:
Hartselle suffers stunning loss to Muscle Shoals in 6A Area 15 semis:
GDW Analysis:
DECATUR: Hartselle Lady Tigers have experienced something unusual for their basketball team.
An early season exit from the AHSAA 6A playoffs.
Hartselle had claimed 5 consecutive area championships from 2021 with the last three under the command of current coach Amber Deline.
The 2025/26 season ended in a stunning 74 to 53 loss Saturday to Muscle Shoals in the 2nd semifinal of AHSAA 6A Area 15.
Hartselle completes its 4th year with Deline at 18 & 13, the fewest number of wins for the program since 2020 when they were only 14 & 12.
Hartselle was 68 & 21 in three seasons with Deline prior to this year, going 27 & 6 the year before finishing 2nd in the Northwest Regional to Hazel Green.
The Lady Tigers had to deal with losing junior forward Hannah Burks for at least a month as she went down with a leg injury the weekend before Thanksgiving.
Burks was back with the team December 30 as seen by Gameday Weekly in playing Lee Huntsville from the Border Wars Classic in Athens.
They were 9 & 3 with her heading to the playoffs with a huge 43 to 39 victory at arch rival Cullman January 30.
In the game with Muscle Shoals, Burks picked up two quick fouls and spent a good bit of the first period as a spectator.
Hartselle struggled without her on the floor while Muscle Shoals played smooth in executing a game plan of scoring inside and from three point range.
A 3 as time ran out in the first sent Muscle Shoals to a 24 to 6 lead and Hartselle never could make a much needed comeback the rest of the contest. They were down 44 to 23 at the half and played the Lady Trojans even in the final 16:00.
The first period slump was the difference of the season not going toward the sub regional round for Deline and her squad.
Hartselle was very much a young team as Karson Boyer was the only senior to start. The others included Burks a junior, Elise Boyd a sophomore, Addison Kuethe a sophomore and 7th grader Brinley Sams.
Sams played her first season with Hartselle in AHSAA as she moved to the 6A school the year before after spending her elementary time as a student at West Point school.
Her ability to score from the perimeter was seen by GDW in a game from the Encore Classic November 26 when she hit 6 treys and scored 22 points against Vinemont.
Muscle Shoals is known for having senior forward Mackenzie Sears. Sears is the young sister to former Muscle Shoals and Alabama standout Mark Sears.
Sears had others to join her Saturday in a sound performance of eliminating the defending area champion.
PG Yasmin Juarez is a junior, delivering quality play all game long. Sophomore Janiyah Oates and freshman Jada Byrd flexed their young skills inside with Hartselle unable to contain their performance.
New champion to be crowned in 6A Area 15:
Muscle Shoals' dominance of Hartselle was not the only story of this area that caught the attention of GDW to see it Saturday afternoon from the River City.
Decatur put together an effective outing to outlast Athens in the first semifinal 47 to 40.
Decatur was placed 10th on Tuesday in the final state 6A poll and showed they are worthy for having a 26 & 5 record and returning to greatness from a long time ago for this program.
Between 2018 to 2022, Decatur had dropped to being insufficient in just getting 16 wins while losing 109 in this span.
Tyler Wright was hired by Decatur city schools after building success for himself while coaching in the state of Georgia.
Wright led Mt. Zion from the town of Carrollton, Georgia to success between 2017 to 2023 with the squad earning several regional championships and a state runner up berth.
Wright inherited an experienced lineup seen by GDW from the previous season of challenging others and taking games down to the wire.
The Red Raiders have quality in senior twins from the backcourt of Jennifer and Carlee Mitchell. Brooklyn Smith is a senior that performs hard all the time as a power forward and Jadience Smith is in the middle in her senior season.
Several freshmen provide the team depth with it coming in high value to fight off Athens in the closing moments Saturday.
Decatur led 33 to 19 going to the 4th before Athens started to hitting shots and finished with a 21 to 14 advantage in the final frame.
Time ran out on Athens, a program that has been solid for several years with Capri Tucker, but now out of the playoffs and with a record of 15 & 14.
Decatur will host Muscle Shoals for the area title at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday.
Photo of Hartselle forward Hannah Burks (22) in the AHSAA Northwest Regional 6A championship game vs. Hazel Green in February of 2025 from Wallace State's Tom Drake Coliseum.
Photo courtesy of AL.com
