E.A. Sports Today

So close in a game that wasn’t

Miajah Bullock misses second straight triple-double by one steal and one rebound in a game Anniston didn’t miss much

By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today

LINCOLN – Miajah Bullock had a little bone to pick with her uncle after Anniston’s girls swamped Lincoln 96-10.

The outcome of the game was over for a long time, but Bullock was closing in on a milestone of sorts. She has been playing well lately and came within one steal and one rebound of her second triple-double in as many games.

Did we mention her uncle is Anniston coach Eddie Bullock?

Miajah went for 18 points, 12 rebounds and 15 steals Tuesday night in the Lady Bulldogs’ area win over Alexandria. Against the Lady Bears Friday night she had 24 points, nine rebounds and nine steals.

“I told my coach I had a bone to pick with him because I was so close to getting another one,” she said. “I could’ve had two in a row.”

That’s the tough thing about lopsided games like these — trying to find a balance between coaching etiquette and giving players, no matter how deep down the roster, an opportunity to compete.

Lincoln took the floor with a lineup of basically junior-high players. It was 57-7 at halftime. The Lady Bears scored only one basket in the second half, a 3-point in the final minute of the third quarter.

Miajah Bullock said it might have been nice to score 100, but that wasn’t her team’s focus. Eddie Bullock called the margin “unfortunate,” but said if one looked closely at the game “all means were taken to not try to embarrass the other team.”

Anniston took the press off after a 27-3 first quarter and dropped back in a zone but it didn’t quit playing defense against basically a junior-high team because “it’s hard to tell them not to play once you get them in practice to play,” Bullock said.

When the starters asked if they were going to play any more in the fourth quarter – at 83-10 – Bullock told them he’d give them a minute then put the ninth-graders in the game; they were removed, ending Miajah’s shot at a triple-double, with 6:23 to play.

And when the Lincoln held the ball throughout the final four minutes when it was 94-10, Anniston stood patiently inside the 3-point arc coming out of their stance only when the Lady Bears attacked their defense.

“What do you want me to say?” Lincoln coach Shea Monroe said. “I was just trying to hold the ball at the end so they didn’t score 100. It’s embarrassing, it really is. It’s not my girls’ fault; they’re (Anniston) a good team. It’s our job to stop them. He could’ve pressured the last few minutes and he didn’t. It’s our job to stop them and I’m embarrassed for my girls. We need to get better.”

Whether Miajah got her triple-double or not Friday, Eddie Bullock has been pleased with what he’s seeing from his guard lately. And it couldn’t be coming at a better time

“She’s coming around and that’s what I want her to do because she’s one of the keys for us playing,” he said. “If she plays well, everybody else plays well, so we have to make sure she’s involved, because her and Raven (Cooley), they’re big for us.”

Cooley had 19 points. The victory completed another sweep through the area schedule by the Lady Bulldogs. As best as Bullock can recall, they haven’t lost an area game, regular season or tournament, since at least 2009.

Anniston 96, Lincoln 10

ANNISTON – Miajah Bullock 9 6-7 24, Raven Cooley 8 0-2 19, Carlina Welch 3 0-0 6, Viera Edmondson 1 0-0 2, Davia Palmer 1 1-2 3, Kendra Finley 2 0-0 4, Amariya Dudley 3 0-0 7, Jordyn Johnson 1 0-0 2, Montega Clemons 5 0-0 12, Tamiya Foster 0 0-0 0, Carsheuna Curry 2 1-2 5, Tonia Foster 3 2-3 8, J’Kyra Clemons 0 0-0 0, Mattie Logan 0 0-0 0, Jemya Bullock 2 0-0 4. Totals 40 10-16 96.

LINCOLN – Kaitlyn Harmon 0 0-0 0, Courtney Edwards 0 0-0 0, Jesse Edge 0 0-0 0, Amaz Carmichael 2 0-3 4, Bailey Gowers 0 0-0 0, Taylor Lett 0 0-1 0, Sierra Robertson 1 0-0 2, Jayla Morris 1 0-0 3, Taylor Conway 0 1-2 1. Totals 4 1-6 10.

Anniston 27 30 26 13 — 96
Lincoln 3 4 3 0 — 10

3-point goals: Anniston 6 (Cooley 3, Dudley, M. Clemons 2); Lincoln 1 (Morris). Total fouls: Anniston 10, Lincoln 13. Officials: Hinkle, Brewster, Kelley.

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