Lady Raiders shake things up
- Updated: February 2, 2016
Girls roundup: PV coach sits 2 starters to get players’ attention, gets desired results; Saks streak continues, Lady Cubs fall
MONDAY’S GIRLS GAMES
Cleburne County 37, Alexandria 31
Cornerstone at Donoho
Gaston at Piedmont
Oxford 54, Jacksonville 44
Pleasant Valley 53, Ohatchee 46
Saks 65, Munford 43
TUESDAY’S GAMES
Jacksonville at Weaver
Ohatchee at Faith Christian
Paint Rock Valley at JCA
Pleasant Valley at Glencoe
Sacred Heart at Donoho, 3 p.m.
Sylacauga at Anniston
Talladega at Oxford
By East Alabama Sports Today
OHATCHEE – Even a team with as strong a record as Pleasant Valley has needs a little shaking up every now and then.
The Lady Raiders are enjoying one of their best seasons in school history, but there was just something about their recent play that was a little off in coach Brad Hood’s estimation.
So, he shook up the lineup a bit Monday night – sitting two starters, including his leading scorer — to get his players’ attention. He got the desired results in a big fourth quarter that produced a 53-46 victory over Ohatchee.
The victory improved the 10th-ranked Lady Raiders’ record to 22-3. They can tie the school record for victories Tuesday at Glencoe.
“I was just seeing a lot of complacency and wanted to get some attention,” Hood said. “People come up to them and say they have a good record, but being good is keeping us from being great. We haven’t dominated anyone all season. We have the talent, I think, that we should win by 20 a game. I hope I got their attention.”
Hood sat Kara Perry and leading scorer McKinley Parris – starters since the seventh grade – and replaced them with Rachel Faucett and Lindsey Pritchett. He determined the starters by sticking to a pledge to start the first five players who completed a particular drill in practice and stayed with that lineup through the third quarter.
It got them an 11-4 first-quarter lead and 20-16 lead at halftime, but the teams were locked in a 36-36 tie through three quarters. The Lady Raiders pulled away with a 21-14 fourth quarter.
Hood said he believed his ploy inspired the big finish. “That,” he said, “and fresh legs.”
Atleigh Brannon scored 11 of her game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter, and Mikala Simpson had seven of her 15 in the quarter. Ally McCoy led Ohatchee with 14 points.
“We played well, especially offensively,” Ohatchee coach Bryant Ginn said. “It’s just down the stretch we gave up a couple easy baskets and we couldn’t convert. I was proud of the way we played tonight … We haven’t been scoring too well lately; to score 46 on them was pretty good.”
Cleburne County 37, Alexandria 32: The Lady Tigers turned up the intensity after falling behind in the first half and used a big fourth quarter to put away the Lady Cubs. Erykah Ware scored all seven of her points in the second half, six in the fourth quarter. Shawntavia Boyd had six of her 12 in the half. Connieya Bradford led Alexandria with 13 points. The game originally was scheduled for Tuesday, but moved up a day to beat the projected stormy weather.
Saks 65, Munford 43: The Lady Wildcats (21-6) fell behind early, then turned it on in the middle two quarters and coasted to their 13th straight victory and eighth in a row by 20 points or more. Bry Browning led No. 10 Saks with 15 points, five rebounds and six steals. Daja Johnson had 13 points and Maiya Northard had 10; they both had four assists and two steals. The Lady Wildcats scored 14 points off the 20 turnovers they created.
On the cover: Pleasant Valley coach Brad Hood (kneeling) watches the action unfold in the Calhoun County Tournament.
TUESDAY’S GIRLS BOX SCORES
Pleasant Valley 53, Ohatchee 46
PLEASANT VALLEY (22-3) – Kara Perry 2 2-2 6, Lindsey Pritchett 0 1-4 1, McKinley Parris 1 2-2 5, Atleigh Brannon 6 5-6 19, Rachel Faucett 0 0-0 0, Kendall Johnson 2 3-4 7, Mikala Simpson 6 2-6 15. Totals 17 15-24 53.
OHATCHEE – Taylor Hamm 1 0-0 2, Courtney Poole 2 0-0 4, Hannah Howell 1 0-2 2, Ally McCoy 7 0-0 14, Kourtney Shuler 2 0-0 4, Kacie Cooper 2 2-2 6, Makenzie Hanks 0 0-0 0, Madison Hanks 3 2-2 8, Cheyenne McCarter 3 0-0 6. Totals 21 4-6 46.
Pleasant Valley 11 9 12 21 — 53
Ohatchee 4 12 16 14 — 46
3-point goals: PV 4 (Parris, Brannon 2, Simpson). Fouled out: McCarter. Total fouls: PV 10, Ohatchee 18. Officials: Burroughs, Nixon, Brewster.
Cleburne County 37, Alexandria 32
ALEXANDRIA – Sarah Kilgore 1 0-0 2, Connieya Bradford 5 3-8 13, Gracie Muncher 0 0-0 0, Molly Parker 0 1-2 1 Catelyn Howell 3 2-3 8, Brooke Ponder 0 0-0 0, Shelby Lowery 0 3-4 3, Destiny Heathcock 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 11-17 32.
CLEBURNE COUNTY – Shawntavia Boyd 3 5-6 12, Erykah Ware 3 1-5 7, Chelsea Parker 1 0-0 2, Lauren Brown 3 1-5 7, Madison Jones 2 1-2 5, Alex Casey 1 0-2 2, Tatiana Ervin 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 8-20 37.
Alexandria 6 13 9 4 — 32
Cleburne Co. 4 9 9 15 — 37
3-point goals: Alexandria 3 (Howell 3); Cleburne Co. 1 (Boyd). Fouled out: Ervin, Howell. Total fouls: Alexandria 18. Cleburne Co. 17. Officials: Holmes, Mason, Caldwell.
Saks 65, Munford 43
MUNFORD – Shundrea Gooden 5-10 0-0 12, Alexis McKenzie 4-5 0-4 8, Esherika Hawkins 3-5 0-1 6, Morgan Ashley 2-8 2-4 6, Kennedy Reeves 2-4 0-0 6, Vivica Zimmerman 2-3 0-0 4, Jaymela Caldwell 0-3 1-2 1, Justine Calhoun 0-1 0-0 0, Shenia Virden 0-2 0-0 0, Chawanda Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Kamara Sudduth 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-41 3-11 43
SAKS (21-6) – Bry Browning 7-11 1-2 15, Daja Johnson 4-7 3-4 13, Maiya Northard 4-6 1-3 10, Jordan Briskey 3-4 1-5 7, Talisa Christian 1-2 1-2 4, TeeTee Jenkins 1-1 2-2 4, Tayler Teague 0-7 3-4 3, Ayanna Bradberry 0-0 1-2 1, Christie Gooden 0-0 0-0 0, Sabrea Bean 0-0 0-0 0, McKenzie Heard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-43 15-27 65.
Munford 22 6 6 9 — 43
Saks 17 20 22 6 — 65
3-point goals: Munford 4-15 (Gooden 2-4, Ashley 0-5, Reeves 2-4, Caldwell 0-2); Saks 6-13 (Johnson 2-4, Northard 1-2, Dennard 2-4, Briskey 0-1, Christian 1-2). Rebounds: Munford 26 (Hawkins 10); Saks 24 (Browning 5). Fouled out: Hawkins. Total fouls: Munford 21, Saks 13.
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