Wellborn rules Area 9

By EASportsToday.com
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Updated: February 10, 2017

Girls roundup: Weatherly, Carters lead Lady Panthers to Class 3A Area 9 championship; Glencoe wins Area 10

Wellborn’s tournament MVP Vanessa Carter (R) scored 31 points in two area tournament games. (Photos by Daniel Lee)

By East Alabama Sports Today

WEAVER – Wellborn may have lost the coin toss to determine the host team for its girls area tournament, but the Lady Panthers won a bigger prize Thursday night.

Ever since they lost in the finals of the Calhoun County Tournament, the Wellborn girls basketball team has made it their goal to get back to Jacksonville State.

The Lady Panthers moved a step closer to that Thursday when they beat Weaver for the third time in four tries this season, 52-48, to win Class 3A Area 9 girls championship. It’s their first area title since 2008.

If they can beat Area 10 runner-up Piedmont at home in Monday’s sub-regional game, they will earn a trip back to JSU. Weaver goes on the road to face Area 10 winner Glencoe.

“Last year we got to the subregion and weren’t quite ready for it,” Wellborn coach Shanese Morgan said. “After we lost in the county tournament that’s been out goal, to get back to JSU to show a better performance.”

Itiania Weatherly led the Lady Panthers (21-10) with 17 points, while tournament MVP Vanessa Carter had 16. Carter and her sister Katessa were a combined 8-for-13 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.

Weaver’s Caleigh Cortez scored 13 of her game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter as the Lady Bearcats mounted a rally. Mariah Thompson hit four 3-pointers in the game and scored 16 points.

“We came out trying to shoot the ball to spread them out and we ended up getting a couple quick scores on the rebounds,” Morgan said. “The key to the game was out 1-3-1 defense, with our post players stepping up and making it hard for their driving guards to score.

“The guards were making good steals that led to points in our transition game, hence Itiania leading us with 17. Vanessa and Katessa played great in negating Weaver’s half-court trap and made some really clutch free throws in the fourth. Overall, I’m proud of their hard work and dedication to win this area and we’re excited about hosting a subregional game at our place.”

Glencoe 52, Piedmont 34

PIEDMONT — Tournament MVP Annabeth Giles scored 20 points to lead the Lady Yellow Jackets to the Class 3A Area 10 championship.

The Lady Jackets (16-13) had it going right from the start. Giles scored 11 in the first half as they opened a 28-12 lead. Ashley Morgan scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half.

Glencoe now hosts Area 9 runnerup Weaver in the subregional Monday, while Piedmont travels to Wellborn. A trip to the Northeast Regional at Jacksonville State awaits the winners.

THURSDAY’S GIRLS BOX SCORES
Glencoe 52, Piedmont 34
GLENCOE (16-13) – A.G. Goodwin 0 2-2 2, Annabeth Giles 7 4-8 20, Abby Vice 2 0-0 4, Crimson Silvey 0 0-0 0, Ashley Morgan 5 2-4 12, Asia Dennis 0 0-0 0, Kenleigh Harper 0 0-0 0, Lexi Grey 0 0-0 0 Lauren Cole 1 0-2 2, Breia Little 2 3-3 8, Lauren Moore 1 0-2 2, Aurey Gray 2 0-0 4, Skylar Thompson 0 0-0 0, Cami Zahorscak 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 11-21 52.

PIEDMONT – Jakieya Mitchell 1 3-4 6. Breanna Brazier 1 0-0 2, Kaitlyn Ridley 3 0-0 6, Lulu Jackson 3 2-4 8, Cassidy Jackson 0 0-0 0, Aliyah Teague 0 0-0 0, Sydney Prater 2 0-0 4, Rebecca Smart 3 2-5 8. Totals 13 7-13 34.

Glencoe 14 14 14 10 — 52
Piedmont 7 5 8 14 — 34

3-point goals: Glencoe 3 (Giles 2, Little); Piedmont 1 (Mitchell). Total fouls: Glencoe 16, Piedmont 18. Officials: Hall, Ferbus, Beaird.

Wellborn 52, Weaver 48
WELLBORN – Vanessa Carter 4 6-9 16, Anaya Lowe 0 0-4 0, Loni Welch 0 0-1 0, Katessa Carter 2 4-8 8, Itiania Weatherly 8 1-6 17, Aliyah Thrasher 4 0-0 8, MarKeisha Jones 1 1-2 3. Totals 19 12-30 52.

WEAVER – Caleigh Cortez 8 4-8 21, Tayanna Perry 1 0-1 2, Rayne Beck 2 1-2 5, Emily Reed 0 0-0 0, Amira Carter 0 0-0 0, Mariah Thompson 5 2-2 16, Abby Gaines 1 1-2 4, Anna Howell 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 8-15 48.

Wellborn 10 15 13 14 — 52
Weaver 12 6 8 22 — 48

3-point goals: Wellborn 2 (V. Carter 2); Weaver 6 (Cortez, Thompson 4, Gaines).
Fouled out: Cortez, Beck, Gaines. Total fouls: Wellborn 14, Weaver 24.