PV picks up pace

Lady Raiders ramp up their defensive pressure in the second half to solve Cleburne County; Spring Garden, Hokes Bluff play for Champions title

Champions Thanksgiving Classic
Tuesday’s games
Saks 29, Lincoln 26
Weaver 69, Ohatchee 39
Pleasant Valley 40, Cleburne County 29
White Plains 29, Ashville 21
Hokes Bluff 58, Collinsville 47
Spring Garden 41, Alexandria 21
Wednesday’s games
Cleburne County vs. Ashville, 3 p.m.
White Plains vs. Pleasant Valley, 4:30 p.m.
Alexandria vs. Collinsville, 6 p.m.
Championship game: Spring Garden vs. Hokes Bluff, 7:30 p.m.

Regular season
Appalachian 66, JCA 41
Glencoe 61, Sand Rock 60
Sacred Heart 56, Donoho 36

By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today

The rematch of last year’s Champions Thanksgiving Classic title game Tuesday was really a tale of two halves.

Pleasant Valley and Cleburne County faced each other again on the same Champions Sports Academy hardwood they battled down to the wire a year ago. The stakes weren’t as high this year and if the outcome were determined by the play in each half, the game would have been a draw.

Cleburne County dominated the first half, especially the second quarter, but PV came out a different team in the second half, rallied to get back into the game and pulled away in the fourth to win the consolation bracket game 40-29.

The Lady Raiders held Cleburne County to one point in the fourth quarter.

“Our game isn’t walking it up and getting in a half-court set,” PV coach Brad Hood said. “Our game is playing fast, playing hard and causing chaos. When everybody’s moving, that defense looks like you’ll get dizzy.

“It takes five on the floor to play that style. If there’s one weak link the chain will break. And all five played together.”

Which is something they weren’t doing in the first half when they got outscored 19-5 in the second quarter and fell behind 21-10 at the break.

Part of the trouble was the Lady Raiders got in early foul trouble, which put many of their starters on the bench. But that’s what made them so effective in the second half, because they had the freshest legs on the floor. They outscored the Lady Tigers 30-8 in the second half.

There was a lot of credit to go around, but the play of Mac Parris and Brooke Perry was particularly noticeable. They scored all of their combined 17 points in the second half, but it was Parris’ play on the pressure and Perry’s play off the ball that drew raves.

“The first quarter second quarter we didn’t communicate at all, we just got mad at each other, we didn’t tell each other what to do, we had to fix that,” Perry said. “We came out the second half and communicated better. It was a lot more fun. We knew what we were doing then and communicating better and hustling.”

Pleasant Valley will wrap up their tournament experience against White Plains Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. Cleburne County will open the day’s play against Ashville at 3 p.m.

This year’s title game will be between Spring Garden and Hokes Bluff at 7:30.

Reed breaks out as Weaver crushes area rival

Emily Reed answered Weaver coach Gary Atchley’s call to shoot more in the second half and it produced two things – the best scoring night the guard has ever had and, more importantly, a Weaver win against an area rival.

Reed scored 19 points – 15 (and all three of her 3-pointers) coming in the second half – as the Lady Bearcats won for the second day in a row, beating Ohatchee 69-39.

The Lady Bearcats, who’ve actually had more games than practices, doubled up the young Tribe by halftime, but their scoring was coming from everywhere else as Reed was content to pass on the chances to shoot to her teammates.

Frustrated by the missed opportunities, Atchley border-line begged Reed to shoot more and when she did it paid dividends for everybody.

“I felt better that I was making the points,” Reed said. “It felt like I was actually contributing to the win.”

This win didn’t count in their three-team area standings, but it did serve as an early preview of what the race may look like when it does. The Bearcats jumped out to leads of 13-6 and 20-8 and stayed in control the rest of the game.

“We want everybody to kind of hope the area tournament goes through Weaver,” Atchley said. “A lot of people talk about winning state championships and county tournaments, we worry about trying to win the area. We know we’ve got to play well to win it.”

Ohatchee’s six points in that opening stretch came on two of Kourtney Shuler’s four 3-pointers. The Lady Indians’ lone senior finished with a game-high 21 points.

Saks goes from not to hot, edges Lincoln

The Saks girls may have been held scoreless in the first quarter Tuesday, but the Lady Wildcats didn’t let it get them down. The responded by hitting four 3-pointers in the second and scoring 18 points to take the halftime lead in an eventual 29-26 win over Lincoln.

Takeidra Borden hit two of her three 3-pointers in the quarter, while Amya Carlise and the Miracle Dennard had the others. 3-pointer

“We’re just streaky,” Saks coach Michelle Morgan said. “We’re young and we’re still trying to figure out the game and learning how to play with each other and that comes with rebuilding your basketball program.

“If I can get them on board with what I want them to do and not what the crowd wants them to do, they’ll be an amazing basketball team.”

This Saks team may be young now — it only has three players with varsity experience — but it reminds her of the group that won the county tournament and played in the regionals a couple years ago.

“This is how they started, barely winning any games, barely winning the close games, the games they should win, and then all of a sudden something happened around Christmas time and it just clicked and we went on this win streak,” Morgan said. “If they just stick with it they’ll be a great team.”

White Plains had a similar experience in its 29-21 win over Ashville. These Lady Wildcats were held to one point in the second quarter. They held an 18-15 lead late in the third quarter, then Chasity Nelson hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer and the Lady Wildcats stayed in control.

Little’s late FT sinks Sand Rock

Glencoe 61, Sand Rock 60: Breia Little hit a free throw with four-tenths of a second on the clock to keep the Lady Jackets (3-0) undefeated and spoil Sand Rock’s season opener. Little scored seven of her nine points in the second half.

Sacred Heart’s Foster has big night

Sacred Heart 56, Donoho 37: Ayanna Foster scored 17 of her game-high 33 points in the fourth quarter and 23 in the second half as Sacred Heart pulled away from Donoho for its second area win of the season. Savannah Frickey hit five 3-pointers for Donoho and scored 19 points.

TUESDAY’S TOURNAMENT BOX SCORES
Champions Thanksgiving Classic

Saks 29, Lincoln 26
LINCOLN (0-3) – Bailey Gowers 1 1-2 3, Kaziyan Gaston 0 0-2 0, Jayla Morris 3 8-10 14, Keishaunna Strown 0 0-0 0, Hannah Carmichael 2 1-10 5, Zavian Orr 0 1-4 1, Taylor Conway 1 1-2 3. Totals 7 12-30 26.

SAKS (1-2) – Amya Carlise 2 0-2 5, Takeidra Borden 4 3-6 12, Teana Edwards 0 0-0 0, Deja Almon 0 0-3 0, Jartaysia West 0 2-4 2, Niracle Dennard 3 0-1 8, Christi Gooden 0 0-0 0, DeAvian Stewart 0 0-0 0, Alexis Petty 0 0-0 0, Miracle Bass 1 0-0 2, Destini Elston 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 5-16 29.

Lincoln 5 9 6 6 — 26
Saks 0 18 9 2 — 29

3-point goals: Saks 6 (Carlise, Borden 3, Dennard 2). Fouled out: Morris, Conway, Bass). Total fouls: Lincoln 17, Saks 25. Officials: Earl Warren, Stan Smith, Roger Lemon.

Weaver 69, Ohatchee 39
OHATCHEE – Graycn Snow 1 0-0 2, Jazmine Adams 0 0-0 0, Rachel Dunaway 0 0-1 0, Tori Vice 2 1-2 7, Kourtney Shuler 6 5-6 21, Marli Hanks 1 0-2 2, Gracie George 2 3-4 7, Regan Snow 2 3-4 7. Totals 12 9-15 39.

WEAVER – Marlie Tucker 0 0-0 0, Caleigh Cortez 5 2-2 12, Kylee Jordan 0 0-0 0, Rayne Beck 4 0-3 8, Emily Reed 8 0-0 19, Anna Howell 0 0-0 0, Mac Flynn 0 0-0 0, Mariah Thompson 3 4-6 10, Abby Gaines 4 3-4 14, Kiese Hubbard 2 0-0 4, Kayleigh Hindsman 1 0-0 2. Totals 27 9-15 69.

Ohatchee 8 9 14 8 — 39
Weaver 20 14 22 13 — 69

3-point goals: Ohatchee 6 (Vice 2, Shuler 4); Weaver 6 (Reed 3, Gaines 3). Total fouls: Ohatchee 12, Weaver 18. Officials: Stringer, Roberts, Smith.

Pleasant Valley 40, Cleburne County 29
CLEBURNE COUNTY – Alisia Person 1 0-2 2, Briana Roberts 0 0-0 0, Olivia McDaniel 2 0-2 4, Micha Pentacost 1 1-1 3, Brooklyn McDaniel 2 4-6 8, Haven Freeman 0 0-0 0, Alex Casey 2 4-16 8, Tatiana Ervin 0 0-0 0, Kendall Houston 1 2-2 4. Totals 9 11-29 29.

PLEASANT VALLEY – Lindsey Pritchett 2 0-0 5, Mac Parris 3 2-2 9, Rylee Haynes 0 0-2 0, Alyssa Cash 0 0-0 0, Bailey Dollar 0 2-2 2, Chandler Dorsett 0 1-2 1, Emma Hood 6 1-4 13, Karmyn Sparks 0 2-4 2, Brooke Perry 3 2-4 8. Totals 14 10-20 40.

Cleburne County 2 19 7 1 — 29
Pleasant Valley 5 5 16 14 — 40

3-point goals: PV 2 (Pritchett, Parris). Fouled out: McDaniel, Freeman. Total fouls: Cleburne County 23, PV 21. Officials: Roberts, Evans, Oden.

White Plains 29, Ashville 21
WHITE PLAINS (2-4) – Rian Chandler 1 0-0 2, Hanna Dyar 2 0-0 5, Callyn Martin 1 0-0 2, Jordan Sabree 0 0-0 0, Landry Bussey 0 2-2 2, Chasity Nelson 2 1-2 6, Lily Ponder 1 0-0 2, Jocelyn Harris 4 0-0 8, Angel Bozarth 1 0-2 2. Totals 12 3-6 29.

ASHVILLE – Christina Segura 0 0-0 0, Erika Williams 1 0-0 2, Carley Thomason 2 0-0 5, Riley Wilbank 1 2-4 4, Francis Landaverde 0 0-0 0, Lexi Beatty 2 2-4 6, Jada Wills 0 2-2 2, Amari Bothwell 1 0-0 2. Totals 7 6-10 21.

White Plains 9 1 11 8 — 29
Ashville 2 7 6 6 — 21

3-point goals: White Plains 2 (Dyar, Nelson); Ashville 1 (Thomason). Total fouls: White Plains 14, Ashville 14.

Spring Garden 41, Alexandria 21
ALEXANDRIA – Ashley Phillips 0 0-0 0, Destiny Heathcock 1 0-0 2, KayLeigh Steen 1 0-0 3, Kaitlin Harvey 0 0-0 0, Kameron Simpson 0 0-0 0, Sarah Kilgore 1 2-2 4, Bre Bradford 4 1-4 9, Allison Bonds 0 3-5 3, Maggie Phillips 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 6-11 21.

SPRING GARDEN – Katie Williams 0 0-0 0, Macy Reedy 0 4-8 4, Kerstin Bryant 2 0-2 4, Lexy Adkinson 0 0-2 0, Payton McGinnis 4 0-0 8, Tyonna Rogers 8 3-4 19, Chloe Jarrett 1 0-0 2, Madison Jennings 1 2-6 4, Breanna Rogers 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 9-21 41.

Alexandria 5 4 5 7 — 21
Spring Garden 14 8 10 9 — 41

3-point goals: Alexandria 1 (Steen). Total fouls: Alexandria 17, Spring Garden 13. Officials: Morriss, Oden, Roberts.

REGULAR SEASON BOX SCORES
Sacred Heart 56, Donoho 37
DONOHO – Constance Hodges 1 0-0 2, Anastasia O’Neill 1 2-2 4, Jenna Stremmel 0 0-0 0, Savannah Frickey 6 2-4 19, Campbell Hagan 4 0-2 8, Victoria O’Neill 1 2-2 4. Totals 13 6-10 37.

SACRED HEART – Myiah Harris 6 1-2 16, Abbie Vingers 2 0-2 4, Sydney Marion 0 0-0 0, Ayanna Foster 15 3-6 33, Jacque Beyerle 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Bell 0 0-0 0, Joelle Tillery 1 0-0 3. Totals 24 4-10 56.

Donoho 9 6 11 11 — 37
Sacred Heart 14 11 8 23 — 56

3-point goals: Donoho 5 (Frickey 5); Sacred Heart 4 (Harris 3, Tillery). Fouled out: Hagan. Total fouls: Donoho 12, Sacred Heart 15.

Glencoe 61, Sand Rock 60
GLENCOE (3-0) – Anna Grace Goodwin 0 4-4 4, Anna Beth Giles 3 3-8 9, Abby Vice 2 3-7 7, Ashley Morgan 4 4-7 12, Kenleigh Harper 2 0-0 4, Lauren Cole 5 0-0 10, Kaylie Davis 1 1-2 3, Breia Little 2 4-6 9, Aubrey Gray 1 1-3 3, Cami Zahorscak 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 20-37 61.

SAND ROCK (0-1) – Paige Norris 0 3-4 3, Maci Brown 1 0-0 2, Caley Garrett 0 0-0 0, Kirby DeBoard 7 7-8 21, Haylie Pruitt 1 4-4 6, Jenna McKnight 1 0-0 2, Lanie Henderson 2 0-2 4, Kynleigh Chesnut 3 8-9 14, Savannah Blackwell 2 2-4 6, Victoria Collum 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 24-31 60.

Glencoe 13 19 14 15 — 61
Sand Rock 20 16 9 15 — 60

3-point goals: Glencoe 1 (Little). Fouled out: Cole, Davis, Garrett, Blackwell, Collum. Total fouls: Glencoe 25, Sand Rock 32.

To see a full photo gallery from some of Tuesday’s early games, visit www.bjfranklin.smugmug.com

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