Bradford gets 1,000

UPDATED with corrected Jacksonville box score

Girls roundup: Alexandria senior reaches milestone with her second 30-point game in as many nights

By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today

Alexandria’s Brie Bradford needed 16 points for the coveted 1,000 milestone. She almost got them all in the first quarter.

She did get what she needed in the second — and then some.

Bradford scored a season-high 33 points and achieved a life-long goal Tuesday night while leading the Lady Cubs to an 84-64 win over Weaver.

She passed the milestone on a layup with 7:12 left in the second quarter and now has 1,017 points in a varsity career that started in the eighth grade.

“It’s a big accomplishment,” she said immediately after the game. “I’ve been wanting to get 1,000 points since I started playing on varsity, so I managed to accomplish my goal in my senior year.”

Bradford is the first Lady Cubs player with a shot at 1,000 points since Timberlyn Shurbutt two years ago, but Shurbutt never got the chance.

On the night she was expected to clear the milestone she suffered a serious knee injury at Saks and never played basketball again. The horror of that night haunted Lady Cubs coach Craig Kiker all day Tuesday and Bradford used its memory as motivation as she got closer to the milestone.

“Timberlyn started (playing) in seventh grade and she was telling me how she wanted her goal to be 1,000 and I started thinking the same,” Bradford said. “She was only down six (when the injury happened) and tried to play her hardest.

“I wanted her to get it, I was excited for her to get it. Then I thought I’ve got to get 1,000, I want to get 1,000, that’s my goal … and tonight I got it.”

Kiker has only had Bradford two years, but he’s known her for a long time. When he first noticed her as a seventh grader his first thought was, “Boy, is she tall.”

That height has served Bradford well throughout her career. She made most of her baskets Tuesday with a signature move down low sealed with a soft kiss off the glass.

“We try to teach three different post moves and that’s the first one she goes to,” Kiker said, “but she does all three pretty well.

“She’s always been tall and athletic, but I really think the last year and moreso this year she has really improved. She’s starting to play at a different level than she did last year even.”

Bradford scored 13 the Lady Cubs’ first seven points and 13 in the first quarter. She cleared the milestone with her second basket of the second quarter, a layup off the glass after blocking a shot, which is something else she’s really good at. The milestone basket gave the Lady Cubs (7-1) a 28-19 lead.

With one exception, she has increased her point production from the previous outing every game this season. She now has 153 points in eight games, a 19.1 average. She scored 30 Monday night against Saks and is averaging 25 points over her last four games.

The game Tuesday was played at a surprisingly fast pace. The Lady Cubs scored at least 20 points in each of the first three quarters.

The Lady Bearcats (3-4) were playing without leading scorer Mariah Thompson, who will be out for an extended period after injuring her right knee in Weaver’s last game, and had two others playing hurt, but Rayne Beck, Emily Reed and Caleigh Cortez all tried to keep them in it. Beck and Reed both finished with 17 points, while Cortez had 15.

The Lady Cubs unfurled a 1,000-point banner from the balcony across from the benches after Bradford reached the milestone and she was recognized with a commemorative 1,000-point ball after the game.

“I started counting it down (to 1,000) after I got the first basket in the first quarter,” she said. “Then about the time I got to the third basket I lost count because I was so intent on playing for the win.

“Then my sister (Alierra) and my coaches and all were telling me you’re almost there, you’re almost there, you need this many baskets. I wasn’t paying attention until I saw the sign hung up and it said ‘Brie’s 1,000,’ and then I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I finally hit it.’”

Southside 69, Oxford 51: The undefeated Lady Panthers flexed their muscles as they jumped out early and withstood every rally the Lady Jackets (5-3) could muster in the first 6A Area 13 game of the season for both teams.

The Lady Panthers (6-0) were on fire in the first quarter and raced to a 24-8 lead. Oxford led 7-5 as Makayla Kidd scored a quick five points, but Southside reeled off 15 straight points to open up a 20-7 lead.

Tremeria Britt scored the last three points of the first quarter and all 12 Oxford points in the second quarter to keep the Lady Jackets within striking distance. She finished with a game-high 27 points.

The Lady Jackets nailed four 3-pointers in the final quarter with Anna Bolton hitting two and Britt and Akeira Robinson one each. –Brant Locklier

To see more photos from the Southside-Oxford game, visit www.bjfranklin.smugmug.com

Anniston 39, White Plains 23: The Lady Bulldogs may not be scoring points at a clip to which they’re accustomed, but the one constant in their game is defense. They held an opponent to fewer than 25 points for the second time this season. They used the defense to outscore White Plains 12-3 in the second quarter to take a 22-10 halftime lead. Anniston’s Toniah Foster scored nine of her game-high 13 points in the third quarter. White Plains hit five 3-pointers.

Ohatchee 51, Lincoln 37: The Lady Indians found their long-range shooting touch with three players hitting eight 3-pointers (to none by Lincoln). Kourtney Shuler hit four and Jazmine Adams hit three. Shuler finished with 24 points.

Glencoe 52, Pleasant Valley 28: The Lady Jackets won their area opener by getting active defense and balanced scoring. Ten players scored for Glencoe with no one having more than nine points (Breia Little). Anna Beth Giles scored six points in the first quarter as the Lady Jackets opened a 17-4 lead.

TUESDAY’S GIRLS BOX SCORES

Alexandria 84, Weaver 64
WEAVER (3-4) – Caleigh Cortez 6 3-7 15, Kylee Jordan 1 1-2 3, Rayne Beck 8 1-4 17, Emily Reed 8 1-2 17, Anna Howell 0 0-0 0, Amira Carter 2 0-0 5, Abby Gaines 3 0-0 6, Kiera Hubbard 0 1-2 1. Totals 28 7-17 64.

ALEXANDRIA (7-1) – Ashley Phillips 2 0-0 5, Lauryn McLaughlin 0 0-0 0, KayLeigh Steen 3 2-2 9, Kaitlin Harvey 6 0-0 12, Kameron Simpson 4 0-0 9, Sarah Kilgore 0 2-2 2, Brie Bradford 16 1-2 33, Alierra Bradford 1 0-0 2, Sarah Pelham 0 0-0 0, Allison Bonds 4 0-0 10, Maggie Phillips 1 0-0 2, Janizia Ross 0 0-0 0. Totals 37 5-6 84.

Weaver 17 15 14 18 — 64
Alexandria 24 22 22 16 — 84

3-point goals: Weaver 1 (Carter); Alexandria 5 (A. Phillips, Steen, Simpson, Bonds 2). Technical fouls: Atchley. Total fouls: Weaver 9, Alexandria 14. Officials: Smith, Wood, Stephens.

Southside 69, Oxford 51
SOUTHSIDE (6-0) – Anna Motley 0 0-0 0, Emily Coker 5 0-0 10, Savannah Nunn 1 0-0 2, Kenzie Duncan 0 0-0 0, Adrianna Jones 3 4-4 11, Kaylee Brown 0 0-0 0, Alexis Thompson 3 0-0 6, Harley Simmons 6 4-7 16, Lauren Hunt 7 3-3 18, Maci Williams 2 2-4 6. Totals 27 13-18 69.

OXFORD (5-3) – Anna Bolton 3 0-0 8, Makayla Kidd 2 5-7 10, Halaya Harmon 0 0-0 0, Ashleigh Jackson 0 0-0 0, Tremeria Britt 11 2-3 27. Akeira Robinson 1 1-2 4, Aumari Lindsay 0 2-2 2, Jamyia Byrd 0 0-0 0, Justyce Smith 0 0-2 0, Kayln Hendrix 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 10-16 51.

Southside 24 13 15 17 — 69
Oxford 8 12 12 19 — 51

3-point goals: Southside 2 (Jones, Hunt); Oxford 7 (Bolton 2, Kidd, Britt 3, Robinson). Rebounds: Southside 26 (Nunn 6); Oxford 28 (Smith 6). Fouled out: Williams.

Cherokee County 44, Jacksonville 38
CHEROKEE COUNTY – Kendall Perry 4-6 4-6 15, Laney Johnson 4-13 2-3 12, Crimson Mahannah 2-7 2-2 6, Jensen Alexander 2-5 0-2 4, Kayleigh Hunter 1-1 2-2 4, Emily Williams 1-3 1-2 3, Callie Garrett 0-0 0-0 0, Jordyn Starr 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-35 10-15 44.

JACKSONVILLE – Kyra Williams 7-16 1-1 16, Kayla Broom 5-9 0-0 11, Essence Hutchinson 2-6 0-2 5, Aniya Jefferson 1-6 2-4 4, Patience Carr 1-1 0-1 2, Elizabeth Poe 0-1 0-0 0, Brenna Stone 0-0 0-0 0, Malijah Goggins 0-1 0-0 0, Maddie Hall 0-0 0-0 0, TiAsia Williams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-40 3-8 38.

Cherokee County 16 10 7 11 — 44
Jacksonville 8 9 11 10 — 38

3-point goals: Cherokee County 6-14 (Perry 3-4, Johnson 2-4, Mahannah 0-4, Williams 1-2);
Jacksonville 3-14 (Williams 1-5, Broom 1-5, Hutchinson 1-3, Goggins 0-1). Rebounds: Cherokee County 25 (Alexander 9); Jacksonville 32 (Poe 9). Total fouls: Cherokee County 10, Jacksonville 15.

Ohatchee 51, Lincoln 38
OHATCHEE – Gracyn Snow 2 0-1 4, Jazmine Adams 3 0-2 9, Rachel Dunaway 0 0-0 0, Tori Vice 3 1-2 8, Kourney Shuler 8 4-5 24, Marli Hanks 1 0-0 2, Gracie George 2 0-0 4, Regan Snow 0 0-2 0. Totals 19 5-12 51.

LINCOLN (0-8) – Bailey Gowers 2 1-3 5, Kaziyah Gaston 0 1-2 1, Kayla Morris 5 4-4 14, Abby Smith 0 0-0 0, Keishaunna Strown 0 0-0 0, Shaniya Twymon 1 1-2 3, Hannah Carmichael 4 2-4 10, Taylor Conway 2 0-1 4. Totals 14 9-16 37.

Ohatchee 13 13 18 7 — 51
Lincoln 10 8 7 12 — 37

3-point goals: Ohatchee 8 (Adams 3, Vice, Shuler 4). Total fouls: Ohatchee 15, Lincoln 12. Officials: Hinkle, Pratt, DaFry.

Anniston 39, White Plains
ANNISTON (4-1) – Allasha Dudley 3 0-1 7, Anna Garrett 0 0-0 0, Viera Edmonson 0 0-0 0, Ladajah Williams 0 0-2 0, Amoriya Dudley 0 0-0 0, Jordyn Johnson 1 0-0 3, Montiega Clemons 2 0-2 5, Tekyia Jackson 3 0-0 6, Kiana Montgomery 2 1-2 5, Toniah Foster 6 1-4 13. Totals 17 2-11 39.

WHITE PLAINS – Rian Chandler 2 0-0 6, Hanna Dyar 1 0-0 2, Callyn Martin 0 0-0 0, Jordan Sabree 0 2-4 2, Landry Bussey 0 0-0 0, Chasity Nelson 3 0-0 8, Ary Rosario 0 0-0 0, Lily Ponder 2 0-0 5, Jocelyn Harris 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 2-4 23.

Anniston 10 12 13 4 — 39
White Plains 7 3 10 3 — 23

3-point goals: Anniston 3 (Al. Dudley, Clemons, Johnson); White Plains 5 (Chandler 2, Nelson 2, Ponder). Total fouls: Anniston 10, White Plains 9.

Glencoe 52, Pleasant Valley 28
GLENCOE (4-2) – Anna Grace Goodwin 1 5-6 7, Anna Beth Giles 4 0-2 8, Abby Vice 3 0-4 6, Alyssa Goodwin 0 0-0 0, Ashley Morgan 2 0-0 4, Asia Dennis 0 0-0 0, Kaleigh Harper 1 0-0 2, Lauren Cole 2 1-1 5, Kylie Davis 3 2-9 8, Breia Little 3 2-2 9, Aubrey Gray 0 1-2 1, Cari Zahorscak 0 2-3 2. Totals 19 13-29 52.

PLEASANT VALLEY – Lindsey Pritchett 0 1-3 1, Mac Parris 2 0-0 6, Rylee Haynes 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Cash 1 0-0 2, Chandler Dorsett 2 0-0 4, Emma Hood 4 1-4 9, Karmyn Sparks 2 1-4 5, Brooke Perry 0 1-2 1. Totals 11 4-13 28.

Glencoe 17 13 22 0 — 52
Pleasant Valley 4 9 4 11 — 28

3-point goals: Glencoe 1 (Little); Pleasant Valley 2 (Parris 2). Fouled out: Perry. Total fouls: Glencoe 16, Pleasant Valley 19.

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