Making a case
- Updated: January 5, 2019
Girls roundup: Weaver makes case for No. 2 in county tourney, but Sacred Heart has a say, too; PV bounces back, and more
Friday’s girls scores
Albertville 66, Oxford 33
Anniston 79, Lincoln 14
Cleburne County 57, Clay Central 44
Coosa Christian 67, Donoho 52
Etowah 30, Alexandria 29
Hanceville 55, Glencoe 52
Hokes Bluff 41, Piedmont 33
Pleasant Valley 65, Wellborn 10
Ragland 39, Gaston 38
Sacred Heart 66, Westbrook Christian 23
Weaver 46, White Plains 30
By East Alabama Sports Today
WEAVER – Gary Atchley wasn’t of any particular mind to campaign Friday night. He was wanting to save it for Sunday afternoon when it would count the most.
The Weaver girls basketball team had just scored a convincing 46-30 victory over White Plains in its final game before Sunday’s Calhoun County Tournament seeding meeting to seemingly solidify a top three seed. And here’s where the debate starts.
The general consensus going in is Anniston, Sacred Heart and the Lady Bearcats are the top three teams in this year’s tournament, with Anniston the heavy favorite for No. 1. That leaves upstart Sacred Heart and Weaver to debate for the second slot.
“I’m going to fight for my team,” Atchley said. “I try to do what I think is right.”
Here are the main talking points. Sacred Heart is 13-2 overall after beating Westbrook Christian Friday night and 1-0 within the county (an area win over Ohatchee). Two of the Lady Cardinals’ outside wins are over a Plainview team that beat them handily a year ago. Their only losses are to top-ranked Sand Rock in overtime and No. 8 Childersburg.
Weaver, meanwhile, is 11-5, but 8-1 in the county and avenged that overtime county loss when they beat the Lady Wildcats with a superb defensive effort Friday night.
“Who’s got a better county record than that?” Atchley asked. “Do I think Anniston is the big dog? I think everybody’s chasing Anniston. … I do have a case for 2.
“This is what I don’t know. Is the seeding on county (record) first or is this overall. I by far probably have the best county record of anybody. Do we go by county record first or overall or do we go by reputation? I’m going to ask those questions.”
Atchley has campaigned for his team before without much success. Two years ago his team was seeded No. 10 and it rode that supposed snub all the way to semifinals. Last year they were seeded eighth.
Even with the seeding meeting looming, Atchley said Friday night’s game with the Lady Wildcats was more about getting better for the area tournament and beyond than anything.
Both coaches had a plan to contain the other team’s top threats – with varying degrees of success. White Plains coach Chris Randall threw a box-and-one around Weaver’s Caleigh Cortez and she wound up leading all scorers with 13 points. Atchley’s hope was to keep White Plains’ Lily Ponder and Angel Bozarth under 10 points each in a triangle-and-two; neither scored.
Weaver held the Lady Wildcats to three points in the second quarter.
“I thought we contended great tonight,” Atchley said. “We’ve been talking about defense; we did defend. Those two girls are as good of shooters as anybody and we played a good game against them. I can’t say enough about Amira Carter. Amira Carter is a great defender.”
Carter was on Ponder and Abby Gaines was on Bozarth. Additionally, post Trinity Pulliam blocked four shots and altered numerous others.
Weaver 46, White Plains 30
WHITE PLAINS – Callyn Martin 1 0-0 2, Cheyenne Cochran 0 0-0 0, Ary Rosario 4 1-5 9, Camdyen Wilson 0 0-3 0, Lily Ponder 0 0-0 0, Adrianna Sotelo 3 1-2 10, Jocelyn Harris 3 1-1 7, Angel Bozarth 0 0-0 0, Kaylee Johnson 0 2-5 2. Totals 11 5-16 30.
WEAVER – Caleigh Cortez 3 7-12 13, Kiese Hubbard 0 1-2 1, Maleah Foster 2 4-6 8, Trinity Pulliam 2 0-0 4, Abby Gaines 4 1-3 11, Amira Carter 2 0-0 4, Haley Homesley 2 1-1 5. Totals 15 14-24 46.
White Plains 8 3 9 10 – 30
Weaver 9 9 18 10 – 46
3-point goals: White Plains 3 (Sotelo 3); Weaver 2 (Gaines 2). Total fouls: White Plains 20, Weaver 17.
PLEASANT VALLEY 65, WELLBORN 10
After being handcuffed by one of the top teams in the state less than 24 hours earlier, the Lady Raiders needed a feel-good game like this.
They scored more points in the first quarter (21) against the Lady Panthers than they did the entire game against Sand Rock (17) and twice as many in the second quarter.
And even then it took a little while to get going, but once they did there was no stopping them. They were stuck on a 4-2 lead through the first three minutes of the game, then went on a 51-2 tear the rest of the half, holding the hosts scoreless the entire the second quarter and without a field goal until the final 70 seconds of the game.
To keep it from really getting out of hand they played six-minute quarters in the second half and got to the running clock in the fourth.
“It’s the mentality of the girls,” PV coach Brad Hood said. “They’re a whole different team when they’re playing somebody they think they can play with versus a team they think is better than them.
“They’ll get out and play if they think they have the advantage. They haven’t matured enough to understand you’ve just got to step on the court and play our best against their best and forget about records and reputations and just go play. We don’t put it all together when we’re challenged and that’s a big thing we’re going to be working on.”
They’ll get that test later today in a girls-only game at Talladega County Central.
Chandler Dorsett’s first of three 3-pointers touched off the run to halftime. The junior who only started playing two years ago had 13 more points in the Lady Raiders’ 34-point second quarter and finished with 21 points. Brooke Perry had 12 of her 14 in the first half and Rylee Haynes had 10.
“Chandler is coming along strong,” Hood said. “I think if we’d have had her when we played in that TCC tournament, we’d have beaten TCC. We just didn’t have that outside threat. Actually, her percentages are higher than (former PV shooting star) Mac Parris’ right now. She’s about 42 percent from 3 and I think she helped her case today.”
Pleasant Valley 65, Wellborn 10
PLEASANT VALLEY – Brooke Perry 7 0-0 14, Lindsey Pritchett 0 3-4 3, Ava Boozer 0 3-4 3, Rylee Haynes 2 5-7 10, Eva Bryant 0 0-0 0, Chandler Dorsett 7 4-4 21, Emma Hood 3 2-4 8, Erin Rose 0 0-0 0, Karmyn Sparks 3 0-0 6. Totals 22 17-23 65.
WELLBORN – Amaya Myles 0 1-6 1, Alyssa Morgan 0 0-0 0, Itiania Weatherly 3 1-1 7, McKenzie Raines 0 0-0 0, Arissa Nolley 0 0-0 0, Annelies Boot 1 0-0 2, Cloie Adkison 0 0-0 0. Totals 4 2-7 10.
Pleasant Valley 21 34 8 2 – 65
Wellborn 4 0 2 4 – 10
3-point goals: Pleasant Valley 4 (Haynes, Dorsett 3). Fouled out: Raines. Total fouls: Pleasant Valley 11, Wellborn 21. Officials: Kelley, Dickerson, Weeks.
ALBERTVILLE 63, OXFORD 33
OXFORD — The new year did not start well for the Lady Jackets.
They were overwhelmed by the Aggies’ full court press in the first quarter and committed 15 turnovers, falling behind 17-0. They got on the board with an Ashleigh Jackson bucket with 2:45 to go.
Hannah Sanders had 14 points as the Aggies (13-4) stormed out to a 38-14 halftime lead. Justyce Smith got a little offense going for the Lady Jackets with five second-quarter points.
The Jackets (3-14) had a strong third quarter and pulled to within 17 early in the fourth on a 3-pointer by Akeira Robinson.
Turnovers proved to be too much for the Lady Jackets to recover from as they ended up with 33 in the game to Albertville’s 10.
Robinson led Oxford with 10 points and Smith had nine.
Albertville 63, Oxford 33
ALBERTVILLE – Kyndra Harraid 0 0-0 0, Hannah Sanders 6 0-0 14, Grace Kelly 3 0-0 6, Sarah Rutledge 1 0-0 2, Hannah Lightsey 3 0-2 6, Katelyn Roe 2 1-3 5, Jayden Watkins 7 1-4 15, Savannah Rutledge 1 0-0 3, Sara Phillips 5 2-2 12, Landon Phillips 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 4-11 63.
OXFORD – Kiki Woods 0 0-0 0, Kaleah Taylor 0 0-0 0, Lisa Montgomery 0 0-0 0, Sara Paulson 1 0-0 3, Ashleigh Jackson 2 0-0 5, Akiera Robinson 4 1-2 10, Lauren Ellard 0 0-0 0, Amirea McLeod 1 2-2 4, Justyce Smith 4 0-1 9, Lamiya McGrue 1 0-0 2, Justyce Woods 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 4-6 33.
Albertville 20 18 10 15 – 63
Oxford 4 10 17 2 – 33
3-point goals: Albertville 3 (Sanders 2, Rutledge); Oxford 3 (Paulson, Jackson, Robinson).
RAGLAND 39, GASTON 38
GASTON – Sammy Day-Jones hit the game-winning shot with three seconds left. She finished with 15 points. She had eight in the fourth quarter.
MORE GIRLS BOX SCORES
Cleburne County 57, Clay Central 44
CLEBURNE COUNTY – Olivia McDaniel 6 0-4 12, Kendall Houston 4 0-2 9, Haven Freeman 1 0-2 2, Micha Pentacost 2 0-0 4, Brooklyn McDaniel 3 2-6 8, Haley Price 4 4-4 13, Haley Roberts 3 0-0 6, Shanna Brown 0 0-0 0, Lili Henson 0 0-0 0, Jacy Littleton 0 1-2 1, Cayden Lindsey 0 0-1 0. Totals 24 7-21 57.
CLAY CENTRAL – Tierney Cronin 0 0-0 0, Ashley McNeil 0 0-0 0, Cierra Lanier 1 0-0 2, Annyah Denney 12 6-8 38, Adrienna Jones 1 0-0 2, Emma Short 0 0-0 0, Angel Jennings 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 6-8 44.
Cleburne County 17 14 16 10 – 57
Clay Central 10 5 14 15 – 44
3-point goals: Cleburne County 2 (Houston, Price); Clay Central 8 (Denney 8). Total fouls: Cleburne County 9, Clay Central 15. Officials: Caldwell, McDonald, Kelly.
Notes: Denney did all of the Clay Central scoring in the second half. She hit five of her 3s in the half. Olivia McDaniel scored eight of her points in the second quarter
Hokes Bluff 41, Piedmont 33
HOKES BLUFF – Bailee Latronico 0 0-0 0, Madison Wolfe 1 0-0 3, MacKenzie Bates 0 0-0 0, Haley Simpson 3 0-0 8, Maddie Smith 3 2-3 11, Kristen Shields 3 5-6 11, Gracie West 0 1-4 1, Jayden Presley 1 1-2 3, Aubrey Moland 0 0-0 0, Kaylee Ingram 1 2-4 4. Totals 12 11-19 41.
PIEDMONT (6-5) – Kayley Kirk 2 0-0 6, Lele Ridgley 0 0-0 0, Perry Armani 0 0-0 0, Madison Tyree 1 0-0 3, Z’Hayla Walker 0 0-0 0, Sydney Prater 8 6-11 24, Kiara Jackson 0 0-0 0 5. Totals 11 6-11 33.
Hokes Bluff 3 13 10 15 – 41
Piedmont 10 10 4 9 – 33
3-point goals: Hokes Bluff 6 (Smith 3, Simpson 2, Wolfe); Piedmont 5 (Prater 2, Tyree, Kirk 2). Fouled out: Prater. Total fouls: Hokes Bluff 10, Piedmont 14, Officials: Kelley, Miller, Barber.
Notes: Prater was 8-for-27 from the field. Kirk and Walker both had six rebounds, Prater had five. Kirk had four assists and four steals.
Etowah 30, Alexandria 29
ETOWAH – Jaleigh Devine 1 0-0 3, Za’Nya McKenzie 0 1-2 1, Abbagail Martin 3 1-1 7, Z’Niya Manning 2 2-4 6, Kynzlon Gibbs 2 2-2 7, Anna Jones 0 0-0 0, Amayah Ash 1 0-0 2, Natasha Duncan 2 0-0 4. Totals 11 6-9 30.
ALEXANDRIA – Ashley Phillips 2 1-2 6, Sarah Pelham 0 0-0 0, Kayleigh Steen 2 0-0 6, Kaitlyn Harvey 0 0-2 0, Kameron Simpson 2 0-0 4, TyShica Woodgett 0 1-2 1, Maggie Phillips 5 2-3 12. Totals 11 4-9 29.
Etowah 6 2 11 11 – 30
Alexandria 7 7 11 4 – 29
3-point goals: Etowah 2 (Devine, Gibbs); Alexandria 3 (A. Phillips, Steen 2). Total fouls: Etowah 10, Alexandria 12 Officials: Robinson, Polvak, Stringer.
Notes: Etowah hit a free throw with less than five seconds left to score their first win of the season.
Sacred Heart 66, Westbrook Christian 23
WESTBROOK CHRISTIAN – Brielle Wood 4 4-9 13, Jenah Goosby 0 0-0 0, Autumn Ingle 1 1-2 3, Liana Shah 0 0-0 0, Kirsi Gupta 2 0-0 5, Emberlie O’Sullivan 1 0-2 2, Siera Hyfield 0 0-0 0, Sara King 0 0-0 0, Allie Grace Blevins 0 0-0 0, Kenna Stephens 0 0-0 0, McKayla Bean 0 0-0 0, Margaret Morgan 0 0-0 0, Brooke Seawright 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 5-11 23.
SACRED HEART (13-2) – Alisia Person 3 1-2 8, Myiah Harris 3 1-4 8, Ayanna Foster 14 2-5 30, Cearia Jenkins 2 1-2 7, Joelle Tillery 1 0-0 3, Jordan Sabree 1 0-2 2, Serena Hardy 1 0-0 3, Alyssa Ball 1 0-0 3, Taysia West 1 0-2 2. Totals 27 5-17 66.
Westbrook Christian 3 7 8 5 – 23
Sacred Heart 20 26 14 6 – 66
3-point goals: Westbrook Christian 2 (Wood, Gupta); Sacred Heart 7 (Person, Harris, Jenkins 2, Tillery, Hardy, Ball). Total fouls: Westbrook Christian 14, Sacred Heart 14. Officials: Smith, Smith, Henson.
Notes: Foster scored 16 points in the second quarter and 25 in the first half.W
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