E.A. Sports Today

Reaching a milestone

Girls roundup: Ohatchee’s Vice reaches 1,000-point plateau in loss to Jacksonville; Glencoe reaches final of its tournament and more 
 
Friday’s girls scores
Battle of the States, Tallassee, Ga.
Hokes Bluff 44, Polk County (Tenn.) 42

Cleburne County Christmas Classic
Jacksonville 43, Ohatchee 35
Cherokee County 75, Ranburne 28
Winterboro 62, Weaver 39
Cleburne County 47, Piedmont 23

Glencoe Holiday Shootout
DAR 63, Sardis 28
Alexandria 54, Holly Pond 41
Pell City 55, Fort Payne 53 (OT)
Glencoe 56, Cedar Bluff 31

Hilburn-Patterson Invitational, Tallapoosa, Ga.
Cedartown (Ga.) 50, Bowdon (Ga.) 49 (OT)
Haralson County (Ga.) 56, Clay Central 38

JCA Holiday Classic
Consolation game

Gaylesville vs. Victory Christian
Championship game
Jacksonville Christian 58, Ragland 42
 
Lady Eagles Holiday Invitational, Oak Mountain
Helena 55, Sacred Heart 49
Pelham 61, John Carroll 35
Homewood 57, Enterprise 32
Oak Mountain 56, Northridge 50

Sylvania Girls Holiday Tournament
Championship game

Sylvania 72, Pleasant Valley 49
 
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
 
HEFLIN – Tori Vice was sitting on the couch at home Friday unwinding after Ohatchee’s opening-round game in the Cleburne County Christmas Classic when the phone rang with a call from coach Bryant Ginn. She wasn’t anticipating good news. 

TORI VICE

“I thought I was in trouble,” she said.
 
Hardly. Ginn was calling to congratulate his top scorer on reaching the 1,000-point milestone in her career.
 
She did it by hitting three free throws in the closing seconds of the Lady Indians’ 43-35 loss to Jacksonville. The junior needed 17 points entering the game and hit it right on the number.
 
“I was very surprised,” Vice said. “I didn’t think I was this close to it already. I didn’t really pay attention to my points. I knew at the end of last year I had like 700.”
 
She actually only needed 170 to reach the milestone. She is Ginn’s second 1,000-point scorer as Ohatchee’s coach. Ben Glass hit the number two years ago and, actually, that’s when the coach started tracking Vice’s points progression.
 
“He and Kourtney (Shuler) were so close,” Ginn said. “I put Kourtney and Tori up for all-state. Kourtney had 480 (points) and Tori had 430 and I said that’s a lot of points for a freshman. She didn’t score a lot her eighth-grade year, but she was a hustler.
 
“She’s played varsity for us since eighth grade and stayed with it, and it’s been awesome to watch. There were some tough years there where she had to do more than she probably needed to do. I probably ride her more than I should because I expect so much of her. She’s capable. I’ve got to remind myself to tell her ‘good job.’”
 
Actually, Vice could have had it earlier this year if the Lady Indians hadn’t had to postpone two games for various reasons. Ginn knew she was getting close this week but didn’t want to let the cat out of the bag. He’s not one to go in for pomp and circumstance, stopping games and the like, and Vice told him she wasn’t much into that, either.
 
They’ll likely recognize the feat formally during the team’s awards banquet.
 
Cleburne County Christmas Classic
Jacksonville 43, Ohatchee 35
JACKSONVILLE –
Kayla Broom 6-9 1-4 14, Patience Carr 4-8 3-3 11, Amarie Curry 3-4 0-0 7, Brenna Stone 3-3 0-0 6, Rebekah Gannaway 1-1 0-0 3, Maggie Anderson 1-1 0-0 2, Amia Montgomery 0-1 0-0 0, Carmen Prater 0-2 0-0 0, Malijah Goggins 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 18-31 4-7 43.
OHATCHEE – Tori Vice 5-19 4-4 17, Jorda Crook 2-4 4-8 8, Jazmine Adams 1-8 3-4 6, Gracie George 1-1 0-0 2, Millie Rainwater 0-2 2-2 2, Morgan Foushee 0-0 0-0 0, Karson Coppock 0-0 0-0 0, Priesly Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Lyda Elders 0-0 0-0 0, Gracyn Snow 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 9-34 13-18 35.
 
Jacksonville     13  16 8  6   –  43
Ohatchee         6    12 5  12 –  35
3-point goals: Jacksonville 3-8 (Broom 1-2, Carr 0-1, Curry 1-1, Gannaway 1-1, Prater 0-2, Goggins 0-1); 
Ohatchee 4-17 (Vice 3-10, Adams 1-6, Rainwater 0-1). Rebounds: Jacksonville 22 (Broom 9); Ohatchee 23 (Crook 5, George 5). Total fouls: Jacksonville 13, Ohatchee 12.

Glencoe Holiday Shootout

GLENCOE – The players on Glencoe’s basketball team have grown tired of finishing second in all these tournaments. The Lady Jackets have a chance to change that narrative Saturday night.
 
They earned a spot in the finals of the Glencoe Holiday Shootout with a 56-31 win over Cedar Bluff. They will play Pell City for the crown.
 
“It’s exciting,” coach Jamie Barkley said. “My girls have gone through (run of) being No. 2 in the regional on year, No. 2 in the regional the next year. We just played in a Christmas tournament not too long ago, No. 2 there. You’re looking at are you going to finish this one, you going to take it; it’s yours to take and it’s exciting because it’s on your court. Tired of No. 2, let’s go get No. 1.”
 
The Lady Jackets (12-4) jumped out to a quick early lead but Cedar Bluff came back to make it a competitive game the rest of the half. It took all the way to bottom of the play list, but they finally found something that created the defensive chaos they desire – a compacted 1-2-2 zone — and after that they quickly pulled away.
 
“We are a team that prides ourselves in knowing a ton of different defensive sets to try to find what works,” Barkley said. “Sometimes it takes us a half to find out which of our sets is going to work against somebody and this is one of those nights where we ran to the bottom of our basket and we found the one that was working and then we didn’t come out of it. We got into that set and that proved to be the most successful for us.”
 
Glencoe’s two 1,000-point scorers, Anna Beth Giles and Ashley Morgan, led the Lady Jackets with 17 and 13 points, respectively. Morgan joined that elite group on a layup going into halftime of Thursday night’s first-round win over Alexandria; she now has 1,022 career points.
 
The Lady Jackets’ opponent in the finals edged Fort Payne 55-53 in overtime on Tori Winslett’s runner in the lane with 2.9 seconds to go. Winslett scored eight of her 17 points in the extra period.
 
Mya McDaniel’s free throw with 19.9 seconds left in regulation earned Pell City a 45-45 tie and the teams held on as Fort Payne’s Kylie Neil missed an off-balance jumper in traffic at the buzzer. Neil led all scorers with 19 points.
 
Glencoe 56, Cedar Bluff 31
CEDAR BLUFF –
Kyla O’Neal 1 2-4 4, Emily Goss 0 0-0 0, Maggie Clowdis 0 1-2 1, Juliannaa Wilson 0 0-0 0, Hannah Cosby 6 2-6 15, Alexis Smith 5 1-3 11. Totals 12 6-15 31 
GLENCOE – Anna Claire Hipps 2 1-2 5, Anna Graace Goodwin 1 2-2 5, Anna Beth Giles 7 3-6 17, Abby Vice 0 0-0 0, Alie Silvey 1 0-0 2, Ashley Morgan 6 1-2 13, Asia Dennis 2 0-0 4, Lexi Gray 0 0-0 0, Crimson Silvey 1 0-0 2, Aubrey Gray 4 0-0 8. Totals 24 7-12 56.
 
Cedar Bluff     12  5    10  4    –  31
Glencoe           15  10  15  16  –  56
3-point goals: Cedar Bluff 1 (Cosby); Glencoe 1 (Goodwin)
Total fouls: Cedar Bluff 10, Glencoe 18. Officials: Wright, Stringer, Smith.
 
Alexandria 54, Holly Pond 41
ALEXANDRIA –
Ashley Phillips 4 7-9 15, Sarah Pelham 1 0-0 3, Kayleigh Steen 2 2-3 8, Kameron Simpson 4 3-4 12, Madelyn Richey 1 0-0 2, Jordyn Walker 0 2-4 2, Madison Foster 0 0-0 0, TyShica Woodgett 2 0-0 4, Rylee Gattis 2 0-2 4, Chloe Gattis 2 0-0 4. Totals 18 14-22 54.
HOLLY POND – Kennedy Twilley 0 4-5 4, Ella Duke 0 0-0 0, Raeleigh Olinger 1 0-1 2, Rebecca Bell 0 2-6 2, Quincey Marks 0 1-2 1, Sarah Finley 6 8-9 21, Elizabeth Miller 4 3-4 11. Totals 11 18-27 41.
 
Alexandria       11  15 13  15  –  54
Holly Pond        6    9   9    17  –  41
3-point goals: Alexandria 4 (Pelham, Steen 2, Simpson); Holly Pond 1 (Finley). Fouled out: Bell, Marks. Total fouls: Alexandria 20, Holly Pond 19.

Sylvania Holiday Tournament

SYLVANIA – Sylvania harassed the Pleasant Valley guards with a strong press and ran away with a 72-49 victory to win the tournament. Emma Hood and Karmyn Sparks had 20 and 19 points, respectively, for PV.
 
Sylvania 72, Pleasant Valley 49
PLEASANT VALLEY –
Rylee Haynes 2 0-1 4, Marlie Wright 0 0-0 0, Gracie Hood 1 0-0 2, Emma Hood 7 6-14 20, Macey Roper 2 0-0 4, Karymn Sparks 6 7-8 19. Totals 18 13-23 49.
SYLVANIA – Ambriel Stopyak 2 2-2 6, Leianna Currrie 4 2-7 10, Kenadie Lee 3 0-0 7, Anna Farmer 2 0-0 4, Lauren Womack 4 2-3 12, Makayla Bullock 9 4-6 23, Katelyn Sammons 1 0-2 2, Riley Wisner 4 0-0 8. Totals 29 10-20 72.
 
Pleasant Valley         9   11 16  13  –  49
Sylvania                      17 20  16 19  –  72
3-point goals: Sylvania 4 (Lee, Womack 2, Bullock). Fouled out: Wright, Roper. Total fouls: PV 21, Sylvania 15. Officials: Thrash, Fee, Jelks.

Lady Eagles Holiday Invitational

PELHAM – Brooklyn Oden and Montana Harris each scored 14 points in the fourth quarter as Helena outscored Sacred Heart 31-9 to rally for a 55-49 victory. 
 
The Lady Cardinals led 39-26 after three quarters, but series of circumstances forced them to play without four starters in the fourth quarter. Leading scorer Myiah Harris got hurt at the start of the third quarter and was out for the rest of the game; she scored 16 points. Amyiah Buchanan was out of town and two others fouled out during the game.
 
Harris scored 16 points, Alisia Person had 15, including four 3-pointers. And Serena Hardy had 14. Oden led all scorers with 26 points.
 
Helena 55, Sacred Heart 49
SACRED HEART –
Alisia Person 5 1-2 15, Myiah Harris 7 0-0 16, Cearia Jenkins 0 0-0 0, Taysia West 0 0-2 0, Joelle Tillery 0 0-0 0, Jordan Sabree 1 0-3 2, Serena Hardy 3 7-13 14, Alyssa Bell 1 1-4 3. Totals 17 8-24 49.
HELENA – Kya Gardener 1 1-4 3, Kennedi Nobles 0 0-0 0, Jessica Powell 0 3-4 3, Montana Harris 8 2-2 18, Brooklyn Oden 8 9-10 26, Alana Scott 2 3-5 7, Makalyn Busby 0 0-0 0, Brianna Wilson 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 18-25 55.
 
Sacred Heart    11  9   19  9   –  49
Helena               6    8   12  31 –  55
3-point goals: Sacred Heart 7 (Person 4, Harris 2, Hardy); Helena 1 (Oden). Fouled out: West, Sabree. Total fouls: Sacred Heart 21, Helena 19. Officials: Gilmore, Bradford, Craddock.

Cover, inset photos by Beverly Wright

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