PV strikes early
- Updated: January 16, 2023
Game time came early for Roper, Lady Raiders, but they answered the call in their County Tournament opener, White Plains, Piedmont, Alexandria advance
CALHOUN COUNTY TOURNAMENT
Girls Games
No. 7 Pleasant Valley 53, No. 10 Weaver 32
No. 9 White Plains 60, No. 8 Jacksonville Christian 52
No. 4 Piedmont 41, No. 13 Wellborn 24
No. 5 Alexandria 57, No. 12 Saks 18
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
JACKSONVILLE – Anybody who knows Macey Roper knows the Pleasant Valley senior guard is not a morning person and when your basketball team plays at 9 in the morning that can be a dangerous personality trait.
The morning came early for Roper and the Lady Raiders Monday, but after a quarter to shake the cobwebs, they woke up and ran past Weaver 53-32 in the day’s first game of the Calhoun County Tournament at Jacksonville State.
After what PV coach Colton Morris called a “sloppy” start, the Lady Raiders opened the second quarter with eight straight points to take control. Roper had the first five in the run and seven altogether. She finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds in the game.
“Everyone you ask can actually say I am not a morning person,” Roper said. “Everybody you ask knows I cannot get up early, so coach had me here at 7:30 this morning trying to wake up, and I still think it was a long process.”
To make sure she didn’t oversleep and caught the bus on time, she had senior teammate Kianna Hester stay over the house. Six o’clock came early. Head coach Colton Morris was up even earlier.
“They had to open the door for us, nobody was here yet,” Morris said. “I know how they are, I’ve been around them long enough, I know how they are. I had to get them here early, get them woke up, and I don’t even know if I got them all the way woke up or not, but I knew if we’d have gotten here 8-8:15 I don’t know if we’d have won the ballgame, to be honest with you.”
“I knew I had to be here for my team and I had to be ready to play for them,” Roper said.
The second-quarter spree was actually part of a greater 11-0 run that Laney Robinson touched off with a buzzer-beating 3 at the end of the first quarter. And that was the back end of back-to-back 3s in the final 30 seconds that gave the Lady Raiders the lead for good. She hit four 3s in the game and finished with 13 points.
“Obviously I wasn’t really warming up good at all but I just felt it,” Robinson said. “At the time I was wide open so I went for it because it was going to help the team. That really boosted my self-confidence for the rest of the game and showed I could do it and not get nervous.”
This year’s County Tournament is special to both players. Roper was playing in the fifth and final County Tournament at JSU of her career, but never this early in the day. Robinson, a sophomore, was playing in her first after developing on the junior high team.
“I was nervous at first, but it was something I’ll never forget,” she said.
Roper will have the same memories, just more of them, having been coming to this gym for the county’s showcase event since the eighth grade.
“This tournament is very special to me just because of the atmosphere and the people around and I love playing in JSU’s Coliseum and being able as a team to play and have that atmosphere together,” Roper said. “It’s definitely going to be bittersweet knowing this is going to be my last County Tournament and last chance to make a run and hopefully we’ll make it back in here in regionals.
“It’s definitely going to bittersweet not to be able to play with this team because this team is one of my favorite teams, just the chemistry, we’ve played so good.”
Luckily, the Lady Raiders’ next game isn’t so early. They draw second-seeded Anniston at 3 p.m. Tuesday. Provided they keep winning, that will be the earliest they’ll play the rest of the week.
Does she want to go early again?
“Not necessarily,” she said, “but I would do it again for the team.”
PLEASANT VALLEY – Macey Roper 6 6-8 18, Rebekah Gannaway 4 0-0 10, Kianna Hester 2 0-0 5, Laney Robinson 4 1-2 13, Lilly Robinson 0 0-0 0, Haylie Lee 0 1-2 1, Ella Kate Parris 2 0-0 4, Bailey Brown 1 0-0 2, Savannah Pritchett 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 8-12 53.
WEAVER – Annalynna Canchucaja 0 0-0 0, Erionna Richmond 2 0-1 4, D.J. Gibbs 0 0-0 0, Ella Kines 0 0-0 0, Alayia D’Ambrosia 1 0-0 2, Iyanna Wright 0 2-4 2, Aaliyah Marks 7 1-2 15, Madison Atchley 2 5-7 9, Kimora Miles 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 8-14 32.
Pleasant Valley 11 14 14 14 – 53
Weaver 8 4 10 10 – 32
3-point goals: Pleasant Valley 7 (Gannaway 2, Hester, La. Robinson 4); Total fouls: Pleasant Valley 14, Weaver 16. Officials: Madsen, Williams, Compton.
WP survives, advances
After jumping to a big early lead, Lady Wildcats hold on to beat JCA
Cooper Martin was feeling both excited and relieved.
Excited that her White Plains girls basketball team got past Jacksonville Christian 60-52 in the Calhoun County Tournament Monday and relieved that it didn’t turn out worse – because it could have.
Behind Martin’s early hot hand, the ninth-seeded Lady Wildcats jumped out to a 15-3 lead in the first two and a half minutes of the game. But eighth-seeded JCA fought back, finally got it tied with 4:13 left in the first half, and made a game of it the rest of the afternoon.
There was one more lead change after that tie and five in the third quarter.
“We came into this and know we should have won, I’m just glad that we did because it was a tense game,” Martin said.
“It was extremely intense,” added Addison Bradley. “It was tight and it was stressful. I was so nervous … but I counted on my team. I know that we can bring it back when we do what we’re supposed to do.”
The game was tied 50-50 with less than three minutes to play, but the Lady Wildcats, who practiced for 90 minutes prior to coming to the coliseum, went on a 10-2 tear in the final 2:28 to secure the victory.
They took the lead for good on Martin’s bucket with 2:28 to play after JCA was called for a charge at the other end. Martin came out quick, hitting three 3s in the first 2:30 of the game to stake White Plains to its 15-3 lead.
The Lady Thunder kept themselves in the game by keeping the ball away from Cooper as it went on and dominating the offensive boards. There were many times in the second half when they had three or four shots in the same possession around the basket but couldn’t get a shot to fall. If they even made a quarter of them, the outcome likely would have been different.
JCA’s official statistics have the Lady Thunder for 16 offensive boards, eight by Kara Grace and five by Payten Walker. Grace finished with 14 boards in the game and Walker had 11.
But on at least two occasions in the final 90 seconds when the Lady Thunder needed to clear the boards most White Plains grabbed rebounds off missed second free throws and put them back in to extend the lead.
“We didn’t play well, I don’t feel like,” White Plains coach Matt Ford said. “We were undisciplined, we didn’t box out, we reached the whole first half so we were in foul trouble the whole game, but Jacksonville Christian played really, really hard. They killed us on the boards. I don’t even want to look at how many offensive rebounds they had; it was awful on our part.
“I thought we we’ve been taking steps forward the last three games; tonight, I didn’t feel like we did. A lot of that has to do with Jacksonville Christian and the effort and want-to that they played with. I feel like we should’ve played a whole lot cleaner. Too many turnovers, too many fouls, too many offensive rebounds. The way we were playing and how hard JCA played it could have been different.”
Although the Lady Wildcats might not have played the cleanest game, they played a balanced one. Bradley led the offense with 14 points, while Isabella Higgins and Martin had 13 apiece.
Kristen Walker had 16 for JCA with four 3-pointers. Addy Lee had 14 and Erin Prater 10.
The Lady Wildcats will now play top-seeded Oxford Tuesday at 6 p.m.
WHITE PLAINS – Cooper Martin 5 0-4 13, Isabella Higgins 6 1-4 13, Abbie Dickeson 0 0-0 0, Hallie Williams 4 0-1 9, Addison Bradley 4 5-10 14, Braeton Moran 2 0-0 6, Cassidy Arnold 2 0-0 5. Totals 23 6-19 60.
JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN – Katie Beth Hudson 0 0-0 0, Addy Lee 5 2-4 14, Rebekah Carter 0 3-4 3, Erin Prater 5 0-0 10, Kara Grace 2 4-6 8, Kirsten Walker 5 2-4 16, Payten Walker 0 1-4 1. Totals 17 12-22 52.
White Plains 19 9 15 17 – 60
JCA 9 20 12 11 – 52
3-point goals: White Plains 8 (Martin 3, Williams, Bradley, Moran 2, Arnold); JCA 6 (Lee 2, K. Walker 4). Fouled out: Arnold, Carter, P. Walker. Total fouls: White Plains 19, JCA 18.
Pope, Piedmont shoot down Wellborn
Lady Bulldogs start hot, bog down in middle but still have plenty to advance
Ava Pope has all the right moves – for a 3-point shooter.
The Piedmont junior hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter to help give the Lady Bulldogs control of their eventual 41-24 County Tournament win over Wellborn and she married the first two with a nice little celebration.
The first one, from outside the college line, brought a big swinging 3 finger salute. On the next one, which answered Wellborn’s first points of the game, brought her subtly blowing on her fingers as if they were hot-iron six-shooters.
“It’s just really fun to start out with celebrations and stuff like that, it gets the team going, gets the energy high early, lets us play better; It’s just fun to do,” she said. “I do it early and if it’s a close game I kind of like to celebrate and keep the energy high. If it’s a high-energy game I like to keep it up.”
There are a lot more celebrations in the arsenal. They’ve got a bow-and-arrow, the guns, glasses. Piedmont coach Terrace Ridley likes it.
“I love it, I love it,” she said. “We haven’t really been shooting the ball as well as we can shoot the ball here lately, but when Ava gets going it gets everybody else going. When she’s on the outside getting going, we try to make sure we get Lele (Ridley) going on the inside.
“I tell her all the time, ‘Ava, I want you to shoot because Lele has an opportunity on a long 3-point shot to get a rebound then she does if you’re driving and take the short jumper. I just enjoy watching that happen. When Ava and Lele can be in double figures we have a good shot at winning.”
Pope finished with 19 points. Ridley had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Pope got the high energy going for Piedmont early. The Lady Bulldogs opened leads of 18-4 in the first quarter and 22-5 in the second. Pope had 11 – all in the first quarter – in that stretch.
“We started great,” Coach Ridley said. “We hadn’t had that start in about four or five games, so I loved the start we had. When we get a good start we know we’ve got a shot at winning. We’re not a comeback. We can’t be slow and come back, we have to start fast. We have to start fast and keep playing fast.”
But at that point the game bogged down between Piedmont’s familiarity with the Lady Panthers and Ridley looking to give every one of her Lady Bulldogs a chance to play. For the next quarter and a half the Lady Panthers were out of rhythm and Wellborn outscored them 8-6.
Pope heated up again in the fourth quarter with a 2 that came as she followed a missed 3 and two 3s. The 2, her first points since the first quarter, brought a small “count it” gesture but there was nothing after the two 3s.
Anna Odom led Wellborn with 16.
The Lady Bulldogs play the winner of tonight’s Alexandria-Saks game at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
WELLBORN – Anna Odom 5 6-13 16, Mikayla Williams 0 0-0 0, Taniya Traylor 0 2-4 2, Bentley Bean 0 1-2 1, Destiny Benefield 0 0-0 0, Calla Hayes 1 0-0 2, Libby Smith 0 0-0 0, Brooke Singleton 1 1-2 3, Makaiyah Amberson 0 0-0 0, Hannah Grubbs 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 10-21 24.
PIEDMONT – Armoni Perry 0 0-2 0, Ava Pope 7 0-0 19, Josie Young 0 0-0 0, Rylie Anne Holbrooks 0 0-0 0, Jaycee Glover 0 0-0 0, Lele Ridley 4 4-9 13, Melanie Studdard 2 0-0 8, Carson Young 0 1-2 1, Gracie Naugher 0 0-0 0, Morgan Studdard 0 0-2 0, Hannah Kate Barber 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 5-15 41.
Wellborn 4 4 5 11 – 24
Piedmont 18 4 6 13 – 41
3-point goals: Piedmont 6 (Pope 5, Ridley). Total fouls: Wellborn 13, Piedmont 18.
Making a point with lots of them
Lady Cubs, looking to impress next opponent, make statement about seeding
The Alexandria girls came into the County Tournament with something to prove. Or at least hoping to get the attention of their next opponent.
The Lady Cubs were installed as the fifth seed in this year’s tournament and took somewhat of an exception that Piedmont was placed in the bracket line immediately above them.
Hoping the Lady Bulldogs were paying attention, Alexandria scored 21 straight points in the first quarter to take control of its eventual 57-18 rout of Saks that was its first win of the 2023 calendar year and snapped a six-game losing streak.
Next on the docket: Piedmont, the team the Lady Cubs are coming for, Wednesday at 6 p.m. when everyone will get to see if they got the seeding right
“Before we came out here (coach Craig Kiker) was kind of bothered that Piedmont felt like they were better than us, so we wanted to prove that we’re just with them, honestly, and we’re honestly, in my opinion, a better team than them,” Lady Cubs leading scorer Jordyn Walker said. “He told us to go out there and prove that we’re a better team than them and we’ll show that when we play them against on Wednesday.”
“The first thing you had to do was win the game today and then you can worry about Wednesday,” Kiker said. “But they were upset. Ohatchee and Anniston have beaten us and Oxford is really, really good and they beat us in a referee clinic early in the season. They were a little upset Piedmont was ahead of them, so I hope they play like that Wednesday night. I hope it was extra motivation, but we shouldn’t need extra motivation after losing six in a row.”
Saks scored the first points of the game, then the Lady Cubs went on their tear by capitalizing off the turnovers they were creating. Walker scored 10 of her 17 points in that 21-point flurry.
The Lady Cubs hit a little lull in the second quarter, but came back late in the quarter and held a 21-point halftime lead. They picked it back up in the third with 21 points, then fell off again in the fourth with the game well in hand. Alyssa Hunt and Cassidy Hartfield both scored six points in the big third quarter.
“We usually have a bad problem with coming out slow in the first half,” Walker said. “That’s been our main goal to come out strong throughout all four quarter. Coach is always telling us we only play for three quarters and there’s that one missing quarter. Once they scored we got our momentum back.”
SAKS – Savannah Walker 0 0-0 0, Deihanna Taylor 0 0-0 0, Sania Angel 0 0-0 0, Alonna Crews 1 0-0 3, Madison Turner 1 2-5 4, Jada Foster 0 1-2 1, Monterria Christopher 1 0-0 2, Camrie Denham 3 0-2 8. Totals 6 3-9 18.
ALEXANDRIA – Jordyn Walker 6 3-4 17, Kirsten Heathcock 2 0-0 4, Jill Cockrell 3 0-0 8, Cassidy Hartsfield 2 0-0 6, Charlee Parris 3 0-0 6, Kailey Dickerson 0 0-0 0, Sumira Duncan 2 3-6 7, Alyssa Hunt 4 1-2 9. Totals 22 7-12 57.
Saks 2 9 6 1 – 18
Alexandria ` 21 11 21 4 – 57
3-point goals: Saks 3 (Crews, Denham 2); Alexandria 6 (Walker 2, Cockrell 2, Hartsfield 2). Total fouls: Saks 13, Alexandria 9. Officials: Sanford, Ponder, Williams.
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