Turnovers cost Anniston
- Updated: December 16, 2014
Girls roundup: J’ville wins 10th straight; Stephens scores 35 in Faith loss
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Eddie Bullock figured it would take a game close to perfect for his Anniston girls basketball team to prevail in its top 10 showdown with Fort Payne Monday night, and it was far from perfect.
The Bulldogs were forced into 20 turnovers, including a crucial one near midcourt with a one-point lead and less than a minute to play, and they lost to the eighth-ranked team in Class 6A 52-49.
“We made too many turnovers,” Bullock said. “We’ve got to take care of the ball a little bit more. We got out in the end when we got a lead and didn’t take care of the ball.
“We knew what we were facing, but I felt like we had to kind of play a perfect game and make less turnovers to beat them. I felt like we could beat them, especially playing at home. We just got down to the end and didn’t take care of the ball.”
Loose play early in the second half put the Bulldogs (6-2) in a hole. Two free throws by Carsheuna Curry gave them a 29-27 lead two minutes into the half, but then they came up empty on the next eight possessions as the Wildcats opened a 40-29 lead. Seven of those possessions ended in a turnover.
Anniston, ranked No. 6 in the first Class 5A poll, began its comeback there and took a 46-44 lead on Miajah Bullock’s layup with two minutes to play. Jemya Bullock’s basket with 1:30 left put the Bulldogs ahead 48-47, but a blown defensive assignment on the next trip led to Lauren McConnell’s wide-open 3-pointer that put Fort Payne up for good.
Jemya was inserted in the game after Ki-Yana Bullock fouled out in the midst of the fourth-quarter rally and upheld her end. She finished with eight points. Raven Cooley led Anniston with 13 points. Miajah Bullock had 10.
“I knew they were going to be a hard working team on the board so I had to go in off the bench and do my job,” Jemya said. “I knew yesterday that I was going to have to do my job.”
The Bulldogs were trapped off the ball on their next possession and with Bullock frantically signaling his players to foul the Bulldogs let their visitors dribble the clock down to 10 seconds before finally complying.
Reese Stiefel hit two free throws to make the margin too big with the clock too small.
Both of Anniston’s losses this year have come by three points or less to teams that were ranked in the statewide poll. Their other loss came to current No. 5 Sylacauga on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
“I give them respect because they are good teams,” Bullock said. “I think we should have beaten both of them, but I give them respect. They did what they needed to do at the end and we didn’t.”
Jacksonville 66, Etowah 29
JACKSONVILLE – The Golden Eagles broke away from a close game with a 27-point second quarter and roared to their 10th straight victory.
Angel Kidd led the way with 14 points and eight steals. Sierra Stone added 10 points, four rebounds and four steals. Dasia Kirksey had nine points and eight rebounds, while Ataliya Morgan scored nine on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc.
The Golden Eagles (10-1) had 21 steals among the 31 turnovers they forced. They scored 26 points off those turnovers.
Ragland 51, Faith Christian 48
Madison Stephens scored 35 points, but the Lions couldn’t overcome their visitors’ more balanced scoring. The Purple Devils outscored their hosts 16-8 in the fourth quarter to win.
Stephens scored 12 of the Lions’ 14 points in the first quarter and had 22 in the first half.
“She had the hot hand early, so we started calling some designed plays for her, but most of it she did on her own,” Faith coach Bradley Dawson said. “The sad part is I didn’t think she had that many but left about eight or 10 on the court. She should’ve had 40.”
The Lions could’ve used them late. Stephens had only four in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Ragland’s leading scorer, Shyann Hazelwood, scored nine of her 24 in the fourth quarter and 16 in the second half. Hazelwood was 6 for 6 from the line in the fourth quarter, 9 of 10 in second half.
Ohatchee 53, Coosa 37
OHATCHEE – The Indians (7-4) jumped out to a 33-8 halftime lead and coasted to victory. Joria Steger scored 21 and Morgan Lee added 16. Steger also had seven rebounds and five steals, while Lee added five assists.
GIRLS BOX SCORES
Fort Payne 52, Anniston 49
FORT PAYNE – Liz Bain 4 1-2 10, Sheldonna Chappell 3 0-3 7, Reese Stiefel 3 4-5 10, Lauren McConnell 2 0-1 6, Khadaja Gardner 4 0-2 8, Nykeia McElrath 1 0-0 2, Lexi Stover 4 0-0 9. Totals 21 5-13 52.
ANNISTON (6-2) – Miajah Bullock 4 2-3 10, Raven Cooley 5 1-2 13, Davia Palmer 2 0-0 4, Carsheuna Curry 1 3-4 5, Kiyana Bullock 4 0-0 8, Jemya Bullock 3 2-2 8, Takia Shears 0 1-2 1. Totals 19 9-13 49.
Fort Payne 18 9 13 12 — 52
Anniston 15 10 8 16 — 49
3-point goals: Fort Payne 5 (Bain, Chappell, McConnell 2, Stover); Anniston 2 (Cooley 2). Total fouls: Fort Payne 12, Anniston 16. Fouled out: K. Bullock.
Jacksonville 66, Etowah 29
ETOWAH — Brooke Perry 4-5 3-7 11, Maelin Trammell 4-5 0-2 8, Aimee Fancher 2-2 0-0 5, Kaelin Trammell 1-9 0-0 3, Maliyah Davis 0-2 2-6 2, Gabby Williams 0-5 0-4 0, Kaylee Fore 0-1 0-0 0, Jakiya Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Allyssa Howard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-29 5-18 29.
JACKSONVILLE — Angel Kidd 5-12 4-7 14, Sierra Stone 5-6 0-0 10, Dasia Kirksey 4-10 1-1 9, Ataliya Morgan 3-7 0-0 9, Kyra Williams 2-3 3-6 8, Virginia Poe 2-5 3-3 7, Nicole Goodson 1-1 1-2 3, Destiny Easley 1-2 0-0 2, Malieah Patterson 1-2 0-0 2, Tatiyana Thomas 1-2 0-0 2, Kelsey Ervin 0-1 0-0 0, Darrien Martin 0-3 0-0 0, Quenteeria Mooney 0-0 0-0 0, Aniyah Robinson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-54 12-19 66.
Etowah 10 9 8 2 — 29
Jacksonville 11 27 14 14 — 66
3-point goals: Etowah 2-9 (Fancher 1-1, K. Trammell 1-7, G. Williams 0-1); Jacksonville 3-11 (Kidd 0-3, Morgan 3-4, Williams 1-1, Poe 0-1, Easley 0-1, Martin 0-1). Rebounds: Etowah 27 (Perry, M. Trammell 5); Jacksonville 30 (Kirksey 8). Total fouls: Etowah 15, Jacksonville 19.
Ohatchee 53, Coosa Christian 37
COOSA CHRISTIAN – Ashton Mills 0 0-2 0, Natlie Davidson Davidson 0 0-0 0, Georgia Mills 5 0-2 11, Hailey Myrick 0 0-0 0, Carrie Mills 0 0-2 0, Mary Williamson 3 1-4 8, B. Loyd 2 0-0 5, Hannah Menefee 1 0-0 2, Samara Brewster 5 1-3 11. Totals 16 2-13 37.
OHATCHEE — Kacie Cooper 0 0-1 0 0, Courtney Poole 2 0-1 5, Hannah Howell 0 1-2 1, Morgan Lee 5 4-4 16, Ally McCoy 0 1-3 1, Peyton Steinberg 0 0-0 0, Jordan Dunaway 0 0-0 0, Mack Hanks 1 0-0 3, Madi Hanks 1 1-2 3, Joria Steger 10 1-3 21, Faith Walker 1 1-4 3, Cheyenne McCarter 0 0-2 0. Totals 20 9-21 53.
Coosa 4 4 8 14 — 37
Ohatchee 18 15 12 8 — 53
3-point goals: Coosa 3 (G. Mills, Williamson, Loyd); (Ohatchee 4 (Poole, Lee 2, Mac. Hanks). Total fouls: Coosa 21, Ohatchee 16.
Ragland 51, Faith Christian 48
RAGLAND – Shyann Hazelwood 5 13-14 24, Carly Echols 1 3-4 5, Payton Bearden 1 0-0 2, Ardayza Williams 1 0-0 2, Tabria Looney 0 1-2 1, Bailey Petitt 0 2-4 2, Savannah Kay 1 1-2 3, Belle McKinney 2 0-4 4, Makenzie Campbell 0 0-0 0, Alexis Kelley 0 1-2 1, Kersten Looney 3 1-4 7. Totals 14 20-32 51.
FAITH CHRISTIAN — Logan Boyd 0 0-0 0, Emily Sills 2 2-2 6, Madison Stephens 11 8-14 35, Montana Huie 0 0-0 0, Elizabeth McCullough 0 0-1 0, Cornelia Simpson 0 0-5 0, Regan Crosby 0 0-0 0, Jaz Groce 2 3-6 7. Totals 15 13-29 48.
Ragland 12 10 13 16 — 51
Faith Christian 14 14 12 8 — 48
3-point goals: Ragland 1 (Hazelwood); Faith Christian 5 (Stephens 5). Total fouls: Ragland 20, Faith Christian 25. Fouled out: Simpson.
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