‘She played great’
- Updated: January 25, 2015
Anniston’s Cooley named girls MVP after do-it-all effort in tight championship game
Anniston junior guard Raven Cooley was named MVP of the Calhoun County Girls Tournament after deftly juggling several roles in the championship game against Jacksonville. (Photo by Chad Barnett)
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
JACKSONVILLE — She didn’t call the bank, but it didn’t really matter. Everything Raven Cooley did Saturday night was money – and she did a lot.
The junior guard held everything together for her team and then banked in a long, rainbow 3-pointer from the top of the key with less than two minutes to go as Anniston beat top-seeded Jacksonville 50-48 for another Calhoun County Girls Tournament championship.
About the only thing Cooley didn’t do was block Virginia Poe’s last-second shot that would have tied the game, but by then she had done plenty.
She scored 15 points, including that big 3-pointer, had three steals, two rebounds and an assist, drew the defensive assignment on Jacksonville guard Angel Kidd late in the game and was thrust into running the point midway through the game when Davia Palmer left with an ankle injury.
Add it all up and spells M-V-P.
“It was a lot of pressure, but I knew I had to step it up because I wanted to send my team out with a win,” Cooley said. “So I did what I had to do. … I felt like I did pretty good.”
Good enough to have most valuable player awards for both hands. In addition to the overall MVP, she also was named the tournament’s most outstanding offensive player. She averaged 18 points over the four games — including 33 against White Plains — and hit nine 3-pointers.
“She played extremely good,” Anniston coach Eddie Bullock said. “She scored double figures every game and had great defensive play … She played great. Not only did she score, but she was able to stop their best player.”
Equally important was her role keeping the team together after Palmer rolled her ankle with 2:30 left in the first half. It was a critical time for the Bulldogs as they had just lost the lead for the first time after starting the game with a 10-0 run.
But what really got the crowd buzzing was The Shot.
The game was tight throughout and tied at 46 as the clock dipped under two minutes. Cooley brought the Bulldogs down the floor then put up a long jumper from above the key that hit solidly on the backboard and angled down into the cylinder. The Bulldogs led 49-46 with 1:49 to play and never trailed again.
“The good Lord was looking out for us,” Bullock said. “I lost two games off a bank shot against ranked teams this year (Sylacauga and Fort Payne); it was our turn. … I asked her if she called it, she said no. But it still counts.”
Bullock had no reservation when Cooley launched the shot and both knew it was going down when she took it.
“I was open so I took it,” Cooley said. “We needed it, so I had to take it. I knew it was going to go in. It was kind of iffy because it was banking — I usually hit it all net — but I knew when it left my hands it was going to be a good shot because I kept my form.”
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