Kerper’s 3 a keeper
- Updated: January 30, 2015
Girls roundup: Kerper hits Sacred Heart’s first 3-pointer three seconds before end of regular season
Sacred Heart’s Anna Kerper lets fly and follows through (on cover) on the Lady Cardinals’ first 3-point basket of the season. It came in the final three seconds of the final regular-season game Thursday night. (Photos by Kristen Stringer/Krisp Pics Photography)
By East Alabama Sports Today
It has been a tough year for the Sacred Heart girls basketball team, but the Lady Cardinals still found some things to cheer about. One of the biggest ovations of the year came in the closing seconds of their final regular-season game Thursday night.
The Lady Cardinals lost to Leeds on their Senior Night 55-30. The biggest cheer came when Anna Kerper beat the final horn with the team’s first 3-pointer of the season.
The game had long been decided when the senior guard Kerper came down the left side and let her buzzer-beater fly. It wasn’t certain if the crowd knew it was the Cardinals’ first 3-pointer this season, but they cheered enthusiastically when the ball found the bottom of the net.
“It was the best feeling ever,” Kerper said. “All night coach (Marquita McMurray) kept saying ‘find your shot, find your shot,’ and with three seconds left I found my shot.”
McMurray, a two-guard in her playing days, encourages her players to take the shot if they’re open, but she doesn’t really count on the 3 because most of the Cardinals’ scoring this season has come from layups and free throws. They will be working on their shot a lot this summer, the first-year coach said, so the players will feel comfortable at any spot on the floor.
“I was kind of excited because it was Senior Night and … it’s always a good thing to end the season on a positive note,” McMurray said. “I didn’t want anyone going home frustrated or upset. She’ll have something leaving the season as a senior. It wasn’t a lucky shot.”
The Lady Cardinals (1-12) will have at least one more chance to test their new-found outside shooting success. They play Donoho in their area tournament opener Monday. The two teams whose gyms are only about two miles apart have to go all the way to Appalachian – 60 hard miles away — to play the only game of the day.
They asked about playing at a closer venue and were told in the area tournament meeting it was against the rules. The neighbors split their two meetings this season.
The 3-pointer was Kerper’s only points of the night. Zainab Sanusi led Sacred Heart with 16 points. Leeds’ Devan Hess led all scorers with 25 points that included six 3-pointers. Teammate Ericka Byers had 21.
Lincoln 49, Fayetteville 36
LINCOLN – Lone senior Ikeida Lawson scored 16 points and Hannah Carmichael had a double-double as the Lady Bears won their third game of the season and second in a row. They beat B.B. Comer Tuesday to double their win total from a year ago.
Carmichael had 15 points and 10 rebounds. She was particular strong defensively in the final three minutes when the Bears (3-22) went to a 1-3-1 full-court press to keep up the pressure.
“Our kids are finally starting to believe,” Lincoln coach Shea Monroe said. “We’re young. If they stay together for a few years they can be something special.
“We basically have a whole new lineup (from last year). For those girls to show that resiliency and heart, it says a lot about their character.”
Fort Payne 72, Anniston 54
FORT PAYNE – The sixth-ranked Bulldogs suffered their third straight loss since winning the County Tournament, but coach Eddie Bullock isn’t concerned about a slump with the area tournament right around the corner. All three losses have come against teams ranked in the top five of their respective classifications.
Actually, the Lady Dawgs have played four straight games against Top 5 foes if you count County Tournament title game opponent Jacksonville.
Raven Cooley and Kiyana Bullock scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, for Anniston Thursday night. Bullock also had four rebounds and four assists.
Liz Bain led No. 4-6A Fort Payne with 19 points. Khadijah Gardner had 18.
“It doesn’t concern me at all; they were all ranked teams,” Eddie Bullock said of the losing streak. “It would’ve been great if we could’ve been 3-0 against those ranked teams, but then we might have gotten a little cocky. Losing to them will get us hungry again going to the stretch run. There’s no way to go but up.”
Ohatchee 63 Faith Christian 31
Ohatchee coach Bryant Ginn said “Joria Steger has the ability to just take over a game” and she did Thursday, erupting for 16 first-quarter points to help stake the Indians to a big early lead.
The Indians (19-6) jumped out to a 26-11 lead despite Faith junior guard Madison Stephens’s best efforts to keep the Lions (7-13) close; Stephens had nine points in the quarter.
A devastating full court press took its toll on Faith as Steger finished with 20 first-half points in the low post and Morgan Lee, Peyton Steinberg and Makenzie Hanks combined for four 3-pointers.
“Our inside game and outside game was working real well tonight,” Ginn said. “I was pleased with our defense and press tonight. We wanted to come out and play well after the way we played in the County Tournament last week and we played hard.”
Steger finished with 23 points and Hanks 10 points for the Indians. Stephens finished with 15 for Faith.
Jacksonville 59, Glencoe 28
JACKSONVILLE – Virginia Poe scored 15, Angel Kidd had 14 and the newly installed No. 2 Golden Eagles (21-4) scored nearly as many points on 3-pointers as the Yellow Jackets had in the game.
Jacksonville hit eight of 13 from beyond the arc – with Poe and Kidd combining for five – while shooting 54 percent from the floor for the game. Poe and Kidd were a combined 12 of 20 from the field.
White Plains 51, Cherokee County 39
CENTRE – Amber Greenwood led three scorers in double figures with 17 points and the Wildcats went 25 of 34 from the foul line to avenge an earlier 17-point loss to the Warriors.
Shelby Wood scored all 10 of her points from the line. Carlie Wood added 11 points. Korie Burgess held Cherokee County leading scorer Raven Williams to 10 points. Williams scored 28 in the first meeting.
GIRLS BOX SCORES
Leeds 55, Sacred Heart 30
LEEDS (5-16) – Ericka Byers 9 3-5 21, Jamya Carroll 1 0-0 2, Tatiyanah Clark 0 1-2 1, Daryl-Marie Barkley 2 0-0 4, Devan Hess 8 3-5 25, Hillary Flowers 0 0-0 0, Maisie Schnelly 0 0-0 0, Mia Clark 0 0-0 0, Charissa Pickett 1 0-0 2, Kyra Lundy 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 7-12 55.
SACRED HEART (1-12) – Zainab Sanusi 5 6-10 16, Anna Kerper 1 0-0 3, Laurie Beyerle 0 0-0 0, Jayla Woods 0 0-0 0, Megan Lott 1 0-0 2, Monique Oblena 1 2-6 4, Nhi Nguyen 0 0-0 0, Jacquelynn Beyerle 0 0-0 0, Morgan Calloway 0 0-0 0, Christiana Stephens 1 3-6 5. Totals 9 11-22 30.
Leeds 11 19 13 12 — 55
Sacred Heart 2 5 9 14 — 30
3-point goals: Leeds 6 (Hess 6); Sacred Heart 1 (Kerper). Total fouls: Leeds 14, Sacred Heart 11. Officials: Killingsworth, Gilbert, Kelley.
Ohatchee 63, Faith Christian 31
OHATCHEE (19-6) — Kacie Cooper 1 0-0 3, Courtney Poole 2 0-0 4, Morgan Lee 4 0-0 9, Ally McCoy 0 0-0 0, Payton Steinberg 2 0-0 6, Kourtney Shuler 1 0-0 2, Makenzie Hanks 4 0-0 10, Madison Hanks 1 0-0 2, Joria Steger 11 1-2 23, Faith Walker 1 0-0 2, Cheyenne McCarter 0 2-2 2. Totals 27 3-4 63.
FAITH CHRISTIAN (7-13) — Logan Boyd 0 0-0 0, Sydney Johns 0 0-0 0, Emily Sills 2 0-0 4, Madison Stephens 5 3-4 15, Montana Huie 0 0-0 0, Elizabeth McCullough 3 0-0 6, Cornelia Simpson 1 2-2 4, Regan Crosby 1 0-0 2. Totals 12 5-6 31.
Ohatchee 26 14 16 7 — 63
Faith Christian 11 11 5 4 — 31
3-point goals: Ohatchee 6 (Cooper, Lee, Steinberg 2, Mk. Hanks 2); Faith 2 (Stephens 2).
Jacksonville 59, Glencoe 28
GLENCOE — Jessica Tathie 5-7 2-2 12, Sally Tinker 2-5 1-2 5, Kaileigh Billingsly 1-4 1-4 3, Maddie Osbourne 1-4 1-4 3, Breia Little 1-2 0-0 3, Mykal Edwards 1-5 0-0 0 2, Karly Royal 0-1 0-0 0, Madison Cole 0-1 0-0 0, Jenny Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Kaylie Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Kinleigh Harper 0-0 0-0 0, Skyler Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Lainey Word 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-29 5-12 28.
JACKSONVILLE (21-4) — Virginia Poe 6-8 0-0 15, Angel Kidd 6-10 0-0 14, Sierra Stone 4-5 1-2 9, Ataliya Morgan 2-3 0-0 6, Darrien Martin 2-4 0-0 4, Destiny Easley 2-7 0-0 4, Quenteeria Mooney 1-1 0-0 3, Dasia Kirksey 1-1 0-0 2, Nicole Goodson 0-0 2-2 2, Kyra Williams 0-3 0-0 0, Kelsey Ervin 0-1 0-0 0, Aniyah Robinson 0-1 0-0 0, Brandi Canady 0-0 0-0 0, Malieah Patterson 0-0 0-0 0, Tatiyana Thomas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-44 3-4 59.
Glencoe 6 7 5 10 — 28
Jacksonville 18 18 18 5 — 59
3-point goals: Glencoe 1-6 (Tinker 0-2, Osbourne 0-1, Little 1-2, Cole 0-1); Jacksonville 8-13 (Poe 3-4, Kidd 2-3, Morgan 2-3, Martin 0-1, Mooney 1-1, Williams 0-1). Rebounds: Glencoe 19 (Tinker 5, Rathie 4); Jacksonville 28 (Stone 6, Kirksey 5). Total fouls: Glencoe 7, Jacksonville 8.
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