Monday girls basketball
- Updated: November 30, 2015
Pleasant Valley to 7-0, Weaver to 5-0, Faith Christian gets first victory
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
A big part of the Pleasant Valley girls basketball team’s unprecedented start to the season is this idea everybody touches the ball, but for three quarters Monday night a big piece was missing in action.
The Lady Raiders’ post players were doing all they could, but they just weren’t getting the ball.
That finally changed late in the fourth quarter. Once the Lady Raiders started to find Mikala Simpson down low they were able to pull away for a 52-39 victory over White Plains in what was the biggest test to date of their 7-0 start.
Behind the emergence of the post, the Lady Raiders outscored their hosts 22-4 in the fourth quarter.
“Our post game was non-existent for the first three quarters,” PV coach Brad Hood said. “I don’t know if you heard me yelling, ‘post, post, post. Post.’
“Mikala’s working. She’s wide open. Finally, the fourth quarter we started hitting her. I don’t know how many points she had down the stretch, but it was huge.”
Simpson scored nine of the Lady Raiders’ last 12 points over the final three and a half minutes. She finished with 12 points. They were particularly vital since their other post, Kara Perry, had fouled out.
“It was kind of frustrating … because we were wide open,” Simpson said. “We were working our butts down low and needed to get it down there and get a few shots up.”
Hood blamed part of the problem on his team’s early success from the 3-point arc. Mak Parris scored the Lady Raiders’ first two baskets from behind the arc and the seed of that expected success was planted.
With Parris and Atleigh Brannon doing all the scoring, the Lady Raiders opened an early 14-4 lead, but by halftime, behind Shelby and Carley Wood, White Plains fought back to tie it at 24. The Lady Wildcats even carried a five-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Shelby Wood led White Plains with 12 points. Carley Wood had 10. Ann Katherine Dothard added nine. It was Dothard’s free throw at the start of the third quarter that gave White Plains its first lead of the game.
PV’s Brannon led all scorers with 17 points. She moved to within 14 of 1,000 for her career.
“A thousand’s a big number; it’s something to work to,” Brannon said. “It’ll be cool to hit it.”
Weaver 50, Lincoln 18
WEAVER – Emily Reed hit four of seven 3-point shots and scored 16 points as the Lady Bearcats ran their record to 5-0 heading into a game they’ve been pointing to for a year.
The Lady Bearcats travel to Jacksonville Tuesday today looking to test their best-ever start against a team that beat them by 77 points a year ago.
“We’re tickled to death about being undefeated and my girls are playing hard,” Weaver coach Gary Atchley said. “We talk about last year’s beating often and I hope we show up tomorrow. We have still not played to our potential and I am looking forward to the rest of our season.”
The team could be going into the game a little shorthanded. Mariah Thompson hurt her ankle in the game and didn’t play the second half. Her status for Tuesday night was uncertain.
Reed, who had scored only six points in her previous three games, had 13 in the first half Monday as the Lady Bearcats opened a 30-7 lead. Caleigh Cortez, who hit the winning baskets in each of Weaver’s previous two victories, had 15 points.
Faith Christian 55, Sacred Heart 25
Freshman Emily Sills scored 24 points, hitting 11 of 12 shots from the field, becoming the third different player to lead Faith Christian in scoring in as many games.
Nothing Sills took came from farther than six feet from the basket. She scored 16 points in the first half.
“We can’t depend on Madison (Stephens) being the leading scorer every night,” Faith coach Bradley Dawson said. “We’ve been preaching a lot that we have a good chance to win if we can get eight to 10 from everybody and get Madison’s double figures and some nights somebody goes off like Emily did.
“This is the third game we’ve had a different scorer (Stephens, Logan Boyd, Sills). That would be big if we can keep that up.”
Stephens had 18 points, hitting eight of 11 shots from the field. She also grabbed eight rebounds and had 10 assists.
GIRLS BOXSCORES
Pleasant Valley 52, White Plains 39
PLEASANT VALLEY (7-0) – Kara Perry 1 1-4 3, Lindsey Pritchett 2 0-0 5, Mak Parris 6 0-0 15, Atleigh Brannon 6 5-8 17, Alissa Cash 0 0-0 0, Kendall Johnson 1 1-3 3, Mikala Simpson 5 2-6 12, Courtney Upton 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 9-21 52.
WHITE PLAINS (1-1) – Rian Chandler 1 0-0 2, Carley Wood 4 2-4 10, Hannah Barno 0 0-0 0, Korie Burgess 1 0-0 2, AK Dothard 3 3-5 9, Grey Young 1 0-0 2, Shelby Wood 4 4-8 12, Jocelyn Harris 1 0-0 2, Mary Clare Young 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 9-17 39.
Pleasant Valley 14 10 6 22 — 52
White Plains 8 16 11 4 — 39
3-point goals: Pleasant Valley 3 (Pritchett, Parris 2). Fouled out: Perry, Barno. Total fouls: Pleasant Valley 14, White Plains 15. Officials: Wilson, Allen, Brewster.
Weaver 50, Lincoln 18
WEAVER (5-0) – Ciara Hardy 2 0-4 4, Caliegh Cortez 6 3-8 15,
Tayanna Perry 0 0-0 0, Rayne Beck 1 4-6 6, Emily Reed 6 0-0 16, Morgan Wigley 0 0-0 0, Hannah Roberts 0 0-1 0, Mariah Thompson 2 3-4 7, Skylar Watson 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 10-23 50.
LINCOLN – Jasmina Miller 0 0-0 0, Amaz Carmichael 4 1-13 9, Katelynn Harmon 1 0-0 2, Bailey Gowers 0 1-3 1, Jayla Morris 2 0-0 4, Taylor Conway 1 0-0 2. Totals 8 2-16 18.
Weaver 12 18 13 7 — 50
Lincoln 6 1 3 8 — 18
3-point goals: Weaver 4 (Reed 4). Total fouls: Weaver 16, Lincoln 14.
Faith Christian 55, Sacred Heart 25
FAITH CHRISTIAN (1-2) – Emily Sills 11 2-2 24, Madison Stephens 8 1-2 18, Sarah Jessica Christjohn 2 0-0 4, Sydnee Johnson 2 0-0 4, Reagan Crosby 0 0-0 0, Zana Christjohn 0 0-0 0, Logan Boyd 2 1-2 5, Shelby Phillips 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 4-6 55.
SACRED HEART — Dudley 0 1-2 1, Pitman 1 0-0 2, Sydney Merion 0 2-2 2, Megan Lott 2 0-0 4, Jarece Tillery 5 1-2 11, Wilson 1 0-0 2, Calloway 1 1-2 3. Totals 10 4-8 25.
Faith Christian 19 16 14 6 — 55
Sacred Heart 10 5 4 6 — 25
3-point goals: Faith Christian 1 (Stephens). Fouled out: Lott. Total fouls: Faith Christian 13, Sacred Heart 8.
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