Eye of the … Lion
- Updated: December 4, 2015
Faith Christian no longer deterred by falling behind, trails by as many as 14 but rallies to beat Ragland for first time; Oxford, Jacksonville also win
By East Alabama Sports Today
The thought occurred to Faith Christian girls coach Bradley Dawson as he drove home from the game that this is a team that’s not scared of anybody.
The Lady Lions had never beaten Ragland before and appeared on the verge of losing another one in the series, but they roared back from a 14-point third-quarter deficit Thursday night to beat the Purple Devils for the first time, 52-48.
“I don’t know that we’ve beaten them in anything,” Dawson said.
Madison Stephens and Logan Boyd led the second-half comeback with 16 and 14 points, respective. Stephens finished with a game-high 23 points and Boyd finished with 15.
The Lady Lions (2-2) are now 2-0 in their area.
“We didn’t play very well in the first half; I thought we played scared,” Dawson said. “It’s hard when you hadn’t beaten somebody ever and that’s always been one of the challenges. For us to beat people the key is not to be scared of them.
“I was nervous at one point in first half when we had that look of being scared, but once we came out of halftime and the start of the third I never really got nervous because I could see that look in their eye that we could win it. Even down 10 we were really talking, pushing each other.”
The key to the Lady Lions’ comeback was playing more aggressive defensively. They were able to press – because they were making shots – and that, in turn, forced several turnovers. After being down all game, they finally took a lead with a few minutes to play.
“We’ve been down in three of our four games and had a chance to win two of the others,” Dawson said. “Driving home I got to thinking … this is the team that’s not scared of anybody and that can be scary for other people.”
Oxford 44, Vestavia Hills 36
OXFORD – In her second game back from a leg injury, Jordan Smith scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds to help Oxford score the upset.
The Lady Jackets (2-3) trailed 15-12 early in the second quarter, then went on a 16-2 tear that carried into the third quarter and they never trailed again.
Smith scored the last five points of the second quarter to give Oxford a 19-15 lead. Tremeria Britt and Ebony Kelly combined for the final nine points of the run.
“What a difference it makes having Jordan Smith back in the lineup,” Oxford coach Tonya Peoples said. “Other teams have to double team here and that frees up other people and Jordan is such a good passer.”
Jessica Compton led Vestavia Hills (6-3) with 11 points. She hit three 3-pointers.
Jacksonville 68, Central-Clay County 44
JACKSONVILLE – Dasia Kirksey led four scorers in double figures with a game-high 24 points as the Lady Golden Eagles won their third – tres (as in Buzan) – in a row.
Kyra Williams had 13 points, six rebounds and four steals. Ataliya Morgan had 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Aniyah Robinson had 10 points and six rebounds. The four high scorers were a combined 22 of 49 from the field.
Clay Central’s offense was dominated by 3-point shots – the Lady Vols were 12 of 32 from behind the arc – but was only 2-of-18 from the free throw line. Jacksonville, meanwhile, was just 5 of 18 from 3-point range, but was 15-of-24 from the stripe.
Ahnyah Denny led the Lady Vols with 22 points, which included six 3-pointers. Cassie Ragland grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
GIRLS BOXSCORES
Faith Christian 52, Ragland 48
RAGLAND – Shyann Hazlewood 5 5-10 17, Lily Osborne 0 0-0 0, Shelley Bird 3 1-2 7, Katie Echols 1 0-0 2, Savannah Kay 2 0-0 4, Lania Daniels 0 2-4 2, Makenzie Campbell 7 0-0 16. Totals 18 8-16 48.
FAITH CHRISTIAN (2-2) – Logan Boyd 5 2-7 15, Emily Sills 2 2-2 6, Madison Stephens 6 10-15 23, Sarah Jessica Christjohn 2 0-1 4, Sydnee Johnson 2 0-0 4, Reagan Crosby 0 0-0 0, Zana Christjohn 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 14-25 52.
Ragland 12 14 15 7 — 48
Faith Christian 10 6 17 19 — 52
3-point goals: Ragland 4 (Hazlewood 2, Campbell 2); Faith Christian 4 (Boyd 3, Stephens). Fouled out: Campbell, Key. Total fouls: Ragland 22, Faith Christian 17. Officials: Battles, Davis, Winn.
Jacksonville 68, Central-Clay County 44
CLAY CENTRAL — Ahnyah Denny 7-18 2-7 22, Kiera Ford 3-9 0-1 9, Essence Cunningham 2-8 0-4 6, Cassie Ragland 2-4 0-3 4, Cidney Daughtery 1-2 0-3 3, Anastazia Marbury 0-0 0-0 0, Lindsey Andrews 0-0 0-0 0, Sadie Andrews 0-2 0-0 0, Claire Daughtery 0-1 0-0 0, Alicia McNeil 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-45 2-18 44.
JACKSONVILLE (3-2) – Dasia Kirksey 9-16 4-5 24, Kyra Williams 5-11 3-6 13, Ataliya Morgan 4-12 2-3 12, Aniyah Robinson 4-10 1-2 10, Aniya Jefferson 1-2 2-4 4, Malieah Patterson 0-6 3-4 3, Essence Hutchinson 1-2 0-0 2, Destoni Edwards 0-1 0-0 0, Kelsey Ervin 0-1 0-0 0, Kianna Guidry 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-61 15-24 68.
Clay Central 12 9 15 8 — 44
Jacksonville 18 16 21 13 — 68
3-point goals: Clay Central 12-32 (Denny 6-14, Ford 3-8, Cunningham 2-6, Daughtery 1-2, S. Andrews 0-1, McNeil 0-1); Jacksonville 5-18 (Kirksey 2-5, Williams 0-2, Morgan 2-9, Robinson 1-1, Patterson 0-1). Rebounds: Clay Central 38 (Ragland 10, Cunningham 9); Jacksonville 37 (Morgan 7, Williams 6, Robinson 6). Total fouls: Clay Central 21, Jacksonville 19.
Oxford 44, Vestavia Hills 36
VESTAVIA HILLS (6-3) – Jessica Compton 5-14 0-0 13, Maggie Mince 3-6 0-0 6, Taylor Wilson 3-6 0-0 7, Jasmyn White 2-2 0-4 4, Kaitlyn Pickard 1-1 0-0 2, Sarah Cain 1-5 0-0 2, Renesha Evans 1-10 0-1 2. Totals 16-53 0-4 36.
OXFORD (2-3) – Anna Bolton 0-0 0-0 0, Makayla Kidd 3-8 2-2 8, Winter Taylor 3-8 0-1 7, Kayla Lowery 0-1 0-0 0, Acacia Kidd 0-2 0-2 0, Tremeria Britt 2-6 2-2 7, Ebony Kelly 4-10 0-2 8, Jordan Smith 6-11 2-3 14, Grace Mitchell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-46 6-12 44.
Vestavia Hills 10 5 11 10 — 36
Oxford 12 7 13 12 — 44
3-point goals: Vestavia Hills 4-16 (Compton 3-10, Wilson 1-4, Cain 0-2); Oxford 2-4 (Kidd 0-1, Taylor 1-1, Britt 1-2). Rebounds: Vestavia Hills 30, Oxford 31 (Kelly 12). Total fouls: Vestavia Hills 15, Oxford 10. Officials: Hughes, Wright, Young.
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