Milestone moment

By EASportsToday.com
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Updated: December 9, 2015

Girls roundup: Brannon goes over 1,000-point plateau as Pleasant Valley wins its area opener

Pleasant Valley girls basketball coach Brad Hood presents the game ball to Atleigh Brannon after the Lady Raiders guard scored the 1,000th point of her career Tuesday night.

Tuesday night’s scores
Cornerstone 67, Sacred Heart 33
Jacksonville Christian 66, Gaylesville 41
Jacksonville 38, Etowah 37
Pleasant Valley 67, Wellborn 59
Westbrook Christian 61, Ohatchee 26
White Plains 42, Ranburne 33

By East Alabama Sports Today

JACKSONVILLE – Atleigh Brannon scored her 1,000th career point, Pleasant Valley won its area opener and the rest is just details.

The Lady Raiders got back on the winning track Tuesday after suffering its first loss of the season, beating Wellborn 67-59.

Brannon joined an elite circle of scorers in the first half. PV head coach Brad Hood stopped the game after her layup with 4:02 left in the second quarter put her over the top and after a brief ceremony to recognize the feat and present her the ball, the tight game continued.

The junior guard finished the game with 16 points, giving her 1,015 for her career.

“It was an awesome feeling knowing I finally reached it,” she said. “A thousand is a big number, it’s not something a lot of people can really reach.”

Brannon could have reached it earlier in her career, but had her season as an eighth-grade varsity starter cut way short by a broken arm she suffered in gym class.

She came up short in the Lady Raiders’ loss at Cleburne County last week, but that only allowed her to hit the mark on her home court.

“I glad she hit it, but I’m glad it’s over,” Hood said. “There was pressure; you could see it in her play. If you saw us Friday night she tried to push too hard.”

While Brannon was getting untracked, Mak Parris created a lot of the Pleasant Valley offense. She scored all 13 of her points in the first half.

After Brannon had her moment, the Lady Raiders (8-1) went about the business of winning their area opener.

The Lady Panthers (3-2) didn’t make it easy for them. Vanessa Carter led all scorers with 38 points and single-handedly kept her team in the game. She had seven of its nine points in the second quarter and all 14 of its points in the third.

It was a two-point game with 5:00 to play when the Lady Raiders started feeding the post in earnest and pulling away. The play of Mikala Simpson and Courtney Upton down low was a welcomed sight with veteran Kara Perry recovering from a knee injury.

Simpson scored 23 points – nine in the fourth quarter – and while Upton only scored two points she was a big factor under the basket.

“That was my big thing if we just played together as a team I knew we’d have a better chance of scoring,” Hood said. “That’s why I’ve stressed working with all my kids and giving them reps … because you never when somebody goes down.

“In the past all they’ve ever worked is four or five. Now, we’re getting reps with our subs as much as our starters.”

Here is Brannon’s career points breakdown:

x-2012-13 34
2013-14 335
2014-15 508
2015-16 138
Total 1,015
x-Partial season due to injury

Jacksonville 38, Etowah 37

JACKSONVILLE – Kyra Williams scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Lady Golden Eagles. Williams also had four assists and three steals.

Dasia Kirksey added 13 points and nine rebounds. Gabby Williams led Etowah with 16 points, while Madison Grant added eight points and nine rebounds.

Westbrook Christian 61, Ohatchee 26

OHATCHEE – Olivia Graham scored 15 of her 22 points in the first half and Abby Lockridge added 20 of her 24 in the half.

White Plains 42, Ranburne 33

Mary Clare Young scored a team-high nine points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead White Plains. Jesse Ralston led Ranburne with 15.

GIRLS BOXSCORES

Pleasant Valley 67, Wellborn 59

WELLBORN (3-2) – Vanessa Carter 14 8-8 38, Anaya Low 1 0-0 2, Madison Fouls 0 0-0 0, Katessa Carter 3 0-0 8, Ayanna Foster 1 0-0 2, Valencia White 0 0-0 0, Aliyah Thrasher 2 0-0 4, Desirae Traylor 0 2-2 2, Markiesha Jones 1 1-6 3. Totals 22 11-16 59.

PLEASANT VALLEY (8-1) – Lindsey Pritchett 1 0-0 2, Mak Parris 5 1-2 13, Atleigh Brannon 8 0-3 16, Alyssa Cash 1 1-3 3, Kendall Johnson 2 4-6 8, Mikala Simpson 9 5-7 23, Courtney Upton 1 0-0 2, Kaylee Lawler 0 0-2 0. Totals 27 11-20 67.

Wellborn 17 9 14 19 — 59
Pleasant Valley 16 16 13 22 — 67

3-point goals: Wellborn 4 (V. Carter 2, K. Carter 2). Technical fouls: Lawler. Fouled out: Foster. Total fouls: Wellborn 18, Pleasant Valley 15. Officials: Battles, Dowdell, Maske.

Westbrook Christian 61, Ohatchee 26

WESTBROOK CHRISTIAN — Paige Williams 1 0-0 2, Avery Brown 0 0-0 0, Olivia Graham 10 2-4 23, Kendall Sharp 2 0-0 4, Grace Cockrell 1 0-0 2, Abby Lockridge 7 7-9 24, Cierra Smidt 0 0-0 0,
Mattie Lloyd 1 0-0 2, McKenzie Saunders 1 2-2 4. Totals 23 10-13

OHATCHEE — Taylor Hamm 0 0-0 0, Courtney Poole 0 1-2 1, Hannah Howell 1 0-0 2, Shelby Crump 0 0-0 0, Ally McCoy 0 1-2 1, Kourtney Shuler 1 0-0 3, Kacie Cooper 0 0-0 0, Maggie Phillips 0 0-0 0, Mack Hanks 3 4-4 10, Madison Hanks 3 1-2 7, Shey Clemmons 1 0-2 0, Manay Jennings 0 0-0 0, Cheyenne McCanter 0 0-0 0. Total 9 7-12 26.

Westbrook 17 20 17 7 — 61
Ohatchee 5 2 13 6 — 26

3-point goals: Westbrook 4 (Graham, Lockridge 3); Ohatchee (Shuler). Total fouls: Westbrook 12, Ohatchee 17. Officials: Crawford, Kelley Preston.

White Plains 42, Ranburne 33

RANBURNE – Jesse Ralston 4 7-7 15, Hannah Phillips 1 0-0 2, Lacey Smith 3 0-0 8, Madison Smith 1 0-2 2, E. Lovvorn 0 0-0 0, C. Merrill 1 1-2 3, Emily Hall 0 3-5 3. Totals 10 11-16 33.

WHITE PLAINS — Rian Chandler 0 0-2 0, Carley Wood 2 0-2 4, Hannah Barno 2 0-0 5, Korie Burgess 2 3-6 7, Ann Katherine Dothard 1 0-1 3, Chasity Nelson 0 0-0 0, Grey Young 1 0-0 2, Shelby Wood 0 6-11 6, Jocelyn Harris 3 1-2 7, Mary Clare Young 3 3-4 9. Totals 20 13-28 42.

Ranburne 5 11 9 8 — 33
White Plains 8 14 12 8 — 42

3-point goals: Ranburne 2 (L. Smith 2), White Plains 1 (Barno). Fouled out: Hall, L. Smith. Total fouls: Ranburne 22, White Plains 16.

Jacksonville 38, Etowah 37

ETOWAH — Gabby Williams 7-14 2-3 16, Madison Grant 2-6 4-6 8, Kaylee Fore 2-7 0-0 4, Areona Vinson 2-4 0-0 4, Jakiya Williams 1-7 0-0 2, Emma Jones 1-4 0-0 2, Maliyah Davis 0-8 1-4 1, Alyssa Howard 0-2 0-1 0. Totals 16-52 7-14 37.

JACKSONVILLE — Kyra Williams 6-20 3-6 15, Dasia Kirksey 5-14 2-2 13, Ataliya Morgan 2-5 1-4 6, Aniyah Robinson 2-5 0-1 4, Aniya Jefferson 0-2 0-0 0, Malieah Patterson 0-3 0-0 0, Kelsey Ervin 0-0 0-0 0, Destoni Edwards 0-1 0-2. Totals 15-50 6-15 38.

Etowah 8 12 6 11 — 37
Jacksonville 2 13 5 18 — 38

3-point goals: Etowah 0-4 (G. Williams 0-2, J. Williams 0-1, Davis 0-1); Jacksonville 2-11(K. Williams 0-3, Kirksey 1-4, Morgan 1-4). Rebounds: Etowah 40 (M. Grant 9), Jacksonville 40 (Williams 10, Kirksey 9). Total fouls: Etowah 12, Jacksonville 13.

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