D and a prayer
- Updated: December 15, 2015
Girls roundup: Weaver holds on down the stretch to edge White Plains; McCarter’s ‘best minutes’ lift Ohatchee
Cheyenne McCarter gave what Ohatchee coach Bryant Ginn called her best minutes of the year in scoring nine second-quarter points Tuesday.
By East Alabama Sports Today
WEAVER — Gary Atchley’s end game strategy was pretty simple.
“I was going to pray and they were going to play defense,” he said.
Atchley’s Weaver girls basketball team finally beat the White Plains team he considers its personal measuring stick Tuesday 44-43 to snap a four-game losing streak.
Emily Reed, who Atchley considers his team’s best 3-point shooter, hit a trey with 52 seconds left to give the Lady Bearcats (6-4) a 44-43 lead after they had trailed by six early in the fourth quarter.
White Plains had a chance for a winning shot in the final 10 seconds after Weaver missed the front end of a one-and-one, but the Lady Bearcats played tight trapping defense right in front of the White Plains bench and the Lady Wildcats (2-5) couldn’t get a shot before time expired.
“We finally got over the hump with them,” Atchley said. “It’s been our nemesis.
“We measure our program over here by their girls program, I ain’t gonna lie; they play great. We talk about wanting to be like White Plains a lot, because they win a lot of basketball games. Tonight we’re finally getting over a hump a little bit. A little bit.”
Reed finished with 12 points. Rayne Beck had 11.
White Plains’ Shelby Wood led all scorers with 16 before fouling out when the Lady Wildcats giving away fouls late in the game. Ann Katherine Dothard had 15, eight in the first quarter as the Lady Wildcats opened a 13-4 lead.
“My girls played freakin’ hard tonight; they played their guts out and did everything I wanted them to do,” Atchley said. “We never thought that we were going to lose that game.”
Ohatchee 39, Wellborn 31
The drive to regain a lost starting spot can be a powerful motivator and Cheyenne McCarter is certainly motivated.
The Ohatchee senior post gave what coach Bryant Ginn called “her best minutes of the whole year” in the second quarter when she scored nine of her 11 points to stake the Lady Indians to a 23-16 halftime lead.
“I started the season starting, but after a couple games I didn’t start any more and I was a little discouraged,” McCarter said. “But I was like I’ve got to pick it up if I want to work back to where I was.”
And according to Ginn she has. On Tuesday, McCarter hit five of her nine field goal attempts in the game and shared game-high scoring honors with teammate Ally McCoy.
“I challenged her about two weeks ago and she’s responded well,” Ginn said. “That’s the kind of senior leader I need. She’s become that over the last few games.”
Another key to the Indians’ victory was the defensive job Kourtney Shuler did on Wellborn freshman scoring sensation Vanessa Carter. Shuler held her to only six points.
Saks 63, Piedmont 46
PIEDMONT — Jordan Briskey and Bre Browning each scored 16 points and combined for nine rebounds as the Lady Wildcats (7-3) dominated another opponent.
Daja Johnson was 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the second half and 8-for-8 the entire game.
Strong defense and the Wildcats’ typical speed were too much for the young Bulldogs to handle. Brian Brazier led Piedmont with 13 points and four rebounds. Jokey Mitchell had eight points and three boards.
Jacksonville 34, Etowah 27
ATTALLA – Kyra Williams and Dasia Kirksey scored 13 points apiece and Jacksonville overcame a slow start to earn the victory.
Both teams scored only two points in the first quarter, but the Golden Eagles opened nine-point halftime lead with a 14-point second quarter.
Williams also grabbed 11 rebounds and had four steals and two assists. Etowah’s Gabby Williams led all scorers with 19 points; she took exactly half of the Blue Devils’ 52 shots from the field.
Spring Garden 75, JCA 27
SPRING GARDEN — The Lady Panthers shot better than 50 percent from the floor, hit almost as many 3-pointers (14) as 2s (15), and placed four scorers in double figures.
They shot 51.8 percent from the floor overall, 14-of-27 from outside the 3-point arc and 15-of-29 from within it. Payton McGinnis was 4-for-4 from 3-point range.
Madison Sides led the balanced scoring attack with 13 points. McGinnis and Madison Jennings had 12 each and Katie Williams had 11. Tookie Rogers had eight points and nine rebounds.
This story will be updated.
GIRLS BOXSCORES
Weaver 44, White Plains 43
WHITE PLAINS (2-5) – Rian Chandler 0 0-0 0, Carley Wood 1 0-2 2, Hannah Barno 2 0-1 6, Korie Burgess 0 0-1 0, Ann Katherine Dothard 7 1-4 15, Chasity Nelson 0 0-0 0, Grey Young 0 0-0 0, Shelby Wood 6 1-2 12, Jocelyn Harris 2 0-0 4, Mary Clare Young 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 2-10 43.
WEAVER (6-4) – Caleigh Cortez 3 2-6 8, Tayanna Perry 2 2-4 6, Rayne Beck 5 1-1 11, Emily Reed 5 0-0 12, Mariah Thompson 2 0-0 4, Gaines 0 1-2 1, Skylar Watson 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 6-13 44.
White Plains 13 8 14 8 — 43
Weaver 4 16 10 14 — 44
3-point goals: White Plains 5 (Barno 2, S. Wood 3); Weaver 2 (Reed 2). Fouled out: S. Wood. Total fouls: White Plains 15, Weaver 14. Officials: Hollingsworth, Kadle, Crawford.
Ohatchee 39, Wellborn 31
OHATCHEE (7-5) — Taylor Hamm 0 0-0 0, Courtney Poole 1 0-0 2, Hannah Howell 1 1-2 3, Shelby Crump 0 0-0 0, Ally McCoy 4 2-2 11, Kourtney Shuler 1 0-0 2, Kacie Cooper 0 0-0 0, Maggie Phillips 1 0-0 2, McKenzie Hanks 2 0-0 6, Madison Hanks 1 0-0 2, Shey Clemments 0 0-0 0, Mandy Jennings 0 0-0 0, Cheyenne McCarter 5 1-2 11. Totals 16 4-6 39.
WELLBORN — Vanessa Carter 3 0-0 6, Anaya Lowe 0 0-0 0, Toni Welch 1 0-0 3, Madison Files 1 0-0 2, Katessa Carter 1 0-0 2, Ayanna Foster 2 2-4 6, Valencia White 0 0-0 0, Caitlyn Gamble 3 0-0 7, Aliyah Thrasher 2 0-0 5, Desirae Trayler 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 2-4 31.
Ohatchee 10 13 9 7 — 39
Wellborn 10 6 4 11 — 31
3-point goals: Ohatchee 3 (Mc. Hanks 2, McCoy); Wellborn 3 (Welch, Gamble, Thrasher). Total fouls: Ohatchee 4, Wellborn 10. Officials: Battles, Washington, Preston.
Saks 63, Piedmeont 46
SAKS — Talisa Christian 0 2-4 2, Tayler Teague 4 2-3 10, Jordan Briskey 5 6-10 16, Sabrea Bean 0 0-0 0, Maiya Northard 3 5-6 11, Christie Gooden 0 0-0 0, Bre Browning 7 2-4 16, Daja Johnson 0 8-8 8. Totals 19 25-32 63.
PIEDMONT — Jakieya Mitchell 3 1-2 8, Samirra Braswell 2 1-2 5, Breanna Brazier 5 2-4 13, Brooke Perry 2 0-0 4, Keshauna Jones 1 2-7 4, Kaitlyn Ridley 1 4-6 6, Lulu Jackson 2 0-2 4, Madison Tyree 0 0-0 0, Rebecca Smart 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 10-23 46.
Saks 13 11 15 24 — 63
Piedmont 7 12 10 17 — 46
3-point goals: Piedmont 2 (Mitchell, Brazier). Fouled out: Ridley, Teague. Total fouls: Saks 19, Piedmont 25.
Jacksonville 34, Etowah 27
JACKSONVILLE – Kyra Williams 4-10 4-5 13, Dasia Kirksey 6-17 0-0 13, Aniyah Robinson 2-6 0-0 4, Aniya Jefferson 1-1 0-2 2, Ataliya Morgan 1-5 0-0 2, Kelsey Ervin 0-0 0-0 0, Malieah Patterson 0-0 0-0 0, Essence Hutchinson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-39 4-7 34.
ETOWAH – Gabby Williams 8-26 2-6 19, Maliyah Davis 2-6 0-2 4, Areona Vinson 1-9 1-2 3, Kaylee Fore 0-4 1-2 1, Madison Grant 0-3 0-0 0, Jakiya Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Alyssa Howard 0-2 0-0 0, Emma Jones 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 11-52 4-12 27.
Jacksonville 2 14 7 11 — 34
Etowah 2 5 7 13 — 27
3-point goals: Jacksonville 2-7 (Williams 1-1, Kirksey 1-4, Morgan 0-2); Etowah 1-9 (G. Williams 1-6, Vinson 0-3). Rebounds: Jacksonville 36 (Williams 11, Jefferson 7); Etowah 36 (Grant 13). Total fouls: Jacksonville 8, Etowah 6.
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