Weaver girls inspired

By EASportsToday.com
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Updated: December 28, 2016

Lady Bearcats hold on to win a first-round game in the Cleburne County Holiday Invitational; White Plains’ Barno regains her touch, Wellborn, Heflin also win

Caleigh Cortez (3) scored Weaver’s final six points to keep Munford at bay. (Photos by B.J. Franklin/GungHo Photos)

Cleburne County Holiday Invitational
White Plains 55, Ohatchee 17
Wellborn 47, Vincent 21
Weaver 39, Munford 36
Cleburne County 51, Faith Christian 29

Thursday’s Games
Ohatchee vs. Vincent, 9 a.m.
Faith Christian vs. Munford, noon
White Plains vs. Wellborn, 3 p.m.
Weaver vs. Cleburne County, 6 p.m.

By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today

HEFLIN – The Weaver girls basketball team had a lot of incentive to do well in their opener of the Cleburne County Holiday Invitational Wednesday.

For starters, it was teammate Anna Howell’s 17th birthday Wednesday and the players didn’t want to spoil that. Next, as near as coach Gary Atchley could remember, the Lady Bearcats hadn’t won an opening-round game of any tournament they’d played in and a win in this one would give them a more desirable later start Thursday. Finally, they continue striving to “Win for Winn,” playing for the memory of a beloved school secretary, Stacey Winn, who they lost during the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Lady Bearcats seized upon all that emotion, plus some inspiring words from Atchley during a late fourth-quarter timeout, to pull out a 39-36 victory over Munford. The Lady Bearcats now play host Cleburne County Thursday at 6 p.m.

“We talked before we came out how in these tournaments you need to win the first one if you want to be where you’re supposed to be,” Atchley said. “We always put ourselves behind the eight-ball. That might be the first time in two or three years we’ve actually won the first game of a tournament, trying to put us in position to do things we want to do.

The Lady Bearcats just seemed a step slow to Atchley against Munford, and they certainly missed enough layups to make it frustrating. But they were fast enough — and converted enough — down the stretch when they needed to be.

Caleigh Cortez scored Weaver’s last six points after the Lady Lions pulled within one with 2:58 to play. She finished with 10 points.

“Coach called a full time (with 1:44 left) and said let’s give it all we’ve got right here,” Cortez said. “And we did. It was that motivation talk he gave us.”

If Munford had made its free throws, it might have been a different outcome. The Lady Lions were 7-of-27 from the line in the game. They were 3-for-10 in the fourth quarter and missed six in a row from the time they cut it to one to Atchley’s time out – between free throws – inside of two minutes to go.

White Plains 55, Ohatchee 17: Hannah Barno broke out of what seemed like a season-long shooting slump with five 3-pointers to score 17 points. She hit three from beyond the arc in an 11-point first quarter that staked the Lady Wildcats to a 24-7 lead.

“I think she kind of was thinking she had lost her shot, so we’ve been kind of encouraging her to look for it, to be a little more aggressive,” White Plains coach Joi Watts said. “I asked at halftime how many shots she thought she had. She always feels like it’s too many.”

Barno took only seven shots in the first half – and she made four of them. She was 6-of-10 from the field for the game.

“We’ve been preaching that your shot’s not going to fall if you’re not looking for it,” Watts said. “It’s just a confidence factor. She’s gotten her confidence back and hopefully that carries on; this is a big part of the season.”

Wellborn 47, Vincent 21: Vanessa Carter scored 10 of her 19 points in the first quarter and had 14 at halftime. Katessa Carter had 10 in the first half and finished with 14.

Cleburne County 51, Faith Christian 29: Alex Casey scored 11 of her 18 points in a 15-point second quarter that gave the Lady Tigers control of the game. The game was tied at 9 after the first quarter.

Weaver’s Tayanna Perry (5) gets ahead of the Munford defense on the fast break.

WEDNESDAY’S BOX SCORES
White Plains 55, Ohatchee 17
WHITE PLAINS – Rian Chandler 1 0-0 2, Hanna Dyar 2 0-0 4, Hannah Barno 6 0-0 17, Jordan Sabree 2 0-0 4, Landry Bussey 0 2-2 2, Chasity Nelson 1 0-2 2, Ary Rosario 2 0-0 4, Shelby Wood 4 5-6 14, Jocelyn Harris 3 0-0 6. Totals 21 7-10 55.

OHATCHEE – Ashley Phillips 0 0-0 0, Jazmine Adams 0 0-0 0, Tori Vice 1 0-0 3, Ally McCoy 1 0-2 3, Kourtney Shuler 2 0-2 5, Marli Hanks 0 0-0 0, Maggie Phillips 3 0-0 6, Regan Snow 0 0-0 0, Kacie Cooper 0 0-0 0, Mandy Jennings 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 0-4 17.

White Plains 24 9 14 8 — 55
Ohatchee 7 5 2 3 — 17

3-point goals: White Plains (Barno 5, Wood); Ohatchee 3 (Vice, McCoy, Shuler). Total fouls: White Plains 5, Ohatchee 11. Officials: Kelley, Binnion, Phillips.

Wellborn 47, Vincent 21
WELLBORN – Taliyah Kirby 1 0-0 2, Vanessa Carter 9 0-0 19, Anaya Lowe 0 0-0 0, Loni Welch 1 0-0 3, McKenzie Raines 0 0-0 0, Amaya Myles 0 1-2 1, DaNasia Ackles 0 0-0 0, Itiania Weatherly 2 2-6 6, Jayla Lowe 0 0-0 0, Aliyah Thrasher 1 0-0 2, Rebecca Salter 0 0-0 0, Markeisha Jones 0 0-0 0, Katessa Carter 7 0-2 14. Totals 21 3-10 47.

VINCENT – Makayla Cohill 3 0-0 6, Jada Kelly 0 0-0 0, Jalyn Kelly 0 3-4 3, Zhari Posey 3 0-0 6, Aniya Norwood 1 4-6 6, Alexis Ware 0 0-1 0, Kayla Maxwell 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 7-11 21.

Wellborn 16 12 10 9 — 47
Vincent 1 8 3 9 — 21

3-point goals: Wellborn 2 (V. Carter, Welch). Total fouls: Wellborn 12, Vincent 8.

Weaver 39, Munford 36
WEAVER – Caliegh Cortez 3 4-8 10, Tayanna Perry 1 0-0 2, Rayne Beck 4 0-2 8, Emily Reed 2 0-0 6, Anna Howell 0 0-0 0, Amira Carter 0 0-2 0, Hannah Roberts 0 0-0 0, Mariah Thompson 4 2-4 10, Abby Gaines 1 1-2 3. Totals 15 7-18 39.

MUNFORD – Morgan Ashley 2 3-7 8, Tatanna Johnson 3 1-1 7, Vivica Zimmerman 0 1-2 1, Shandrea Gooden 2 1-4 5, Alexis McKenzie 4 0-8 8, Jaymela Caldwell 0 0-3 0, Justine Calhoun 2 1-2 5, Kamora Sudduth 0 0-0 0, Kennedy Reeves 1 0-0 2, Maliyah Carlisle 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 7-27 36.

Weaver 9 9 10 11 — 39
Munford 4 7 11 14 — 36

3-point goals: Weaver 2 (Reed 2); Munford 1 (Ashley). Fouled out: T. Johnson, Perry. Total fouls: Weaver 21, Munford 18. Officials: Killingsworth, Winn, Dowdle.

Cleburne County 51, Faith Christian 29
FAITH CHRISTIAN – Emily Sills 3 2-3 10, Shelley Phillips 1 0-0 2, Montana Huie 1 0-0 2, Kristin Covington 2 1-4 5, Sydnee Johnson 0 3-6 3, C.J. Setters 0 0-0 0, Regan Crosby 0 0-0 0, S.K. McVeigh 1 0-0 2, Logan Boyd 2 1-2 5. Totals 10 7-15 29.

CLEBURNE COUNTY – Shawntavia Boyd 2 1-2 5, Olivia McDaniel 2 0-0 4, Erykah Ware 2 1-2 5, Lauren Brown 2 0-0 4, Kiara Akles 3 1-2 7, Haven Freeman 2 0-0 4, Abby Lee 0 0-0 0, Alex Casey 6 6-9 18, Tatiana Ervin 0 0-1 0, Kendall Houston 2 0-0 4. Totals 21 9-16 51.

Faith Christian 9 5 6 9 — 29
Cleburne County 9 15 15 12 — 51

3-point goals: Faith 2 (Sills 2). Total fouls: Faith 13, Cleburne County 14. Officials: Battles, Hollingsworth, Pratt.