Grey’s area
- Updated: January 22, 2017
UPDATED: White Plains’ Grey Young draws iron on her half-court shot for $10K
White Plains’ Grey Young lets fly the half-court shot that would have brought her school $10,000 if it went. Instead, she left with some lovely parting gifts. She did make the all-tournament team. (Photo by B.J. Franklin/GungHo Photos)
F&M Shootout Scoreboard – 3 PT SHOOTOUT
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
JACKSONVILLE — Grey Young spent about an hour in the gym back home practicing her half-court shot and when the time came to put it on the line she came about as close as you could without it going in.
Young, a senior on the White Plains girls team, missed her shot at $10,000 for her school at halftime of Saturday’s boys championship game of the Calhoun County Tournament – but at least she drew iron. She earned that chance by beating out some of the best long-range shooters in the county in the F&M Bank 3-Point Shootout among boys and girls players from all 15 county teams.
She had all day to think about it. When the time came she warmed up with a handful of 3-pointers, then headed to the Oxford side of mid-court – with a White Plains ball — for the shot. It was high enough and long enough, but missed off the left side of the rim.
“It was nerve-wracking,” she said. “I thought it had a shot (to go in).”
Before coming to the coliseum she practice for about an hour in the White Plains gym, taking shots from little farther back from midcourt to account for the longer college court. She actually make one.
“It only takes one,” she said.
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Young knows all about the pressure of taking a long-distance shot with a little something on the line.
The White Plains senior will take a half-court shot tonight at Pete Mathews Coliseum that could bring her school $10,000 after winning the F&M Bank 3-Point Shootout at the Calhoun County Tournament Friday night. The shot will come during the championship doubleheader.
“That’s an awfully long shot, but I will definitely give it my best,” said Young, who’s longest shot she can recall making was about a step behind the half-court line. “Winning the money for the school would be incredible.”
Young, who hit a first-quarter 3-pointer in the Lady Wildcats’ semifinal loss to Anniston before her run, made 15 3-pointers in 60 seconds to win the shootout. She outgunned such top-line county boys snipers as Sacred Heart’s Kevion Nolan, Jacksonville’s Rivan Hill, Piedmont’s Easton Kirk and White Plains’ Michael McGuirk.
Under the rules of the event there was going to be only one winner, and it could have been a boy or a girl.
“I was surprised, I’ve never hit seven in a row like that,” she said of the run that carried her to victory. “You get in a groove and you don’t think about anything around you, the crowd or anything. It’s just you and the ball.”
It won’t be the first time she’s taken that kind of shot – and won.
“Our coach gave our whole team a chance last year to take a half-court shot, and if anyone made it then we would get out of conditioning,” she said. “And I surprisingly made it.”
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise then if she drains it tonight.
Here was the lineup:
GIRLS
Pool A
Sacred Heart – Myiah Harris; JCA – Briah Cupp; White Plains – Grey Young; Donoho – Constance Hodges; Anniston – Monteiga Clemons; Faith – Emily Sills; Alexandria – Molly Parker; Saks – Miracle Dennard.
Pool B
Ohatchee – Kourtney Shuler; Wellborn – Vanessa Carter; Oxford – Anna Bolton; Weaver – Mariah Thompson; Piedmont – Breanna Brazier; Jacksonville – Kyra Williams; Pleasant Valley – Atleigh Brannon.
BOYS
Pool A
JCA – Reed Murphy; Jacksonville – Rivan Hill; Donoho – Jacob LeCroy; Faith Christian – Seth Cravens; Pleasant Valley – Reid Hightower; Wellborn – Blake Hanson; Piedmont – Easton Kirk.
Pool B
Ohatchee – Ben Glass; White Plains – Michael McGuirk; Alexandria – Jake Weathington; Weaver – Maurice Goodman; Sacred Heart – Kevion Nolan; Saks – Alfonza Ward; Anniston – William Fairley; Oxford – Jakolbe McClendon.
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