Lady Cubs have tough time
- Updated: February 17, 2018
Alexandria falls behind early in Class 5A Northeast Regional, Morgan keys big fourth-quarter rally that lifts Glencoe, Arab rallies to beat Talladega
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
JACKSONVILLE – Scottsboro coach Derek Wynn came into the media room after his team dispatched Alexandria in the Class 5A Girls Northeast Regionals and said he thought his team started slow.
If what transpired at the start of the game were “slow,” the folks in Alexandria are probably wondering what fast means.
Scottsboro scored 20 straight points over the course of the first and second quarters to take control of an eventual 70-33 victory over the Lady Cubs.
Well, it was 3-2 for the first three and a half minutes.
“It was kind of a slow game to start with,” Alexandria coach Craig Kiker said. “Once it got to about 9-3, they really started rolling after that. Early in the game I thought we were OK. Even at 9-3 I thought we were OK. I don’t know how they shot, but I know it was pretty good.”
Both teams were playing in the regionals for the first time in at least a decade. Alexandria hadn’t been since 2007 and Scottsboro since 2008.
The Lady Wildcats (28-3) got comfortable once they got into their half-court game. The Lady Cubs (20-10) were nervous at the start and falling behind early didn’t make it any easier.
Scottsboro forced the Lady Cubs into 30 turnovers, off which they scored 33 points. They had 13 turnovers during Scottsboro’s 20-0 run.
The Lady Cubs stopped the run with back-to-back jumpers by Destiny Heathcock early in the second quarter. They trailed at halftime 31-12.
“I think we played about as bad as we could have in the first half,” Kiker said. “We didn’t play our best game, but they (Scottsboro) should get a lot of credit for that. We just didn’t have our best stuff today.
“When you take that first shot you’re either going to respond well or you’re not going to respond well, and we didn’t really respond well today.”
Scottsboro’s Keara Sexton led all scorers with 19 points, including three 3-pointers in the third quarter. Brie Bradford was Alexandria’s leading scorer with eight points. Allison Bonds scored six with two 3-pointers.
Arab 52, Talladega 47: The Lady Knights hit seven 3-pointers in the second half and did a solid job defensively on Talladega twin towers Amaz Carmichael and Camille Buckhanon.
Talladega jumped out to a 9-0 lead before Buckhanon picked up her second foul 2:10 into the game and led by four at halftime, but Arab hit 7-of-11 3-pointers in the second half and that was the difference in the game.
“We’ve been practicing our shooting like our lives depended on it,” Arab coach Jessica Thompson said. “They hit big shots at big moments when we needed it.”
Four of Arab’s first five baskets of the second half were 3-pointers by Caleigh Kitchens and Jasmine Davis to take the lead. A Buckhanon jumper got Talladega back to within 42-41 with 3:44 left, then Kitchens and Davis hit back-to-back 3s and the Knights remained in control the rest of the game.
The Knights were 10-of-21 from behind the arc for the game. Davis and Kitchens were a combined 8-for-12.
The Lady Tigers, meanwhile, have played with Buckhanon getting in early foul trouble before and each time Carmichael has stepped up to pick up the slack. This time it didn’t happen.
“We never settled down and got into what we’re supposed to be doing,” Talladega coach Jannie Keith said.
Buckhanon had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Carmichael had eight points and 18 boards.
CLASS 3A
Glencoe 65, North Sand Mountain 61: Ashley Morgan scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Anna Beth Giles had 14 and Glencoe staged a fourth-quarter rally to trim.
The Lady Jackets (23-8) trailed by eight with 6:32 left in the third quarter and by five entering the fourth. With her team trailing by seven, Breia Little hit a 3-pointer with 6:30 to play and it ignited an 18-3 run that carried them to the victory.
Morgan scored 10 of her points in the fourth quarter on 5-of-6 shooting and grabbed four rebounds. The Lady Jackets had 12 second-chance points in the quarter and 16 points in the paint.
“It was the type game you expect at JSU between two good teams in a playoff scenario,” Glencoe coach Daniel Cook said. “We won it in the fourth; we preach (doing) that every day at practice with the way we play with tempo.”
Th Lady Jackets will now play once-beaten Pisgah (28-1) Tuesday at 4 p.m. for the region title and a trip to Final Four in Birmingham.
CLASS 5A GIRLS BOX SCORES
Scottsboro 70, Alexandria 33
SCOTTSBORO (28-3) – Keara Sexton 7-8 2-2 19, Carley Bell 4-11 0-0 8, Jasmine Branford 5-9 1-1 12, Abby Jones 2-5 2-2 6, Emily Garner 2-5 2-2 8, Allie Scott 1-4 0-0 3, Kami Willis 2-3 0-0 5, Daylee Dudley 1-1 2-3 4, Keyona Fennell 0-0 0-0 0, Lily Green 0-0 2-2 2, Caitlin Terrell 0-4 1-1 1, Shirley Dubose 1-1 0-0 2, Annalynn Buckner 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 25-55 12-13 70.
ALEXANDRIA (20-10) – Ashley Phillips 1-9 2-2 4,Destiny Heathcock 2-3 0-0 4, Kayleigh Steen 1-4 0-0 3, Kameron Simpson 1-2 0-0 2, Brie Bradford 2-8 4-7 8, Kaitlin Harvey 0-0 0-0 0, Lauryn McLaughlin 0-0 0-0 0, Alierra Bradford 0-1 2-2 2, Sara Pelham 0-0 0-0 0, Zoe Biggs 0-1 0-0 0, Allison Bonds 2-8 0-0 6, Maggie Phillips 0-0 4-5 4, Janizia Ross 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 9-37 12-16 33.
Scottsboro 20 11 27 12 — 70
Alexandria 3 9 10 11 — 33
3-point goals: Scottsboro 8-19 (Sexton 3-3, Bell 0-2, Branford 1-2, Garner 2-3, Scott 1-4, Willis 1-1, Terrell 0-4); Alexandria 3-16 (A. Phillips 0-3, Steen 1-4, Simpson 0-1, Biggs 0-1, Bonds 2-6, Ross 0-1). Rebounds: Scottsboro 35 (Jones 6); Alexandria 27 (Heathcock 5). Total fouls: Scottsboro 18, Alexandria 11. Officials: Cedrick Hawkins, Will Rasley, Greg Farris.
Arab 52, Talladega 47
TALLADEGA (30-3) – Amaz Carmichael 4-13 0-2 8, Tiona Roberson 3-10 3-6 9, Takerria Swain 0-4 1-4 1, Essence Cunningham 2-8 0-0 6, Camille Buckhanon 8-17 5-8 21, Aiyani Heath 0-2 0-0 0, Nakira Truss 1-2 0-2 2, Imani Booker 0-1 0-0 0, Cymarion Scales 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-58 9-22 47.
ARAB (17-12) – Natalie Hunt 6-11 3-4 17, Randi Ferguson 0-3 0-0 0, Elizabeth Broadhage 0-4 1-2 1, Jasmine Davis 6-13 3-6 19, Caleigh Kitchens 4-6 1-2 13, Emma Stewart 0-1 0-0 0, Tristen White 1-5 0-0 2, Reagan Malone 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 17-45 8-14 52.
Talladega 13 11 11 12 — 47
Arab 8 12 16 16 — 52
3-point goals: Talladega 2-8 (Carmichael 0-1, Cunningham 2-5, Heath 0-2); Arab 10-21 (Hunt 2-4, Brodhage 0-1, Davis 4-7, Kitchens 4-5, Stewart 0-1, White 0-3). Rebounds: Talladega 51 (Carmichael 18, Buckhanon 11). Total fouls: Talladega 13, Arab 17. Officials: Steve Kelly, Robert Howell, Fred Bates.
CLASS 3A GIRLS BOX SCORES
Glencoe 65, North Sand Mountain 61
NORTH SAND MOUNTAIN (19-10) – Victoria Reed 7-16 1-2 15, Alexis Leake 2-7 8-9 12, Jaden Leake 4-10 0-0 10, Kayci Christopher 3-11 2-4 9, Taylor Stone 3-6 0-0 8, Angela Boren 2-7 0-2 4, Cassidy Barton 0-0 0-0 0, Maggie Cooper 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-58 11-17 58.
GLENCOE (23-8) – Ashley Morgan 6-11 4-7 16, Anna Beth Giles 4-8 6-8 14, Abby Vice 5-13 1-2 11, Aubrey Gray 3-7 2-2 8, Breia Little 2-8 1-2 7, Kenleigh Harper 0-2 4-4 4, Lauren Cole 0-1 3-6 3, Anna Grace Goodwin 1-4 0-0 2, Kaylie Davis 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-55 21-31 65.
N. Sand Mt. 9 21 15 16 — 61
Glencoe 14 13 13 25 — 65
3-point goals: NSM 5-18 (Stone 2-3, J. Leake 2-3, Christopher 1-5, Cooper 0-1, Boren 0-2, A. Leake 0-1, Reed 0-3); Glencoe 2-13 (Little 2-6, Giles 0-2, Vice 0-2, Harper 0-1, Cole 0-1, Goodwin 0-1). Rebounds: NSM 31 (Reed 9); Glencoe 49 (Morgan 8, Gray 8). Fouled out: Cooper, Stone. Officials: Rusty Burroughs, Andy Pruitt, Mark Green.
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