Tough start
- Updated: November 17, 2020
Girls roundup: Morris makes his debut at PV girls head coach, but Alexandria spoils it; Oxford extends winning streak
By East Alabama Sports Today
JACKSONVILLE – Colton Morris was happy to be back on the bench of the team he’s always wanted to coach. The outcome of the game could have been better.
Morris made his debut as Pleasant Valley’s girls basketball coach Monday night, but Alexandria spoiled his return by taking a 70-45 victory.
Morris had been an assistant coach at PV before nine years before spending one year as Ragland’s head coach and another year at Gadsden City as a softball assistant. He returned to take the Lady Raiders after coach Brad Hood moved over to coach the boys team.
“It felt good to be back home and to be able to coach the team I guess you could say that I always wanted to be the head coach of,” he said. “That meant a lot.”
The Lady Raiders were down two starters due to COVID-19 contact tracing measures – Rylee Haynes and Erin Rose – which cost them 20-25 points and started three players who had little to no varsity experience. They hope to have them back when the teams meet again Saturday in the opening round of the Champions Girls Thanksgiving Classic. PV hosts Jacksonville Tuesday.
Macey Roper picked up a lot of the slack, scoring 19 points – going 11-for-18 from the free throw line – and doing much of the ball handling. She had 11 points in the third quarter and was 10-for-16 from the line in the second half. It was a nine-point game with three minutes left in the third quarter, then Alexandria pulled away beating PV’s press.
“It is what it is, but I think we’ve got a lot of upside,” Morris said. “This is by far probably the most athletic bunch I have ever coached, as an assistant or anything, as far as just pure athleticism. They can get up and down the floor, they can do a lot of things, they’re talented in a lot of ways. It’s something to look forward to. The future is bright. It’ll be interesting to see the rematch Saturday with the point guard (Haynes).”
Ashley Phillips had a monster game for the Lady Cubs. She scored a game-high 25 points, 18 coming in the first half. Chloe Gattis also scored in double figures for Alexandria (10 points), highlighted by two of the Lady Cubs’ six 3-pointers.
Alexandria 70, Pleasant Valley 45
ALEXANDRIA (1-0) – Ashley Phillips 9 6-7 25, Jordan Walker 1 3-4 5, Maddie Richey 1 0-0 2, Clancy Bright 0 0-0 0, Sarah Pelham 4 0-0 9, Kailey Dickerson 1 0-0 3, TyShica Woodgett 1 0-0 2, Jill Cockrell 4 0-0 9, Chloe Gattis 4 0-0 10, Aubrey Christian 2 1-4 5. Totals 27 10-15 70.
PLEASANT VALLEY (0-1) – Lily Henry 0 0-0 0, Marlie Wright 3 1-2 8, Chloey Williams 0 0-0 0, Kianna Hester 2 2-2 6, Gracie Hood 2 0-0 4, Macey Roper 4 11-18 19, Anna Worthy 1 2-2 4, Harbor Parris 2 0-0 4. Totals 14 16-24 45.
Alexandria 16 18 19 17 – 70
Pleasant Valley 10 11 20 4 – 45
3-point goals: Alexandria 6 (Phillips, Pelham, Dickerson, Cockrell, Gattis 2); Pleasant Valley 1 (Wright). Total fouls: Alexandria 20, Pleasant Valley 16. Officials: Burroughs, Taylor, Lackey.
Oxford 50, White Plains 41
Xai Whitfield scored 14 points and Mya McGrue had 13 as Oxford improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2017, coach Melissa Bennett’s second season with the program. The Lady Jackets have beaten Ohatchee, Sylacauga and White Plains.
“We made a commitment as soon as the season finished in February to really change our work ethic and change to get a little fire in our belly and commit to playing a certain way,” Bennett said. “It’s not perfect, but they’ve bought into that and they’re playing really hard.”
The Lady Jackets focused on and dominated the boards against White Plains and used that advantage to open a 26-13 halftime lead. They pulled away from a three-point game with 12 straight points.
White Plains put up a fight in the second half. They trailed by 16 early in the third quarter but closed the margin to single digits by game’s end. Lily Ponder scored eight of her team-high 12 points and Angel Bozarth had seven of her 11 in the fourth quarter.
“Give credit to White Plains because they battled ‘til the very end,” Bennett said.
Oxford 50, White Plains 41
OXFORD (3-0) – Justice Woods 3 0-0 6, Xai Whitfield 4 5-8 14, Lauren Ellard 2 3-4 8, Mya McGrue 5 3-4 13, Kaleah Taylor 1 1-3 3, Emma McCullough 0 0-2 0, Lisa Montgomery 2 2-2 6. Totals 17 14-23 50.
WHITE PLAINS (0-1) – Callyn Martin 3 0-0 6, Cheyenne Cochran 0 0-0 0, Hallie Williams 0 0-0 0, Shaniya Calloway 1 0-0 2, Camden Wilson 0 2-2 2, Lily Ponder 6 0-2 12, Adriana Sotelo 0 0-0 0, Angel Bozarth 4 3-6 11, Kaylee Johnson 3 1-2 8. Totals 17 6-12 41.
Oxford 16 10 10 14 – 50
White Plains 11 2 12 16 – 41
3-point goals: Oxford 2 (Whitfield, Ellard); White Plains 1 (Johnson). Fouled out: McGrue. Total fouls: Oxford 18, White Plains 16. Officials: Batey, Binion, Ned.
Cleburne Co. 65, Faith Christian 34
Brooklyn McDaniel and Faith Brown both enjoyed a double-double as the Lady Tigers got their season off to a rousing start.
Brown scored a game-high 20 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and recorded six steals. McDaniel had 19 points, 21 rebounds (10 offensive) and three steals. Haley Price added 16 points for Cleburne County.
McDaniel scored eight points in the second quarter as the Lady Tigers pulled away from a 10-10 tie to take a 28-20 halftime lead. Brown, McDaniel and Price combined for 32 points in the second half. Brown had 15 points in the second half.
Ariana Arevalo led Faith in scoring with 14 points.
Cleburne County 65, Faith Christian 34
CLEBURNE COUNTY (1-0) – Faith Brown 9 1-1 20, MaKenzie Frames 0 0-0 0, Chloe Kerr 0 0-1 0, Jacy Littleton 0 0-2 0, Micah Pentecost 2 1-5 6, Brooklyn McDaniel 8 3-5 19, Haven Freeman 1 1-2 3, Libby Altman 0 1-2 1, Haley Price 7 1-2 16. Totals 27 8-20 65.
FAITH CHRISTIAN (0-2) – Ona Marple 1 1-2 3, Ariana Arevalo 6 2-12 14, Anna Strautman 2 0-3 4, Alligrace Emerson 0 0-0 0, Serenity Pate 2 1-3 5, Erin McVeigh 0 0-0 0, Megan Ford 2 0-3 4, Babat Aremu 2 0-1 4. Totals 15 4-24 34.
Cleburne County 10 18 23 14 – 65
Faith Christian 10 10 9 5 – 34
3-point goals: Cleburne County 3 (Brown, Pentecost, Price). Fouled out: Freeman, Arevalo. Total fouls: Cleburne County 20, Faith Christian 18.
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