Lady Jackets rally
- Updated: January 8, 2021
Girls roundup: After a dreadful first half, Oxford picks up the pace and pulls away in the second half; Alexandria wins in final second and more
FRIDAY’S GIRLS SCORES
Alexandria 48, Moody 46
Collinsville 61, Ranburne 36
Jacksonville 57, Ashville 28
Oxford 60, Springville 46
Piedmont 71, Pleasant Valley 59
Ragland 50, Faith Christian 33
White Plains 55, Cleburne County 40
By Brant Locklier
For East Alabama Sports Today
OXFORD – It looked like it was going to be a long night for the Oxford Lady Jackets. They fell behind early and were fortunate to only be down eight at the half.
“We played the worst half we have played all year,” Oxford coach Melissa Bennett saiad. “There were missed free throws, no intensity, shot terrible and did not play any defense. But we were only down eight points at the half.”
But the Lady Jackets responded with a tremendous second half effort as they chased every ball down with a full-court press that challenged every single dribble and shot Springville took.
They simply put the hammer down in the second half and went on to a 60-46 win. They outscored the Tigers 37-15 in the second half, 18-5 in the fourth quarter for their sixth straight victory.
The Yellow Jackets (14-4) totally frustrated the Tigers (8-5) with 17 second-half turnovers as the game was played at a furious pace. Springville ended up with 26 turnovers in the game, while Oxford had 22 (but only eight in the second half).
The pace seemed to fit freshman Xaionna Whitfield just fine. She glided through the Tigers for 18 points off the bench; she had six in the fourth quarter. Sophomore LaMya McGrue and junior Kaleah Taylor scored 11 points apiece. Lisa Montgomery had 10 points and eight rebounds.
The Jackets finally caught the Tigers at the end of the third quarter when Taylor stole the ball and nailed a 3 at the buzzer to put the Jackets up 42-41. It was a part of a 13-point run the put the Jackets up 47-41 in the fourth quarter.
Taylor had nine points in the second half.
OXFORD 60, SPRINGVILLE 46
SPRINGVILLE (8-5) – Isabella Gray 0 0-0 0, Makalyn Kyser 4 0-1 9, Abigail Talton 3 1-5 7, Tatum Bartlett 3 4-6 10, Bennett Patterson 3 1-2 7, Farrah Hawkins 4 2-2 11, Ava Vaughn 0 0-0 0, Olivia Carroll 0 0-0 0, Isabella Bullington 1 0-2 2. Totals 18 8-18 46
OXFORD (14-4) – Justice Woods 1 2-4 4, Xai Whitfield 6 5-7 18, Lauren Ellard 2 2-2 7, LaMya McGrue 4 1-6 9, Kaleah Taylor 5 0-3 11, Emma McCullough 0 0-0 0, Lisa Montgomery 4 1-2 10, Keziah Mickler 0 0-0 0, JaMea Gaston 0 1-2 1. Total 22 12-26 60.
Springville 17 14 10 5 – 46
Oxford 7 16 19 18 – 60
3-point goals: Springville 2 (Kyser, Hawkins); Oxford 4 (Whitfield, Ellard, Taylor, Montgomery). Fouled out: Hawkins, Montgomery. Total fouls: Springville 18, Oxford 19.
ALEXANDRIA 48, MOODY 46: Ashley Phillips hit two free throws with 1.1 seconds left to give the Lady Cubs (7-7, 2-0) the area victory.
The Lady Cubs had the ball and called time with 16 seconds left to set up the final play. They wanted Phillips to take the shot and ran a set play for her. She drove the lane, got fouled and sank both shots to secure the victory.
“She hadn’t been shooting free throws well lately – she was 4-for-10 against Ohatchee (Thursday) – but Ashley just does whatever we need her to do,” Lady Cubs coach Craig Kiker said. “Her last name is clutch most of the time. I can’t say enough good things about her.”
Phillips finished with 11 points and was 4-for-4 from the line. Not to be overlooked was six 3-pointers by Sarah Pelham, who scored a career-high 20 points.
“Sarah’s a really good shooter when she doesn’t rush her shot, so it wasn’t a surprise to me she made six in the game,” Kiker said.
It was a night of nail-biters for Alexandria. After the girls game, the Alexandria boys edged Moody 58-56 on Landan Williams’ outback with nine seconds left and Javais McGhee’s game-sealing steal with three seconds to go.
Alexandria 48, Moody 46
ALEXANDRIA – Ashley Phillips 3 4-4 11, Jordyn Walker 2 1-2 7, Maddie Richey 0 0-0 0, Jill Cockrell 0 1-2 1, Kirsten Heathcock 0 0-0 0, Sarah Pelham 7 0-0 20, Kailey Dickerson 1 0-0 2, TyShica Woodgett 1 0-1 2, Chloe Gattis 2 1-2 5. Totals 16 7-11 48
MOODY – Sydney White 3 0-0 6, Jaylon Fields 6 4-7 16, Victoria Pyles 2 2-2 6, Micah Grames 4 0-0 9, Maddie Barfield 0 1-3 1, Destany Chattman 1 0-2 2, Kendall Stephens 3 0-0 6. Totals 19 7-14 46.
Alexandria 9 19 8 12 – 48
White Plains 8 16 17 5 – 46
3-point goals: Alexandria 9 (Phillips, Walker 2, Pelham 6); Moody 1 (Grames). Fouled out: Barfield. Total fouls: Alexandria 16, Moody 13. Officials: Clark, Thompson, Lovell.
WHITE PLAINS 55, CLEBURNE COUNTY 40: Angel Bozarth scored a career-high 26 points and the Lady Wildcats hit seven 3-pointers as a team to score an area victory. Lily Ponder had 12 and Callyn Martin 11 for White Plains. Brooklyn McDaniel led Cleburne County with 16.
“We have been asking Angel to be more assertive and she did a good job doing that tonight,” White Plains coach Matt Ford said. “She has been working hard on defense all year and has been a great teammate. It is starting to all come together for her.”
White Plains 55, Cleburne County 40
CLEBURNE COUNTY – Faith Brown 2 2-2 7, Haley Price 4 1-4 10, Micah Pentecost 1 0-0 2, Brooklyn McDaniel 6 1-4 16, Haven Freeman 0 0-2 0, Libby Altman 2 0-0 5. Totals 15 4-10 40.
WHITE PLAINS – Callyn Martin 4 1-2 11, Cheyenne Cochran 1 0-0 3, Shaniyah Calloway 1 0-0 3, Camden Wilson 0 0-0 0, Lily Ponder 5 0-0 12, Adriana Sotelo 0 0-0 0, Angel Bozarth 10 5-7 26. Totals 21 6-9 55.
Cleburne County 7 13 11 9 – 40
White Plains 13 15 12 15 – 55
3-point goals: Cleburne County 6 (Brown, Price, B. McDaniel 3, Altman); White Plains 7 (Martin 2, Cochran, Calloway, Ponder 2, Bozarth). Fouled out: Brown. Total fouls: Cleburne County 12, White Plains 7. Officials: Jarrett, Kelley, Wilson.
JACKSONVILLE 57, ASHVILLE 28: Kayla Broom played an all-around strong game, Ashley Grant scored a season-high 16 points and the Lady Golden Eagles held their hosts scoreless in the first quarter. Broom led all scorers with 17 points and also grabbed nine rebounds, had five assists, five steals and two blocks. Grant, an eighth-grader, was 4-of-6 from 3-point range.
“She definitely has a lot of scoring potential, just young and learning the game,” Jacksonville coach Tres Buzan said of Grant. “She’s definitely going to be a solid scorer down the road.”
Jacksonville 57, Ashville 28
JACKSONVILLE – Kayla Broom 7-13 3-4 17, Ashley Grant 6-9 0-0 16, Bree Edmonson 3-9 0-2 7, Maggie Anderson 2-8 0-0 6, Patience Carr 2-7 1-2 5, Amarie Curry 2-8 0-0 4, Amiyah Buchanan 1-3 0-0 2, Autumn Carr 0-2 0-0 0, Rebekah Gannaway 0-3 0-0 0, Kierra LaCount 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-62 4-8 57.
ASHVILLE – Ryleigh Waid 3-14 3-6 9, Meghan McCarthy 2-7 3-6 7, Sera Potter 3-9 0-0 6, Kadie Kennedy 1-3 1-1 4, Molly Northam 1-4 0-2 2, Zahkiyla Cook 0-1 0-0 0, Rachel St. John 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 10-38 7-15 28.
Jacksonville 10 16 24 7 – 57
Ashville 0 11 9 8 – 28
3-point goals: Jacksonville 7-22 (Broom 0-1, Grant 4-6, Edmonson 1-3, Anderson 2-7, P. Carr 0-1, Curry 0-1, A. Carr 0-2, Gannaway 0-1); Ashville 1-2 (Kennedy 1-2). Rebounds: Jacksonville 42 (Broom 9, Curry 6, Buchanan 6); Ashville 33 (Potter 6). Total fouls: Jacksonville 13, Ashville 7.
PIEDMONT 71, PLEASANT VALLEY 57: Emily Farmer scored 22 points with five 3-pointers and Ava Pope scored 21 with four to lead the Lady Bulldogs. Farmer, who was 5-of-6 from behind the arc and 8-for-11 overall, hit four of her 3s in the second quarter as Piedmont extended a two-point first-quarter lead to 13 at halftime. LeLe Ridley scored nine of her 15 points in the fourth quarter to keep the Lady Raiders at bay.
“Being without my point guard, Emily Farmer really stepped up and shot well with Ava having to handle the ball more,” Piedmont coach Terrace Ridley said. “Emily’s shooting in the second quarter pretty much kept us in control of the lead and Lele stepped up after foul trouble and came back in the fourth to keep us in control the game.
“We just played good team ball all the way around.”
Farmer also grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds. Ridley also had eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Z’Hayla Walker had 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Macey Roper led PV with 22 points. Ryle Haynes had 21.
Piedmont 71, Pleasant Valley 59
PIEDMONT – Ava Pope 8 1-2 21, Lele Ridley 5 5-11 15, Cayla Brothers 0 0-0 0, Armoni Perry 1 1-2 3, Gracie Naugher 0 0-0 0, Z’Hayla Walker 5 0-3 10, Emily Farmer 8 1-3 22. Totals 27 8-21 71.
PLEASANT VALLEY – Lily Henry 1 0-0 2, Rylee Haynes 8 5-6 21, Marlie Wright 2 0-0 6, Kianna Hester 0 0-0 0, Gracie Hood 1 3-6 6, Macey Roper 7 5-7 22, Anna Worthy 0 0-0 0, Erin Rose 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 13-19 59
Piedmont 11 25 12 23 – 71
Pleasant Valley 9 14 13 23 – 59
3-point goals: Piedmont 9 (Pope 4, Farmer 5); Pleasant Valley 6 (Wright 2, Hood, Roper 3). Fouled out: Haynes. Total fouls: Piedmont 13, Pleasant
Valley 19.
COLLINSVILLE 61, RANBURNE 36: Emma Terrell hit seven 3-pointers and scored 26 points for the defending Class 2A state champions. The Lady Panthers hit 10 3-pointers as a team. Abigail Howle led Ranburne with 18 points.
“She had a great game,” Ranburne coach Daniel Chambers said of Terrell. “We held their best two down as best we could; they just had more make plays.”
Collinsville 61, Ranburne 36
COLLINSVILLE – Tyla Tatum 3 3-5 9, Kayla Beene 1 0-0 3, Caroline Brannon 1 2-6 4, Hadley Hamilton 3 0-0 8, Rylee Tillery 0 0-0 0, Sophia Wills 1 1-2 3, Olivia Akins 1 0-0 2, Gracie Griggs 0 2-2 2, Cadence Amison 2 0-0 4, Emma Terrell 8 3-4 26. Totals 20 11-19 61.
RANBURNE – Autumn Phillips 0 0-0 0, Briley Merrill 3 1-2 9, Julianna Merrill 1 0-4 2, Kayli Olds 0 0-0 0, Abigail Howle 7 1-2 18, Natalie Merrill 2 0-0 5, Auburn Rollins 1 0-1 2, Crimson Rollins 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 2-9 36.
Collinsville 13 17 12 19 – 61
Ranburne 11 8 8 9 – 36
3-point goals: Collinsvlle 10 (Beene, Hamilton 2, Terrell 7); Ranburne 6 (B. Merrill 2, Howle 3, N. Merrill). Total fouls: Collinsville 11, Ranburne 12. Officials: Howell, Pratt, Elworth.
RAGLAND 50, FAITH CHRISTIAN 33: Cadence Buchanan dominated inside with 17 points and Aubrey Ball hit four 3-pointers for her 12 points as the Lady Purple Devils beat an area private school opponent from Calhoun County for the second day in a row.
Buchanan got started early with 10 points in the first quarter and Ball hit three of her treys in the second quarter as the Lady Purple Devils, who beat JCA on Thursday, opened a 28-12 halftime lead.
Ragland 50, Faith Christian 33
FAITH CHRISTIAN – Ona Marple 1 0-0 3, Anna Strautman 2 2-4 6, Alligrace Emerson 1 0-3 2, Joelle Tillery 1 1-4 4, Erin McVeigh 0 0-0 0, Meagan Ford 5 0-1 10, Babat Aremu 4 0-2 8. Totals 14 3-14 33.
RAGLAND – Cadence Buchanan 7 3-6 17, Campbell Adams 5 1-2 12, Baleigh Hines 0 0-0 0, Aubrey Ball 4 0-0 12, Nya Brewster 0 0-0 0, Rylee Mickler 2 0-0 4, Jewel Ferguson 2 1-2 5. Totals 20 5-10 50.
Faith 4 8 15 6 – 33
Ragland 16 12 10 12 – 50
3-point goals: Faith 2 (Marple, Tillery); Ragland 5 (Ball 4, Adams). Total fouls: Faith 11, Ragland 13. Officials: Whitmire, Ellison, Hedgepeth.
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