Looking good
- Updated: February 12, 2021
Girls roundup; Anniston breaks out new uniforms, pulls away from Handley; Jacksonville, Spring Garden claim area titles
| Friday’s girls scores | Cross area |
| 1A-10: Coosa Christian 63, Ragland 44 | Jefferson Christian 48, Appalachian 47 |
| 2A-7: LaFayette 48, Lanett 46 | B.B. Comer 54, Vincent 39 |
| 2A-12: Spring Garden 53, Sand Rock 41 | Pisgah 82, Ider 54 |
| 4A-9: Anniston 45, Handley 37 | Jacksonville 61, Cherokee County 38 |
| 4A-10: Jacksonville 61, Cherokee Co. 38 | Anniston 45, Handley 37 |
| 5A-8: Talladega 62, Sylacauga 46 | Brewbaker Tech 33, Pike Road 26 |
By East Alabama Sports Today
Look good, feel good, play good.
That’s the approach the Anniston girls took Friday night in its Class 4 Area 9 basketball tournament title game and it carried them to a 44-37 victory over Handley 44-37 to win another area tournament title.
The Lady Dawgs will host the Cherokee County game in their Class 4A sub-regional game, while Handley will travel to Area 10 champion Jacksonville.
The Lady Dawgs may have been inspired by their new uniforms coach Eddie Bullock broke out for the game. The white jerseys with wide black striping and Anniston in bold maroon letters were a popular addition.
He had them for a week and planned to break them out for the state tournament. But he asked the players two days ago if they wanted to wear them Friday, and they were all for it.
“We hadn’t had any new uniforms for the last eight years and we needed some uniforms,” Bullock said. “We try to do anything to give them a little incentive, you know – look good, feel good and play good. We pulled out a big one.”
“They’re better,” senior post Asia Barclay said.
Anniston came to life after Handley took a 14-13 lead with 4:00 left in the first half. The Lady Dawgs went on a 9-0 run with four different players scoring to take a 22-14 halftime lead and never trailed again.
“I don’t think necessarily we needed to have that to get some intensity,” Bullock said. “What it is is we need to learn to play with a sense of urgency. Again, chemistry is a big deal, us having new players in and young players in. It’s aa big deal to have the chemistry right and understand the importance of this time of the year.”
Area MVP Allasha Dudley led Anniston with 18 points, six rebounds, three steals and four assists, but was a little disappointed in the way she played. Barclay had 14 points, 13 rebounds and five steals.
Bullock said getting contributions from throughout the lineup, like they did in that stretch where they retook the lead, will be key as the Lady Dawgs make their way towards a second straight state title.
“In order to go down the stretch you’ve got to have other people who can contribute,” Bullock said. “Everybody knows Allasha can shoot the basketball, but you’ve got to have some other people who contribute to the game and they stepped up and made some big buckets. We made a few mental mistakes, but we did enough to get through.”
Anniston 45, Handley 37
HANDLEY – Ariana Kyles 0 0-0 0, Jamiya Heard 2 1-2 5, Teanna Watts 4 4-4 12, Grace Rittenhouse 4 2-3 10, Takeriauna Mosley 1 2-4 4, Emelia Askew 3 0-0 6, Jayla Trammell 0 0-0 0, Shaniah Allen 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 9-13 37.
ANNISTON – Allasha Dudley 6 4-8 18, Alisia Person 2 0-0 5, Serena Hardy 2 0-1 4, Charlies Simmons 0 0-0 0, Shiwanna Jackson 0 0-0 0, Aaliyah Henson 0 0-0 0, Tiauna Thomas 1 0-0 2, Akayla Perry 1 0-0 2, Asia Barclay 5 4-9 14. Totals 17 8-18 45.
Handley 6 8 6 17 – 37
Anniston 11 11 7 18 – 45
3-point goals: Anniston 3 (Dudley 2, Person). Fouled out: Kyles. Total fouls: Handley 17, Anniston 15. Officials: Kelley, Howell, Kadle.
Jacksonville soars into subregionals
JACKSONVILLE – Kayla Broom went 14-for-14 from the free throw line, scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Jacksonville girls over Cherokee County 61-38 for the Class 4A Area 10 title.
Amarie Curry had 16 points and Rebekah Gannaway had 11. The Lady Golden Eagles’ top three scorers were a combined 15-for-21 from the field.
Broom also had six assists.
Jacksonville now hosts Handley in its sub-regional game, while Cherokee County travels to Anniston.
Jacksonville 61, Cherokee County 38
CHEROKEE COUNTY – Mary Johnson 6-19 0-0 14, Audrey Green 3-14 7-9, Karlee Perry 1-9 2-4 5, Ella Garmany 2-4 0-0 4, Sidney Johnson 1-4 0-1 2, Grayson Tucker 0-2 0-2 0, Emily Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Carson Coley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-52 9-16 38.
JACKSONVILLE – Kayla Broom 4-6 14-14 22, Amarie Curry 6-9 4-8 16, Rebekah Gannaway 5-6 0-0 11, Maggie Anderson 1-2 3-9 5, Ashley Grant 1-3 1-2 4, Patience Carr 1-4 0-2 2, Amiyah Buchanan 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 18-32 23-37 61.
Cherokee County 11 3 12 12 – 38
Jacksonville 21 11 7 22 – 61
3-point goals: Cherokee County 3-26 (M. Johnson 2-11, Green 0-6, Perry 1-8, S. Johnson 0-1); Jacksonville 2-7 (Broom 0-1, Gannaway 1-2, Anderson 0-1, Grant 1-2, P. Carr 0-1). Rebounds: Cherokee County 28 (M. Johnson 5, Tucker 5); Jacksonville 37 (Broom 12, Buchanan 7). Fouled out: Garmany, Tucker. Total fouls: Cherokee County 26, Jacksonville 16. Officials: McCareeth, Lackey, Taylor.
Welsh answers the bell
SPRING GARDEN – Junior forward Neely Welsh put in a very early Friday morning phone call to Spring Garden basketball coach Ricky Austin.
She told him she was sick at her stomach and didn’t feel well, but assured him “you can count on me being there” for the top-ranked Lady Panthers’ Class 2A Area 12 championship game against Sand Rock later that evening.
“I’m not going to leave the team; I’m going to be there and I’m going to
play,” Welsh continued. “I knew I had to be there.”
Based on her performance, it was hard to tell that she was ever under the weather. She scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds as the Lady Panthers won their first area championship in 2A with a 53-41 victory.
“It feels great knowing I can go on the rest of my life and say that me and my friends, our names are down for the first 2A area title,” Welsh said.
Austin didn’t think Welsh would be able to go and as much as five hours before game time was preparing to play another 5, but Plan B wasn’t needed.
“We got some fluids in her … and she was able to hang on,” Austin said. “That was a very gutty 32 minutes out of Neely. I’m proud of her toughness tonight.”
Tournament MVP posted 16 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot to lead the Lady Panthers (30-2). The eighth-grader now has 959 career points.
Lanie Henderson led Sand Rock with 18 points and 11 rebounds. McKenna Ballenger had 12. – Shannon Fagan
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