Big-shot Bozarth
- Updated: November 20, 2021
White Plains senior hits shot at buzzer to lift Lady Wildcats in Champions Tournament; Oxford, Alexandria turn up defense to win their games
Champions Girls Thanksgiving Classic
Oxford 76, Ohatchee 44
Alexandria 58, Hokes Bluff 41
White Plains 38, Collinsville 37
Spring Garden 51, Jacksonville 25
Monday’s Games
Ohatchee vs. Hokes Bluff, 3 p.m.
Collinsville vs. Jacksonville, 4:30 p.m.
Oxford vs. Alexandria, 6 p.m.
White Plains vs. Spring Garden, 7:30 p.m.
Regular season
Boys: Temple (Ga.) 60, Faith Christian 45
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
After scuffling in its season opener the White Plains girls basketball team was looking for something good to happen. Enter Angel Bozarth to the rescue.
The senior post hit a floater in the lane at the buzzer Saturday to give the Lady Wildcats a 38-37 victory over Collinsville in the Champions Girls Thanksgiving Classic.
The Lady Wildcats will play the Spring Garden-Jacksonville winner in the tournament semifinals Monday at 7:30 p.m.
After a low-scoring third quarter, the action heated up in the final minute of the fourth quarter.
The teams traded the lead five straight times – with Collinsville going ahead on a 3-pointer with 8.5 seconds left – before White Plains set the wheels in motion for the winning shot.
The Lady Panthers pressed full court, but Bozarth went the length of the floor, crossed over a defender, got in the lane, pump faked to get players racing past her and shot. The ball hit off the back iron and fell through just moments before the horn sounded.
“We wanted to have the ball in Angel’s hand at the end,” White Plains coach Matt Ford said. “She sees the floor well and makes good decisions.”
Bozarth finished with a game-high 17 points. Callyn Martin scored 15 on five 3-pointers.
Hallie Williams gave the Lady Wildcats a strong defensive effort against Collinsville’s Tyla Tatum, holding the Lady Panthers’ top scorer to eight points and one third-quarter field goal in the second half.
SPRING GARDEN 51, JACKSONVILLE 25: Neely Welsh scored 15 of her 19 points in the first half as the Lady Panthers opened a 35-4 halftime lead. The Lady Golden Eagles, held to eight points in their last game, showed signs of coming out of their offensive funk in the fourth quarter with 14 points (nine by Amarie Curry).
Walker sparks Lady Cubs’ comeback
Jordyn Walker wasn’t especially happy with the way her season ended last year, so she sat down and wrote out a list of goals to inspire her for the year ahead.
Two lists actually – one long-term she keeps on her phone, the other more short-term she keeps in a book. After Saturday’s season opener, she’ll probably readjust those short-term goals while staying on fast track for the long-term ones.
The Alexandria junior guard scored 19 points and played a huge role in a second-half comeback that carried the Lady Cubs to a 58-41 victory over Hokes Bluff.
She scored 16 points and made four crucial steals in the second half as the Lady Cubs turned a 13-point deficit early in the third quarter into a 17-point win by outscoring Hokes Bluff 39-9 to the final horn.
“I knew this year I had to step up and be a leader for my team,” Walker said. “I had a bad practice yesterday so I knew I needed to pick it back up. At halftime, I had three points, so I knew I needed to pick it back up and play my game that I knew I could play.”
The Lady Cubs turned Hokes Bluff over 12 times after simply upping their intensity down 32-19, converting them into 19 points. Walker had four steals in the rally off which she produced six points, including the two free throws that put Alexandria ahead for good 36-34 with 6:53 left in the game.
“We just got more intense and we chased and tipped the ball good,” Alexandria coach Craig Kiker said. “We coach that, but you’ve got to turn it up to do it.
“Jordyn is really dynamic because she’s really quick, she is tough to stay in front of and she is a pest on defense.”
While Walker was making steals and hitting layups, Chloe Gattis was helping extend the lead with some sharp outside shooting. She hit three of her four 3-pointers in the second half and finished on the 2-on-1 breaks, eventually scoring 15 of her 18 points in the half. At one point in the fourth quarter, Walker and Gattis scored 15 straight points for their team.
Back to Walker’s goals, the short-term ones were to score 40 points in the three tournament games here, average three steals and at least five assists and make the all-tournament team. The long-term ones are make the all-county, all-area and all-state teams and secure her first college offer.
Her stats from the opener won’t be official until the coaches grade the tape, but she appears well on her way.
Oxford overwhelms Ohatchee
It was midway through the third quarter and Oxford was comfortably ahead of an Ohatchee team just opening its season. A group of five Yellow Jackets had swarmed by the corner of the scorer’s table preparing to spell the group that had built a 25-point lead.
Moments later, that second wave was sliding back to the bench. They weren’t getting in this time.
It was as if the prospect of a wholesale change spurred the group on the floor to turn up their intensity. From there to the end of the quarter the group of the floor created six turnovers in seven possession that pushed the lead to 37 on the way to a 76-44 victory.
“When that second group was at the table ready to sub in, it’s like we turned it on,” Oxford coach Melissa Bennett said. “That’s something I think is critical for any athlete at any level.
“If you have depth and they know they have to fight for playing time they’re usually going to play harder. Our depth is the thing that has been our most improved since last year. Last year we were still really young, really timid, but our depth this year is making a huge impact.”
Ten players scored in the game for the undefeated Lady Jackets (4-0). Three scored in double figures. Kaleah Taylor had 17 points, Justice Woods had 13 and Xai Whitfield 12.
Their defense fueled a lot of that offense. There was one stretch at the end of the first quarter when Mya McGrue stole inbounds passes along the baseline on back-to-back plays and converted them into layups. It gave Oxford an 18-5 lead the grew to 29-7.
“We’re really aggressive on the entry of the ball,” Bennett said. “Anytime you can get a layup when you only have to move a few feet it’s always a good thing. Even though it was only four points, those are plays that really take it out of another team because it’s almost like a deflating play.”
Still, for all the good Oxford did, the Lady Jackets didn’t have much of an answer for Ohatchee’s Jorda Crook. She scored 27 points, hit a pair of 3s, grabbed 15 rebounds, had at least four steals and three blocked shots.
“Any time you have a kid as good as Jorda is it’s hard to keep her off the boards consistently,” Bennett said. “Hats off to her. She did whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. Even with us doubling her, she was shooting through our double teams.
“We knew pressure would be the key to trying to keep it out of her hands because we knew if she had easy feeds, easy touches that she’d do what she does best, which is score the ball.”
Champions Girls Thanksgiving Classic
Box Scores
Oxford 76, Ohatchee 44
OXFORD (4-0) – Justice Woods 6 0-0 13, Xai Whitfield 5 1-1 12, Lauren Ellard 3 0-0 7, LaMya McGrue 4 1-2 9, Kaleah Taylor 7 3-3 17, Jamea Gaston 2 0-0 5, Keziah Mickler 2 1-2 5, Shaniya Calloway 2 0-0 4, Kaylen Kenney 1 1-2 3, Mikiya Wilson 0 1-4 1, Jaslyn Montgomery 0 0-0 0. Totals 32 8-14 76.
OHATCHEE (0-1) – Whitney McFry 1 0-0 3, Tabitha Davidson 0 0-0 0, Morgan Foushee 1 0-0 2, Mia Waters 0 0-0 0, Gracie George 2 0-0 4, Millie Rainwater 0 0-0 0, Kiana Garber 1 0-0 2, Jorda Crook 10 5-12 27, Lindsey Zurchin 1 0-0 3, Alyssa Davis 1 1-2 3. Totals 17 6-13 44.
Oxford 18 26 27 5 – 76
Ohatchee 5 16 13 10 – 44
3-point goals: Oxford 4 (Woods, Whitfield, Ellard, Gaston); Ohatchee 4 (McFry, Crook 2, Zurchin). Total fouls: Oxford 15, Ohatchee 12. Officials: Brown, Whiteside, Hall.
Alexandria 58, Hokes Bluff 41
HOKES BLUFF (2-1) – Charly Robinson 0 6-8 6, Kayla Traylor 3 0-2 8, H.K. Wellingham 0 0-0 0, Chloe Rule 7 0-4 14, Halle Davenport 1 0-0 2, Ava Dodd 2 0-3 6, Kileigh Blackwell 2 3-4 7. Totals 15 9-21 41.
ALEXANDRIA (1-0) – Ashley Phillips 4 5-9 14, Jordyn Walker 6 5-6 19, Kirsten Heathcock 0 0-0 0, Jill Cockrell 1 0-0 3, Charlee Parris 0 2-2 2, Kailey Dickerson 0 0-0 0, Pressley Slaton 1 0-0 2, Chloe Gattis 7 0-0 18. Totals 19 12-17 58.
Hokes Bluff 14 9 11 7 – 41
Alexandria 8 6 17 27 – 58
3-point goals: Hokes Bluff 2 (Dodd 2); Alexandria 8 (Phillips, Walker 2, Cockrell, Gattis 4). Technical fouls: Alexandria. Fouled out: Robinson. Total fouls: Hokes Bluff 17, Alexandria 17. Officials: Brown, Whiteside, Hall.
White Plains 38, Collinsville 37
WHITE PLAINS – Callyn Martin 5 0-0 15, Cooper Martin 0 0-0 0, Hallie Williams 0 0-0 0, Camden Wilson 3 0-1 7, Adriana Sotelo 0 0-0 0, Angel Bozarth 7 1-1 17. Totals 15 1-2 38.
COLLINSVILLE – Tyla Tatum 2 4-6 9, Kayla Beene 6 0-0 15, Sophia Wills 2 0-0 5, Rylee Tillery 2 0-0 6, Gracie Griggs 1 0-2 2. Totals 13 4-8 37.
White Plains 10 10 3 15 – 38
Collinsville 14 5 4 14 – 37
3-point goals: White Plains 7 (Martin 5, Bozarth 2); Collinsville 7 (Tatum, Beene 3, Wills, Tillery 2). Total fouls: White Plains 8, Collinsville 4. Officials: Morriss, Roberts, Stringer.
Spring Garden 51, Jacksonville 25
JACKSONVILLE – Halaina Lozano 0 1-2 1, Alexis Phillips 1 0-0 2, Ashley Grant 3 2-4 10, Rachel Sanders 1 0-0 3, DeAsia Prothro 0 0-0 0, Amarie Curry 4 1-1 9, Kiara LaCount 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 4-7 25.
SPRING GARDEN – Ace Austin 5 2-3 13, Bri Boles 0 0-0 0, Kaylee Kirk 2 0-0 5, Sarah Kate McKay 4 0-0 9, Avery Steward, Libby Brown 1 1-3 3, Neely Welsh 9 1-1 18, Olivia Law 0 0-1 0, Maggie Reedy 0 0-2 0, Abbey Steward 0 2-2 2, Montana Highfield 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 6-12 51.
Jacksonville 1 3 7 14 – 25
Spring Garden 18 17 14 2 – 51
3-point goals: Jacksonville 3 (Grant 2, Sanders); Spring Garden 3 (Austin, Kirk, McKay). Fouled out: LaCount, Grant. Total fouls: Jacksonville 18, Spring Garden 5. Officials: Morriss, Roberts, Stringer.
Boys regular season
Junior guard Aman Jackson scored 12 of his game-high 19 points in the first half as Temple doubled-up Faith Christian and then scored his final seven in the fourth quarter when the Tigers pulled away. Ethan Richarzhagen (17) and Thomas Curlee combined for 32 of the Lions’ points.
Temple (Ga.) 60, Faith Christian 45
TEMPLE (1-0) – Ji Boykin 5 0-1 10, Aman Jackson 8 1-3 19, Samuel Zimbron 1 0-2 3, Shermar Wicker 5 2-3 12, Cam Vaughn 2 0-0 5, Qua Martin 2 0-0 4, B.G. Edouard 1 1-2 3, Ezekiel Jacobson 2 0-2 4, Darren Drayton 0 0-0 0, Josiah Williams 0 0-0 0, Tristan Vaughn 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 4-13 60.
FAITH CHRISTIAN (0-3) – Yashua Arevalo 2 0-0 4, Jacques Prater 1 0-1 3, Thomas Curlee 6 3-8 15, Ethan Richarzhagen 6 3-7 17, Brody Dodson 0 0-0 0, Demonde Bell 2 2-2 6, Colton Pahman 0 0-0 0, Damian Arevalo 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 8-18 45.
Temple 19 15 6 20 – 60
Faith 10 7 16 12 – 45
3-point goals: Temple 4 (Jackson 2, Zimbron, C. Vaughn); Faith 3 (Prater, Richarzhagen). Technical fouls: C. Vaughn. Fouled out: Arevalo. Total fouls: Temple 20, Faith Christian 13. Officials: Jarrett, Kelley, Ratliff.
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