White Plains gains semis

By EASportsToday.com
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Updated: January 17, 2022

Lady Wildcats stage second-half rally, beat Piedmont in overtime to reach semifinals for first time in their memory

By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today

JACKSONVILLE – It’s been so long since the White Plains girls have played in the semifinals of the Calhoun County Basketball Tournament neither senior guard Callyn Martin nor coach Matt Ford could even remember.

Martin has never played in them and she’s been playing since the eighth grade, so you know it’s been a long time.

The Lady Wildcats won’t have to tax their memory any more. They made it to their promised land – or at least the goal they set for themselves – by coming from behind in the second half to beat upset-minded Piedmont 42-36 in overtime Monday.

They now get the winner of Tuesday night’s Anniston-Jacksonville game in Thursday’s 3 p.m. semifinal. The Lady Wildcats might not remember the last time they played in the semis, but the last time they played in the finals as 1994. They won their only county title in 1983-84.

“I don’t remember the last time we’ve been there,” Martin said. “I know I haven’t been there as a senior and I’ve been playing since eighth grade, and most of these girls have, too, so to get there our senior year is really big for us.”

It was such a significant win, the players soaked Ford with the water bucket once he got back to the dressing room from his post-game responsibilities.

“I just walked in and they sprayed me with the water bottles,” Ford said. “Then our managers cleaned it up.”

The Lady Wildcats trailed by 10 early in the third quarter and seven in the fourth, but fueled their comeback with a rare full-court press to get some momentum going.

They chipped away slowly and finally tied it on Martin’s 3-pointer with 6:00 left in regulation. They actually took the lead 35-33 on Angel Bozarth’s 3-pointer off a blind backwards pass from Martin with 3:11 to go.

“I just knew we had to pick up the pace, things weren’t going that good, we weren’t playing as aggressive on offense or defense and I just thought it was our best option,” Ford said. “I thought we were deeper and longer and more athletic. I just thought it would be the way we could get back in it.”

If there was a face to this win it was Martin’s, saw scrappiness fueled the comeback. She had to be cautious down the stretch playing with four fouls, but cautiousness isn’t in her nature and she remained aggressive as possible on both ends of the floor.

“I try to set the tempo for the team because once one of us get the tempo going it doesn’t matter who it is we all feed off each other,” Martin said. “Me coming out there and getting stops also got the team fired up to get stops and it just (snowballed).

“I like to play rough and I like to go for steals, but I had to be a little more cautious with how I went for them. Last game we played them I fouled out. I know what the refs are calling and I know, for me, I have to not get so close up because when I do I tend to foul with my body.”

White Plains had a chance to win it in regulation, but Bozarth’s 3-point shot with three seconds left went in and out and nobody could get another shot.

The Lady Wildcats took control of the overtime with two baskets by Adriana Sotelo. Ava Pope got Piedmont on the board, but White Plains closed it out its three Bozarth free throws in the final 14.3 seconds.

“The whole time I believed in our team, I knew we had it; I didn’t stress at all,” Sotelo said. “Being part of this team and knowing we can do something like that stuff is cool.”

White Plains 42, Piedmont 36 (OT)
PIEDMONT – Ava Pope 2 5-8 10, Jaycee Glover 1 1-2 4, Lele Ridley 3 3-6 10, Carson Young 0 0-0 0, Gracie Naugher 1 0-0 2, Z’Hayla Walker 3 4-6 10, Emily Farmer 10 13-23 36.
WHITE PLAINS – Callyn Martin 5 1-2 15, Cooper Martin 0 0-0 0, Hallie Williams 2 0-1 4, Halie Smith 0 0-0 0, Camden Wilson 0 0-2 0, Addison Bradley 1 0-0 2, Adriana Sotelo 3 0-0 7, Braeton Moran 0 0-0 0, Angel Bozarth 4 4-7 14. Totals 15 5-12 42.
Piedmont 7 14 7 7 1 – 36
White Plains 9 5 10 11 7 – 42
3-point goals: Piedmont 3 (Pope, Glover, Ridley); White Plains 7 (Ca. Martin 4, Sotelo, Bozarth 2). Total fouls: Piedmont 13, White Plains 19.