E.A. Sports Today

Heflin hits 20

Lady Tigers reach milestone for second time under Gable, Ohatchee, Alexandria, PV all win; Weaver, Faith, Saks win on boys side

MONDAY’S GIRLS GAMES
Alexandria 47, Talladega 38
Cherokee County 67, Jacksonville 29
Cleburne County 59, Clay Central 27
Ohatchee 56, Faith Christian 30
Pleasant Valley 63, Saks 31
Spring Garden 81, Handley 33
Weaver 41, Wellborn 11

MONDAY’S BOYS GAMES
Clay Central 60, Cleburne County 25
Faith Christian 62, Ohatchee 43
Saks 50, Pleasant Valley 37
Talladega 79, Alexandria 65
Weaver 67, Wellborn 44

By P.E. Class
For East Alabama Sports Today

LINEVILLE – There’s just something about a 20-win season that sets it apart from other successful years a basketball team enjoys.

Cleburne County reached the benchmark for the second time in coach Todd Gable’s tenure when it ran past Clay Central in a Monday matinee 59-27.

The Lady Tigers are now 20-5.

“When I first took over the varsity program the year before they won a total of six games,” Gable said. “My first year coaching varsity we won seven. I was trying to get them back to being a real competitive team, so early on we were fighting for wins, then getting it to be competitive and then winning records.

“To get 20 is a real big deal especially with the area we’re in. To get 20, it’s a big deal. It’s good for the program. I’ve just got good girls that make you look good.”

The Lady Tigers’ first 20-win season under Gable came in 2016, the last time they made the playoffs; they were 19-8 the year before. This year’s record includes a first-ever win over Anniston on the road.

Cleburne County sophomore Faith Brown led all scorers with 17 points and moved within five points of becoming the second Lady Tiger to join the 1,000-Point Club this season. She should reach the milestone sometime in the first half of Tuesday’s home area game with Anniston.

“That’d be an awesome feat,” Gable said. “Being a sophomore, that’s a big deal. I don’t know too many sophomores who have done that.

“She’s always been one of those players I knew was going to break a lot of records. She played one year of junior high and we moved her up and I could tell. And she hasn’t played her best basketball yet. I tell her if you ever put it all together, you can be unstoppable.”

Brooklyn McDaniel had another double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, Allyssa Hunt had nine points and Allyssa Hunt had nine points and seven boards.

Cleburne County 59, Clay Central 27
CLEBURNE COUNTY (20-5) –
Faith Brown 5-12 5-8 17, Brooklyn McDaniel 6-10 1-6 14, Allyssa Hunt 4-6 0-0 9, Jacy Littleton 3-4 0-2 7, Libby Altman 2-4 0-0 5, Karley Boyd 1-4 2-2 4, Kaydence Wright 1-3 0-0 3, Hannah Turley 0-3 0-0 0, Kynsi Hazzard 0-0 0-0 0, Makenzie Frames 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-48 8-18 59.
CLAY CENTRAL – Nariah Brock 1 0-0 2, Mia Lindsey 0 2-2 2, Maleah Lindsey 3 1-3 7, Autumn Traylor 0 2-2 2, India Glenn 0 1-4 1, Sydnee Reaves 2 5-9 9, Parker 0 4-4 4. Totals 6 15-24 27.
Cleburne County               15   16   15   13   –   59
Clay Central                          7     8      8     4   –   27
3-point goals: Cleburne County 7-18 (Brown 2-4, McDaniel 1-1, Hunt 1-1, Littleton 1-2, Altman 1-3, Boyd 0-2, Wright 1-2, Turley 0-1,, Frames 0-1). Rebounds: Cleburne County 33 (McDaniel 13, Hunt 7). Total fouls: Cleburne County 19, Clay Central 10. Officials: Gamble, Engle, Sparks.

OHATCHEE 56, FAITH CHRISTIAN 30: Jorda Crook scored 18 points and freshman Lindsey Zurchin hit four 3-pointers in a 24-point second quarter that ran the Lady Indians’ lead to 27 points at halftime.

In addition to Zurchin’s four 3s, Gracie George scored all eight of her points in the second quarter. Crook got the Lady Indians off to a quick start with 10 of her points in the first quarter.

“She’s an extremely intelligent player and a pure shooter,” Ohatchee coach Bryant Ginn said of Zurchin. “She has continued to get better and better all season. She’s starting to figure out the speed of the game at the varsity level. We’re really excited about how all of our young girls are developing.”

Ohatchee 56, Faith Christian 30
FAITH CHRISTIAN –
Ari Arevalo 5 0-2 10, Anna Strautman 0 0-0 0, Serenity Pate 1 1-2 3, Joelle Tillery 1 0-0 2, Ally Folsom 2 3-4 7, Gabrielle Price 0 0-0 0, Megan Ford 3 0-0 6, Jona Harrison 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 4-8 30.
OHATCHEE (15-6) – Whitney McFry 1 1-2 4, Tabi Davidson 1 3-4 5, Mia Waters 2 0-0 4, Gracie George 4 0-0 8, Millie Rainwater 1 0-0 3, Kiana Garber 1 0-0 2, Jorda Crook 8 2-4 18, Lindsey Zurchin 4 0-1 12. Totals 22 6-11 56.
Ohatchee              20    24     8      4   –   56
Faith                        9       8     8      5  –    30
3-point goals: Ohatchee 6 (McFry, Rainwater, Zurchin 4). Total fouls: Ohatchee 7, Faith 12. Officials: Hall, Shirley, Howell.

ALEXANDRIA 47, TALLADEGA 38: The Lady Cubs played one of their best defensive games of the season, holding host Talladega to three field goals in the middle two quarters as they pulled away from a close game.

Ashley Phillips and Jordyn Walker led the Lady Cubs’ offense with 13 points each. Walker and Jill Cockrell (10 points) each hit three 3-pointers. 

Alexandria 47, Talladega 38
ALEXANDRIA (13-8) –
Ashley Phillips 5 3-5 13, Jordyn Walker 5 0-0 13, Kirsten Heathcock 1 0-0 2, Jill Cockrell 3 1-2 10, Charlee Parris 0 0-0 0, Kailey Dickerson 0 0-0 0, Chloe Gattis 3 2-2 9. Totals 17 6-9 47.
TALLADEGA – Gykeriah Collins 0 0-2 0, Houston Goins 5 2-5 12, Lamyah Elston 5 0-0 10, Keyoshia Garrett 0 0-0 0, Makiyah Wilson 0 1-2 1, Zay Cunningham 0 0-3 0, Trinity Webb 5 4-7 15. Totals 15 7-19 38.
Alexandria            15   10   10   12     –  56
Talladega               13     7     5   13    –   38
3-point goals: Alexandria 7 (Walker 3, Cockrell 3, Gattis); Talladega 1 (Webb). Total fouls: Alexandria 16, Talladega 11.

PLEASANT VALLEY 63, SAKS 31: Macey Roper led four scorers in double figures with 15 points and nine players scored in total for the Lady Raiders. 

Roper scored 11 points in the first quarter and Marlie Wright hit two of her three 3-pointers as PV opened a 29-6 lead.  Wright and Lily Henry both finished with 11 points and Rylee Haynes had 12.

Pleasant Valley 63, Saks 31
PLEASANT VALLEY –
Lily Henry 4 1-2 11, Rylee Haynes 5 1-3 12, Marlie Wright 4 0-0 11, Kianna Hester 1 0-0 3, Gracie Hood 2 0-0 4, Macey Roper 6 3-3 15, Samantha Preston 1 0-0 2, Abby Parris 1 0-0 2, Haylie Lee 1 0-0 3, Ella Kate Parris 0 0-0 0, Bailey Brown 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 5-8 63.
SAKS – Alayzia Neal 2 0-1 4, Keilynn Williams 1 0-0 2, Sania Angel 6 2-3 14, Kendale Welch 1 0-0 3, Kayleigh Thomas 3 0-1 6, Crews 1 0-2 2. Totals 14 2-7 31.
Pleasant Valley 29   12   15   7    –   63
Saks                             6      6   13   6    –  31
3-point goals: Pleasant Valley 8 (Henry 2, Haynes, Wright 3, Hester, Lee); Saks 1 (Welch). Total fouls: Pleasant Valley 14, Saks 9. Officials: Oden, Whiteside, Horn.

Boys Games

WEAVER 67, WELLBORN 44: Tristan Brown hit five of Weaver’s 10 3-pointers and scored 23 points. Brown hit four of his treys in the first half and scored 18 points as the Bearcats opened a 36-15 lead. 

Jeffrey Miles had 11 points and Kohl Perry scored all 10 of his points in the first half. The Bearcats jumped out to a 20-2 lead in the first quarter.

“I’m just proud of how they played after that week off after the Faith loss (in the County Tournament),” Bearcats coach Beau Winn said. “It’s about time we started hitting some 3s.” 

Kam Jackson led Wellborn with 23 points Messiah Moore had 13 with three 3-pointers.

Weaver 67, Wellborn 44
WELLBORN –
Messiah Moore 5 0-0 13, Xavier Parker 1 0-0 3, Kam Jackson 10 3-3 23, John Searcy 0 0-0 0, Avery Odom 2 1-3 5, Jeremiah Scarbrough 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 4-6 44.
WEAVER – Tristan Brown 9 0-0 23, Jeffrey Miles 4 3-4 11, Kohl Perry 4 1-2 10, Elijah Smith 1 0-0 2, Dawson Brooks 3 0-0 7, Buck McGregor 2 0-0 6, Armane Burton 0 0-0 0, Keshawn Allen 1 0-0 2, Brayden Character 1 1-4 4, Peyton Martin 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 5-10 67.
Wellborn                 2   13   10    19    –   44
Weaver                  20   16   15    16    –   67
3-point goals: Wellborn 4 (Moore 3, Parker); Weaver 10 (Brown 5, Perry, Brooks, McGregor 2, Character). Technical fouls: Parker. Total fouls: Wellborn 9, Weaver 10. Officials: Hoffman, Mallicoat, Stubbs.

FAITH CHRISTIAN 62, OHATCHEE 43: The Lions moved closer to a 20-win season in coach Cory Hughes’ first campaign, but it was a costly victory. Yoshi Arevalo left the game late in the third quarter after coming down hard on his elbow and his availability for the stretch run is uncertain.

The Lions (18-7), who appear to be headed for a coin toss to determine the top seed in their area, have been missing leading scorer and rebounder Thomas Curlee since the start of the County Tournament.

Arevalo had 22 points at the time of his injury and the Lions were leading 54-32. Ethan Richerzhagen had 19 points for the Lions, who finish the regular season with games against Spring Garden, Westbrook and Temple (Ga.). 

Ohatchee’s Kelbe Crook led all scorers with 24 points. He had all 20 of the Indians’ points in the first half.

Faith Christian 62, Ohatchee 43
FAITH CHRISTIAN (18-7) –
Yashua Arevalo 9-17 1-1 22, Jacque Prater 3-9 0-0 9, Ethan Richerzhagen 5-15 7-8 19, Brodie Dodson 1-2 1-3 3, Demonde Bell 0-2 0-0 0, Colton Pahman 2-7 0-0 5, Damian Arevalo 1-2 2-2 2. Totals 21 11-14 62.
OHATCHEE – Jake Roberts 1-5 0-0 2, Jesse Baswell 1-3 0-0 2, Tripp Pesnell 0-0 0-0 0, Carson Tittle 1-7 1-2 4, Colby Hester 1-6 1-2 4, Jake Robertson 2-6 0-0 4, Ethan Blackburn 1-1 0-0 2, Nathan Dover 0-2 1-2 1, Brent Jennings 0-1 0-0 0, Kelbe Crook 10-21 4-10 24. Totals 17-52 7-16 43.
Faith                         15   17   22     8   –   62
Ohatchee                 9   11   12   11   –   43
3-point goals: Faith 9 (Arevalo 3, Prater 2, Richerzhagen 2, Pahman); Ohatchee 2 (Tittle, Hester). Total fouls: Faith 14, Ohatchee 14.

Projected Area Tournaments

(Involving Calhoun County Teams)
CLASS 6A AREA 13
BOYS (at Southside)
Springville vs. Southside
Oxford vs. Pell City
GIRLS (at Oxford)
Oxford vs. Southside
Pell City vs. Springville

CLASS 5A AREA 11
BOYS (at Alexandria)
Alexandria vs St. Clair County
Moody vs. Lincoln
GIRLS (at TBD)
Alexandria or Moody (coin toss) vs. Lincoln
Alexandria or Moody (coin toss loser) vs St. Clair County

CLASS 4A AREA 9
BOYS (at Handley)
Munford vs. Cleburne County
Handley vs Munford-Cleburne County winner
Anniston vs. White Plains
GIRLS (at Handley)
White Plains vs. Munford
Handley vs. White Plains-Munford winner
Anniston vs. Cleburne County

CLASS 4A AREA 10
BOYS (at Jacksonville)

Jacksonville vs. Ashville
Etowah vs. Cherokee County
GIRLS (at Cherokee County)
Cherokee County vs. Ashville
Jacksonville vs. Etowah

CLASS 3A AREA 9
BOYS (at TBD)
Wellborn vs. Saks or Childersburg
Championship game
GIRLS (at Chlldersburg)
Wellborn vs. Saks
Wellborn-Saks winner vs. Childersburg

CLASS 3A AREA 11
BOYS (at Piedmont)
Piedmont vs. Ohatchee
Weaver vs. Pleasant Valley
GIRLS (at Ohatchee)
Ohatchee vs. Weaver
Piedmont vs. Pleasant Valley

CLASS 1A AREA 10
BOYS (at TBD)
4 vs. 5
Faith Christian or Ragland (coin toss) vs. 4-5 winner
Faith Christian or Ragland (coin toss loser) vs. 3
GIRLS (at Ragland)
Donoho vs. Coosa Christian
Ragland vs. Donoho-Coosa winner 
Faith Christian vs. JCA

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