Beating the buzzer
- Updated: January 29, 2022
Friday’s girls roundup: Oxford’s Whitfield beats press, buzzer, Southside; White Plains beats Handley, Jacksonville tops Saks and more
FRIDAY’S GIRLS GAMES
Anniston 69, Fort Payne 49
Jacksonville 46, Saks 12
Ohatchee 49, Munford 19
Oxford 49, Southside 47
Talladega 40, Clay Central 39
Westbrook Christian 61, Faith Christian 33
White Plains 53, Handley 36
St. Clair County Tournament
At Springville
Springville 47, Moody 29
By East Alabama Sports Today
GADSDEN – Xai Whitfield got behind the defense and hit a layup with two seconds left to cap a second-half comeback that lifted Oxford to a 49-47 victory over Southside Friday night.
The Lady Jackets trailed by 12 at halftime, but held Southside to 14 points in the second half.
They trailed by one with 6.5 seconds to play and had the ball under the Southside basket. Jamea Gaston inbounded to Justice Woods who got it over the defense to Whitfield who laid it in.
Just like they drew it up.
“We ran one of our usual press breakers with a slight modification,” Oxford coach Melissa Bennett said. “Getting behind them was an extra unexpected bonus.”
Whitfield and Kaleah Taylor led the Lady Jackets with nine points each. All of Whitfield’s points came in the second half. Gaston had eight.
Oxford 49, Southside 47
OXFORD –Justice Woods 2 3-4 6, Xai Whitfield 4 1-1 9, Lauren Ellard 0 0-0 0, LaMya McGrue 3 1-2 6, Kaleah Taylor 3 1-1 9, Jamea Gaston 3 0-0 8, Keziah Mickler 0 0-0 0, Shaniya Calloway 1 0-0 3, Kaylen Kenney 0 1-2 1, Brionna Wilson 2 0-0 4. Totals 18 7-10 49.
SOUTHSIDE – Jovi Marble 1 0-1 3, Lexi Darnell 0 0-0 0, Sarakate Yancey 1 1-2 3, Mallory Brooks 3 0-0 8, Bailey Houston 0 0-0 0, Ella Knowlton 4 0-0 9, Graceanne Rose 2 1-2 5, Madison Shaw 5 5-5 17, Kenzie Boyd 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 7-10 47.
Oxford 10 11 16 12 – 49
Southside 11 22 5 9 – 47
3-point goals: Oxford 6 (Woods, Taylor 2, Gaston 2, Calloway); Southside 6 (Marble, Brooks 2, Knowlton, Shaw 2). Fouled out: Taylor. Total fouls: Oxford 16, Southside 14. Officials: Wofford, Thomas, Bearden.
WHITE PLAINS 53, HANDLEY 36: It didn’t matter if the opposition was at full strength, half strength or no strength, the Lady Wildcats knocked off the top seed in their upcoming area tournament and that does wonders for their confidence heading into postseason play.
Handley was missing most of its regular lineup as the result of disciplinary action related to an incident that occurred in its Lanett game last Saturday. The suspensions are expected to last until right before the start of the Class 4A Area 9 tournament the Lady Tigers host and are the No. 1 seed.
None of that mattered to White Plains as much as beating the name on the jerseys in front of them. The Lady Wildcats will play Handley if they win the tournament’s 4-5 game with Munford.
“When I found out all their players got suspended or whatever, we weren’t too worried, but we know it’s Handley and we figured their junior high or JV would be good so we knew we had to come play or we would’ve gotten whooped,” senior Angel Bozarth said. “It was good to get an area win.”
The Lady Wildcats got control of the game in the second quarter and never let go. Bozarth had eight points in the quarter and finished with a team-high 14 points. led them with 14 points. Camden Wilson had 10. Teanna Watts, the Lady Tigers’ only regular varsity starter available, led all scorers with 21 points.
“It’s good to get a win regardless (of Handley’s status), but our girls really do feel we can compete against anybody; they beat us by one at their place,” White Plains coach Matt Ford said. “I didn’t feel like we played great tonight, but it is good to get a win.”
White Plains 53, Handley 36
HANDLEY – Foster 0 0-0 0, Teanna Watts 8 3-4 21, K. Tucker 6 2-2 15, Kyles 0 0-0 0, Makayla Seymour 0 0-0 0, Hughley 0 0-1 0, J. Tucker 0 0-1 0, Arnold 0 0-0 0, Williams 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 5-8 36.
WHITE PLAINS – Callyn Martin 1 0-0 3, Isabella Higgins 1 1-2 3, Cooper Martin 0 1-2 1, Hallie Williams 2 2-2 7, Halie Smith 1 0-0 2, Camden Wilson 4 2-2 10, Addison Bradley 2 0-2 4, Adriana Sotelo 2 0-0 6, Braeton Moran 0 0-0 0, Angel Bozarth 6 2-4 14, Cassidy Arnold 1 0-0 3. Totals 20 8-14 53.
Handley 13 9 7 7 – 36
White Plains 16 16 13 8 – 53
3-point goals: Handley 3 (Watts 2, K. Tucker); White Plains 5 (Ca. Martin, Williams, Sotelo 2, Arnold). Total fouls: Handley 11, White Plains 12.
Jacksonville 46, Saks 12
JACKSONVILLE – Ashley Grant 9-18 2-7 21, Amarie Curry 6-18 2-5 14, Mya Swain 2-2 0-2 5, Olivia Rowan 1-1 0-1 2, Kiara LaCount 1-1 0-0 2, Ontarriah Braxton 0-0 1-2 1, Rachel Saanders 0-0 1-3 1, Alexis Phillips 0-0 0-0 0, Halaina Lozano 0-6 0-0 0, Lamiah Steagall 0-0 0-0 0, MiArah Hardy 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 19-46 6-21 46.
SAKS – Nia Angel 2-3 0-0 4, Alonna Crews 1-7 2-5 4, Keilynn Williams 1-6 0-0 2, Kayleigh Thomas 1-1 0-0 2, Monterria Christiopher 0-0 0-0 0, Kennedy Robinson 0-0 0-0 0, Kendale Welch 0-2 0-2 0, Trenzly Bolding 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 5-20 2-7 12.
Jacksonville 10 7 23 6 – 46
Saks 4 1 6 1 – 12
3-point goals: Jacksonville 2-12 (Grant 1-5, Curry 0-2, Swain 1-1, Lozano 0-4); Saks 0-6 (Crews 0-1, Williams 0-3, Welch 0-2). Rebounds: Jacksonville 26 (Curry 6, Grant 5, Swain 5); Saks 28 (Angel 10, Williams 6). Fouled out: Crews, Welch. Total fouls: Jacksonville 10, Saks 21.
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