Back on the bench
- Updated: December 29, 2022
Girls roundup: JCA’s Bryant returns to the bench, but Lady Thunder falls in tournament opener; Piedmont wins in Georgia, Hiram (Ga.) comes to Alabama, wins Heflin tournament; will be updated
THURSDAY’S GIRLS GAMES
Ball ‘n’ Prep, Hazel Green
Oxford 56, Daphne 51
Heflin Holiday Hoops Classic
Clay Central 44, Woodland 41
Ohatchee 54, Cleburne County 25
Ranburne 40, Vincent 26
Championship game: Hiram (Ga.) 70, Alexandria 24
Comer Christmas Classic
Consolation game: Shelby County 44, Wadley 42
Championship game: Glencoe 50, B.B. Comer 16
Gaylesville Christmas Tournament
Pleasant Valley 50, Valley Head 43
Collinsville 48, Gaylesville 15
Hilburn/Patterson Invitational, Tallapoosa, Ga.
Piedmont 43, Temple 31
JCA Holiday Classic
Cedar Bluff vs. Wellborn, 1 p.m.
Gaston 51, Jacksonville Christian 44
Pell City Christmas Classic
Seventh-place game: Jacksonville 38, John Carroll 26
Fifth-place game: Cherokee County 56, Geraldine 28
Supreme Courts Christmas Tournament
Spring Garden 42, Douglas 27
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
JACKSONVILLE – Katy Bryant was on the bench for the first time this season and her greatest hope being back with her team was not to disrupt the good thing it had going.
The Jacksonville Christian girls basketball coach rejoined her team after sitting out the first half of the season preparing for the delivery of her second child. Her son, Kase, was born in early December and although Bryant had been around the team on occasion since, she had penciled in this week’s JCA Holiday Classic as the date for her return to coaching.
Everything went well on her first day back – except the outcome. The Lady Thunder rallied from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to get close, but expended too much energy and personnel climbing back and eventually fell to Gaston in the opening round of the tournament, 51-44.
“It was different,” Bryant said. “We were doing well, so I was trying not to mess up the flow of what you’re doing, just trying to figure out what we were comfortable running.
“We ran a lot of different plays this year because we had more experience, so trying to figure out what we were comfortable with was the big thing. It’s a lot different when you’ve been with them all year.”
Assistant coach Cindy Fair took the team during Bryant’s leave and guided it to an 8-4 record. It wasn’t a new experience. She ran the team during Bryant’s leave to deliver her first child two years ago.
It was the same group of players she has now, but they were just finding their way. It’s a veteran group now.
“Every year, even though it’s the same girls, it’s a different team,” Bryant said. “Trying to get a feel for what we’re doing and what works is probably the hardest thing for me.
“Every player is so different and they got so used to what Cindy was doing and how she flows with the game. I probably flow a little different than her. I’m more of an offensive attacker, she’s a defensive attacker, so we tried to put those two things together and not mess up what we had going.”
It worked well early. The Lady Thunder grabbed a 16-8 lead in the first quarter with Rebekah Carter scoring eight points, but they ran into a tough patch in the second and trailed by three at halftime.
They actually were down 13 with four minutes to play, but rallied to get back within two with 40 seconds left. But they lost two of their main weapons, Carter and Erin Prater, to fouls by that point and were shorthanded for the stretch run.
They never got the ball back until about 15 seconds remained. They had to foul and Gaston stretched the lead from the line.
“I’m not disappointed in how we played because sometimes shots don’t fall, especially when you don’t have a dominant shooter,” Bryant said. “I do wish the results were different, but it is what it is.”
Kara Grace led JCA with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Carter and Prater both finished with 11 points.
Bryant will be back in the coach’s box Friday with her same mindset of not wanting to upset the apple cart and Fair in the wings.
“If we don’t do well tomorrow, we might have to re-evaluate,” she said.
JCA Holiday Classic
GASTON 51, JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN 44
GASTON – Brooklyn Merriman 2 0-0 4, Charlee Skaggs 1 1-3 3, Tracionna Jones 4 3-5 11, Randi Morgan 5 0-0 14, Bella Holland 4 0-4 8, Avah Horne 1 0-2 2, Shelby Waters 4 1-4 9. Totals 21 5-18 51.
JCA – Katie Beth Hudson 0 0-2 0, Addy Lee 0 0-0 0, Rebekah Carter 4 3-4 11, Erin Prater 5 0-0 11, Kara Grace 6 1-3 13, Kirsten Walker 0 1-2 1, Payton Walker 4 0-2 8. Totals 19 5-13 44.
Gaston 8 14 14 15 – 51
JCA 16 3 10 15 – 44
3-point goals: Gaston 4 (Morgan 4); JCA 1 (Prater). Fouled out: Carter, Prater. Total fouls: Gaston 11, JCA 16.
Heflin Holiday Hoops Classic
OHATCHEE 54, CLEBURNE COUNTY 25: Jorda Crook had as many points as Cleburne County would score in the game at halftime and finished with 33 points. Crook had 15 in the first quarter as the Lady Indians opened a 23-7 lead. Faith Brown led the Lady Tigers with 14 points.
Hiram’s Hadiya Kennerly was named tournament MVP after leading the Lady Hornets past Alexandria in the championship game, 70-24.
OHATCHEE 54, CLEBURNE COUNTY 25
OHATCHEE – Tabi Davidson 0 0-2 0, Whitney McFry 1 0-0 3, Mia Waters 1 0-2 2, Greenlee Orman 0 0-0 0, Carly Hall 0 0-0 0, Priesly Davis 2 0-0 4, Jorda Crook 12 9-14 33, Lindsey Zurchin 1 1-3 3, Alyssa Davis 4 1-2 9. Totals 21 11-23 54.
CLEBURNE COUNTY – Faith Brown 5 3-6 14, Makinzie Frames 0 0-0 0, Hannah Turley 1 0-0 2, Navaeh Williams 0 0-0 0, Cori Austin 0 0-0 0, Baylie Jones 1 0-0 3, Alivia Boyd 0 0-0 0, Kourtnie Alred 1 0-0 3, Daylea Brewster 1 0-0 3. Totals 9 3-6 25.
Ohatchee 23 16 13 2 – 54
Cleburne County 7 6 5 7 – 25
3-point goals: Ohatchee 1 (McFry); Cleburne County 4 (Brown, Jones, Alred, Brewster). Total fouls: Ohatchee 7, Cleburne County 16. Officials: Mallicoat, Wood, Hanson.
Hilburn/Patterson Invitational
PIEDMONT 43, TEMPLE 31: Ava Pope helped the Lady Bulldogs shake off a slow start with two 3-pointers and eight points in the second quarter that propelled them to a lead they never lost. Pope finished with 12 points and was joined by Cayla Brothers (11) and Lele Ridley (10) in double-figure scoring.
PIEDMONT 43, TEMPLE 31
PIEDMONT – Armoni Perry 0 0-0 0, Ava Pope 5 0-4 12, Josie Young 1 0-0 3, Rylie Anne Holbrooks 0 0-0 0, Jaycee Glover 2 0-4 5, Lele Ridley 3 4-6 10, Cayla Brothers 4 3-10 11, Melanie Studdard 1 0-0 2, Gracie Naugher 0 0-0 0, Morgan Studdard 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 7-24 43.
TEMPLE – Carlie Bagwell 3 0-0 9, Maya Edwards 1 0-0 2, Janiyah Walker 2 0-0 4, Krishaiya Robinson 0 0-0 0, Anah Howell 0 0-0 0, Mackenna Nix 5 5-10 16, Scottlyn McCoy 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 5-10 31.
Piedmont 7 17 9 10 – 43
Temple 11 6 5 9 – 31
3-point goals: Piedmont 4 (Pope 2, J. Young, Glover); Temple 4 (Bagwell 3, Nix). Fouled out: Ridley, Nix. Total fouls: Piedmont 17, Temple 18.
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