Warriors find groove
- Updated: January 24, 2023
Cherokee County picks up defense in second half, pulls away from White Plains to stay unbeaten in area; Wildcats hope to clinch third in area Thursday
TUESDAY’S GIRLS GAMES
Alexandria 51, Lincoln 40
Beulah 49, Randolph County 45
Cherokee County 52, White Plains 34
Douglas 37, Southside 34
Handley 48, Talladega 41
Jacksonville 75, Cleburne County 38
Jacksonville Christian 62, Cedar Bluff 54
Ohatchee 52, Glencoe 44
Oxford 65, Fort Payne 25
Piedmont 58, Saks 27
Plainview 73, Sand Rock 46
Pleasant Valley 62, Munford 24
Ranburne 56, Woodland 30
Weaver 40, Wellborn 32
St. Clair County Tournament
At Ragland
Victory Christian 43, Ragland 21
By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today
WHITE PLAINS — Cherokee County turned up the defense in the second half and beat White Plains 52-34 in Class 4A, Area 10 play Friday.
The Warriors held White Plains to 11 second-half points, four while pulling away in the third quarter.
“I think we were a little undisciplined early on and, I don’t know, didn’t have the right mindset coming in,” Cherokee County coach Richard Barton said. “They were hitting shots, we were overplaying, and they were backdooring us and getting good looks, so our defense was a little flat, and that kind of showed in the first half.
“We were able to pick it up a little bit in the third.”
Mary Hayes Johnson led the Warriors (17-6) with 17 points. Aubrey Haygood added 13 and Navaeh Gaidurgis 12.
Cherokee County remains unbeaten in area play.
White Plains pulled within 26-23 in two Hallie Williams free throws in the second quarter. She finished with 11 points.
Cherokee County started a 14-0 run that carried into the third quarter.
Cassidy Arnold led White Plains with 12 points.
White Plains is 1-4 in area play. A win over Cleburne County on Thursday would clinch the third seed, behind Cherokee County and Jacksonville.
“The girls are getting better, and that’s a really good 4A team we just played,” White Plains coach Matt Ford said. “I’ve been telling them since Christmas, really, what I care about is how we compete and if we improve every game. I saw flashes of improvement, but we’ve got to play 32 minutes.”
CHEROKEE COUNTY – Raechel Russell 1 0-0 3, Mary Hayes Johnson 6 3-5 17, Audrey Haygood 4 3-4 13, Macy Lea 1 0-0 3, Ella Garmany 1 0-0 3, Deannia Starr 0 2-2 2, Navaeh Gaidurgis 4 4-4 12. Totals 17 12-15 52.
WHITE PLAINS – Cooper Martin 2 1-2 5, Isabella Higgins 3 0-4 6, Abbie Dickerson 0 0-1 0, Hallie Williams 3 3-4 11, Cassidy Arnold 5 0-3 12. Totals 13 4-13 34.
Cherokee County 20 14 14 4 – 52
White Plains 13 10 4 7 – 34
3-point goals: Cherokee County 6 (Russell, Johnson 2, Haygood, Lea, Germany); White Plains 4 (Williams 2, Arnold 2). Total fouls: Cherokee County 16, Weaver 13.
WEAVER 40, WELLBORN 32: Aaliyah Marks scored 10 of her 13 points in the second half as the Lady Bearcats pulled away after Wellborn erupted in the second quarter to take the halftime lead.
The Lady Panthers scored 13 points in the second quarter to grab a 19-14 halftime lead, but Weaver doubled-up its hosts in the second half to win.
“After the first half I just told the girls we had to have a gut check,” Weaver coach Jamie Burns said. “We weren’t playing the kind of ball we needed to. We came back out after the half, made good choices and played better team ball.”
Anna Odom led Wellborn with 23 points.
WEAVER – Erionna Richmond 4 1-4 10, D.J. Gibbs 3 1-2 8, Ellamae Kines 0 4-6 4, Alayia D’Ambrosia 0 0-0 0, Aaliyah Marks 4 2-2 13, Madison Atchley 2 0-2 4, Kimora Miles 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 8-16 40.
WELLBORN – Anna Odom 10 3-7 23, Destiny Benefield 0 0-1 0, Calla Hayes 2 0-0 4, Libby Smith 0 0-0 0, Brooke Singleton 1 1-4 3, Layla Amberson 0 0-0 0, Hannah Grubbs 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 4-12 32.
Weaver 9 5 16 10 – 40
Wellborn 6 13 8 5 – 32
3-point goals: Weaver 4 (Gibbs, Marks 3). Total fouls: Weaver 13, Wellborn 11.
OXFORD 65, FORT PAYNE 25: The Lady Jackets showed no letdown from winning their second straight Calhoun County Tournament title, putting four scorers in double figures and winning on the road.
Mya McGrue followed her big game in the county final with a team-high 16 points. County MVP Xai Whitfield and Justice Woods had 14 apiece and Jamea Gaston had 13 with three 3-pointers.
“I was proud of our effort, especially in the press,” Oxford coach Melissa Bennett said. “We played good team ball, made the extra pass most of the night.”
OXFORD – Xai Whitfield 6 1-2 14, Justice Woods 4 5-5 14, Keziah Mickler 1 0-0 2, Mya McGrue 7 1-2 16, Jamea Gaston 5 0-0 13, Mileah Prince 0 0-0 0, Bri Wilson 0 0-0 0, Shaniya Calloway 0 0-0 0, Kaylen Kenney 1 0-0 2, Shay Montgomery 2 0-0 4. Totals 26 7-9 65.
FORT PAYNE – Avery Chadwick 0 0-0 0, Emma Evett 0 0-0 0, Annakate Akins 0 0-1 0, Meredith Jackson 3 2-2 9, Lydia Crane 1 0-0 2, Maiaya O’neal 0 0-0 0, Bryloh Gray 5 1-2 14, Libby Redden 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 3-5 25.
Oxford 11 20 22 12 – 65
Fort Payne 10 5 5 5 – 25
3-point goals: Oxford 6 (Whitfield, Woods, McGrue, Gaston 3); Fort Payne 4 (Jackson, Gray 3). Total fouls: Oxford 10, Fort Payne 11. Officials: Southerland, Horn, Putnam.
PLEASANT VALLEY 62, MUNFORD 24: Laney Robinson hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points and the Lady Raiders knocked down 11 treys in the game. Robinson did all her scoring in the first half as PV opened a 42-17 lead. Rebekah Gannaway scored all 11 of her points in the first half, too.
MUNFORD – Breanna Hailes 1 0-0 2, Lauryn Brewster 4 3-11 11, Alys Mosley 0 0-2 0, Ashtyn Bishop 0 0-0 0, Ja’riyah Gladden 0 0-0 0, Amari Carlisle 2 2-4 7, Fantaza Calhoun 1 2-2 4. Totals 8 7-19 24.
PLEASANT VALLEY – Macey Roper 4 0-1 8, Rebekah Gannaway 5 0-4 11, Kianna Hester 2 0-0 6, Laney Robinson 6 0-0 17, Lilly Robinson 1 0-0 3, Haylie Lee 0 1-2 1, Ella Kate Parris 1 1-2 3, Abby Parris 3 0-0 8, Ashlynn Salster 1 0-0 2, Bailey Brown 0 1-2 1, Savannah Pritchett 0 0-0 0, Alexa Cranmer 0 0-0 0, Sarah Freeman 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 3-11 62.
Munford 6 11 5 2 – 24
Pleasant Valley 19 23 12 8 – 62
3-point goals: Munford 1 (Carlisle); Pleasant Valley 11 (Gannaway, Hester 2, La. Robinson 5, Li. Robinson, Parris 2). Total fouls: Munford 12, Pleasant Valley 12. Officials: Royster, Pratt, Ratliff.
ALEXANDRIA 51, LINCOLN 40: Jordyn Walker scored 21 points, Jill Cockrell had 13 and both hit three 3-pointers to lead the Lady Cubs. Walker had nine in the first quarter as Alexandria opened a 16-7 lead. Aubrey Machen led Lincoln with 18 points. Trinity McClellan had 15.
ALEXANDRIA – Jordyn Walker 8 2-2 21, Kirsten Heathcock 1 4-4 6, Jill Cockrell 4 2-2 13, Cassidy Hartsfield 0 0-0 0, Charlee Parris 2 0-1 6, Kailey Dickerson 1 1-2 3, Sumira Duncan 0 1-2 1, Makayla Brewster 0 1-2 1, Alyssa Hunt 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 11-15 51.
LINCOLN – Keivondria Blackman 1 1-3 3, Aubrey Machen 8 0-0 18, Brilee Woods 1 1-2 4, Amarii Woods 0 0-0 0, Zoe Korreckt 0 0-0 0, Trinity McClellan 6 2-2 15, Madison Smith 0 0-0 0, Faith Robinson 0 0-0 0, J’nayshia Zacker 0 0-0 0, Nevaeh Truss 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 4-7 40.
Alexandria 16 11 15 9 – 51
Lincoln 7 9 11 13 – 40
3-point goals: Alexandria 8 (Walker 3, Cockrell 3, Parris 2); Lincoln 4 (Machen 2, B. Woods, McClellan). Total fouls: Alexandria 12, Lincoln 19. Officials: Askew, Baker, Wright.
PIEDMONT 58, SAKS 27: The Lady Bulldogs crushed it coming out of the gate, outscoring their hosts 30-8 in the first quarter. Lele Ridley scored nine of her game-high 18 in the quarter and Ava Pope added eight of her 13. Gracie Naugher scored all 11 of her points for Piedmont in the first half.
PIEDMONT – Armoni Perry 1 0-0 2, Ava Pope 5 0-1 13, Josie Young 0 0-0 0, Rylie Anne Holbrooks 0 0-0 0, Jaycee Glover 2 1-4 7, Lele Ridley 7 3-5 18, Melanie Studdard 2 1-4 5, Jenna Duke 0 0-0 0, Carson Young 1 0-0 2, Gracie Naugher 5 1-1 11, Morgan Studdard 0 0-0 0, Hannah Kate Barber 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 6-15 58.
SAKS – Deihanna Taylor 0 0-0 0, Sania Angel 6 1-5 13, Alonna Crews 0 0-0 0, Madison Turner 1 1-5 3, Alayah Christopher 0 0-0 0, Jada Foster 0 1-2 1, English 2 1-2 5, Carter 2 1-3 5. Totals 11 5-17 27.
Piedmont 30 12 14 2 – 58
Saks 8 9 7 3 – 27
3-point goals: Piedmont 6 (Pope 3, Glover 2, Ridley). Total fouls: Piedmont 16, Saks 16. Officials: Hall, Oden, Richardson.
JACKSONVILLE 75, CLEBURNE COUNTY 38: Ashley Grant scored 21 points, hitting 5-of-8 3-pointers, Dee Prothro had a double-double and the Jacksonville went 19-of-36 from the free throw line. Prothro had 15 points and 10 rebounds. She also had six steals. Faith Brown led Cleburne County with 21 points.
JACKSONVILLE – Ashley Grant 7-16 2-4 21, Dee Prothro 6-12 3-11 15, Alexis Phillips 4-6 4-5 13, Mya Swain 1-5 3-4 5, Jaci Taylor 1-1 3-4 5, Neveah Nicholson 1-1 1-4 3, Rachel Sanders 1-2 0-0 3, Halaina Lozano 1-6 0-0 3, Emerson Weaver 1-1 1-2 3, Ontarriah Braxton 0-5 2-2 2, Camryn Stone 1-1 0-0 2, Olivia Rowan 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 24-60 19-36 75.
CLEBURNE COUNTY – Faith Brown 9-16 2-5 21, Hannah Turley 2-4 4-4 8, Naveah Williams 1-2 2-2 4, Cori Austin 1-1 0-2 2, Kourtnie Alred 1-3 0-0 2, Macey Easy 0-3 1-3 1, Erin Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Kiera Henderson 0-0 0-0 0, Daylea Brewster 0-1 0-2 0, Lilian Whatley 0-0 0-0 0, Alivia Boyd 0-0 0-0 0, Kadence Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Makinzie Frames 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-31 9-18 38.
Jacksonville 21 24 18 12 – 75
Cleburne County 10 7 13 8 – 38
3-point goals: Jacksonville 8-17 (Grant 5-8, Phillips 1-1, Swain 0-1, Sanders 1-1, Lozano 1-4, Braxton 0-2); Cleburne County 1-6 (F. Brown 1-2, K. Alred 0-2, East 0-1, Brewster 0-1). Rebounds: Jacksonville 32 (Prothro 10, Braxton 5); Cleburne County 37 (Brown 6). Fouled out: Williams, Boyd. Total fouls: Jacksonville 17, Cleburne County 28.
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