November 21, 2021
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
White Plains senior hits shot at buzzer to lift Lady Wildcats in Champions Tournament; Oxford, Alexandria turn up defense to win their games
Champions Girls Thanksgiving Classic
Oxford 76, Ohatchee 44
Alexandria 58, Hokes Bluff 41
White Plains 38, Collinsville 37
Spring Garden 51, Jacksonville 25
Monday’s Games
Ohatchee vs. Hokes Bluff, 3 p.m.
Collinsville vs. Jacksonville, 4:30 p.m.
Oxford vs. Alexandria, 6 p.m.
White Plains vs. Spring Garden, 7:30 p.m.
Regular season
Boys: Temple (Ga.) 60, Faith Christian 45
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
After scuffling in its season opener the White Plains girls basketball team was looking for something good to happen. Enter Angel Bozarth to the rescue.
The senior post hit a floater in the lane at the buzzer Saturday to give the Lady Wildcats a 38-37 victory over Collinsville in the Champions Girls Thanksgiving Classic.
The Lady Wildcats will play the Spring Garden-Jacksonville winner in the tournament semifinals Monday at 7:30 p.m.
After a low-scoring third quarter, the action heated up in the final minute of the fourth quarter.
The teams traded the lead five straight times – with Collinsville going ahead on a 3-pointer with 8.5 seconds left – before White Plains set the wheels in motion for the winning shot.
The Lady Panthers pressed full court, but Bozarth went the length of the floor, crossed over a defender, got in the lane, pump faked to get players racing past her and shot. The ball hit off the back iron and fell through just moments before the horn sounded. [**read more]
SPRING GARDEN 51, JACKSONVILLE 25: Neely Welsh scored 15 of her 19 points in the first half as the Lady Panthers opened a 35-4 halftime lead. The Lady Golden Eagles, held to eight points in their last game, showed signs of coming out of their offensive funk in the fourth quarter with 14 points (nine by Amarie Curry).
Walker sparks Lady Cubs’ comeback
Jordyn Walker wasn’t especially happy with the way her season ended last year, so she sat down and wrote out a list of goals to inspire her for the year ahead.
Two lists actually – one long-term she keeps on her phone, the other more short-term she keeps in a book. After Saturday’s season opener, she’ll probably readjust those short-term goals while staying on fast track for the long-term ones.
The Alexandria junior guard scored 19 points and played a huge role in a second-half comeback that carried the Lady Cubs to a 58-41 victory over Hokes Bluff.
She scored 16 points and made four crucial steals in the second half as the Lady Cubs turned a 13-point deficit early in the third quarter into a 17-point win by outscoring Hokes Bluff 39-9 to the final horn.
“I knew this year I had to step up and be a leader for my team,” Walker said. “I had a bad practice yesterday so I knew I needed to pick it back up. At halftime, I had three points, so I knew I needed to pick it back up and play my game that I knew I could play.” [**read more]
Oxford overwhelms Ohatchee
It was midway through the third quarter and Oxford was comfortably ahead of an Ohatchee team just opening its season. A group of five Yellow Jackets had swarmed by the corner of the scorer’s table preparing to spell the group that had built a 25-point lead.
Moments later, that second wave was sliding back to the bench. They weren’t getting in this time.
It was as if the prospect of a wholesale change spurred the group on the floor to turn up their intensity. From there to the end of the quarter the group of the floor created six turnovers in seven possession that pushed the lead to 37 on the way to a 76-44 victory.
“When that second group was at the table ready to sub in, it’s like we turned it on,” Oxford coach Melissa Bennett said. “That’s something I think is critical for any athlete at any level.
“If you have depth and they know they have to fight for playing time they’re usually going to play harder. Our depth is the thing that has been our most improved since last year. Last year we were still really young, really timid, but our depth this year is making a huge impact.” [**read more]
**When you click read more you will be taken to the EA Sports Today website. Please make sure to come back to read more Calhoun County News.
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