January 21, 2022
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Top-seeded Oxford girls will be seeking their first county title in 16 years, while No. 2 Anniston will be out to extend their title streak to six
CALHOUN COUNTY GIRLS TOURNAMENT
At Jacksonville State
Thursday’s semifinals
Anniston 42, White Plains 33
Oxford 60, Ohatchee 40
Friday’s championship
No. 1 Oxford vs. No. 2 Anniston, 6 p.m.
JACKSONVILLE — Melissa Bennett, as they say, ain’t from around here, but it didn’t take long for Oxford girls basketball coach to learn just how important the Calhoun County Tournament is to the school community.
Like the first day on the job.
It’s been since 2006 that the Lady Jackets have won their side of the county tournament, but they put themselves in position to do just that Thursday night with a 60-40 semifinals win over Ohatchee at Jacksonville State.
The tournament’s No. 1 seed will play second-seeded Anniston Friday in the 6 p.m. final with a chance to erase 16 years of frustration.
“It’d be huge (to end the drought),” Bennett said. “When I first got hired at Oxford they talked about how County was a bigger deal than even the playoffs and I kind of thought that was kind of crazy, but it is a really big deal around here. It carries a lot of pride. We’ve got to be ready.”
Senior Leah Taylor said “it would mean a lot” for the Lady Jackets could break through this year and they’ve talked about it among themselves a lot. She was 3 the last time they won it.
The top-seeded Lady Jackets opened the game with designs on shutting down Ohatchee’s Jorda Crook and they were successful. Crook, who scored a tournament record 43 points in the Tribe’s Wednesday win over Alexandria, finished with 21 points, but she had only four in the first half as Oxford opened a 30-13 lead.
“That was the plan,” Bennett said. “We know she’s a beast. She’s a great player, probably the best player in the county to be honest, as far as night in and night out and what all she means to her team. She still got 21 points, but that was the game plan (to contain her). We knew we had to try to slow her down and we knew we had to pressure the guards.”
LaMya McGrue led Oxford with 15 points, hitting 7-of-9 shots from the field. Kaleah Taylor had 14 points and five steals, and Justice Woods had 10 points. .
Taylor made some big shots for the Lady Jackets in the game and she’ll get the chance to take an even bigger shot Friday night.
She was the leading overall vote-getter in F&M Bank’s Fan Favorite poll during the tournament and will take a half-court shot for $10,000 at halftime of the boys championship game. If she makes it, the prize will be split between the player and the school.
Taylor collected 797 likes in the Facebook polling and edged out Pleasant Valley’s Gracie Hood (694) and Alexandria’s Ashley Phillips (525). Jake Roberts of Ohatchee was the top vote-getter among the boys (685), nosing out Piedmont’s Alex Odam (641) and Alexandria’s Collin Taylor (392). Taylor and Roberts will both receive a $500 scholarship.
“We’re not real big on the half-court shot, but we might get a few extra reps in it tomorrow,” Bennett said.
Taylor has already made one. She banked one in during the Lady Jackets’ shoot-around Thursday.
“I’ve got a shot,” she said.
Oxford 60, Ohatchee 40
OHATCHEE – Whitney McFry 1 0-0 3, Morgan Foushee 0 0-0 0, Gracie George 4 0-0 8, Millie Rainwater 1 0-1 3, Kiana Garber 0 2-2 2, Jorda Crook 9 2-3 21, Lindsey Zurchin 1 0-0 3. Totals 16 4-7 40.
OXFORD – Justice Woods 5 0-0 10, Xai Whitfield 4 0-0 9, LaMya McGrue 7 1-2 15, Kaleah Taylor 7 0-0 14, Jamea Gaston 2 0-0 5, Keziah Mickler 3 0-0 7. Totals 28 1-2 60.
Ohatchee 5 8 10 17 – 40
Oxford 18 12 12 18 – 60
3-point goals: Ohatchee 4 (McFry, Rainwater, Crook, Zurchin); Oxford 3 (Whitfield, Gaston, Mickler). Total fouls: Ohatchee 8, Oxford 14. Officials: Brown, Bright, Corley.
Anniston survives scare
JACKSONVILLE – The Anniston girls survived one of the strongest threats to their five-year stranglehold on the Calhoun County Tournament title Thursday, but ultimately turned back White Plains 42-33 to earn a spot in Friday night’s championship game.
The second-seeded Lady Bulldogs – not the No. 1 for the first time in six years – will play top-seeded Oxford for the title. If they win, it will be their sixth title in a row and 13th since 2007, but getting there was anything but easy.
“You said the right word, survive,” Anniston coach Eddie Bullock said. “We survived and got through. We had opportunities to put them away and we didn’t capitalize on it, and that’s what we’ve got to learn to do.
“I’ll take the win, but I’ve got a headache.”
The Lady Bulldogs never had a lead they could call comfortable against a White Plains intent on getting to the championship game for the first time since 1994.
In fact, the Lady Wildcats led early 9-6, then two of their best players, Callyn Martin and Angel Bozarth, both picked up two fouls and it cut into their effectiveness.
That was evident when Martin, their most aggressive defender and best ballhandler, went out with her third foul with 5:52 left in the second quarter. Anniston turned them over on the first six possessions after Martin went out and built a 12-point lead before the Lady Wildcats scored again.
The lead was 14 when Martin reentered with 38.5 seconds left in the half and the Lady Wildcats started to rally.
Adriana Sotelo hit a 3 from the A in the center logo at the buzzer to give White Plains momentum going into halftime and it touched off an 11-0 run that carried into the third quarter that got the Lady Wildcats back in the game. Sotelo hit three 3s in the run, which made it a 25-22 game with 5:00 left in the third quarter.
Sotelo hit four 4s in the game and finished with 12 points. She was the Lady Wildcats’ leading scorer.
Anniston finally got on the board in the quarter with 3:34 left and went on a 9-2 run to take a 10-point lead capped by A’Kayla Perry’s 3 from the left corner at the buzzer. It was a play Bullock said they tried to get four times and just didn’t run right.
“The thing about it is we can play much better if we just buy into the game plan,” Bullock said. “We wouldn’t be in situations like this (if we did). They play Oxford like that, Oxford is the big dog, we’ll get blown out.”
The lead stayed around eight for the rest of the game with Serena Hardy and Shiwanna Jackson sealing it from the free throw line in the final minute.
Hardy wasn’t worried. “We knew we were going to win,” she said. She said keeping the string of county tournament championship in tact was “in the bag.”
Hardy led Anniston with 17 points; she made her last 10 free throws and was 11-of-12 from the line. Bullock said she could have gotten to the line even more if were more aggressive going to the ball. Tykeria Smith had 12.
Anniston 42, White Plains 33
WHITE PLAINS – Callyn Martin 1 0-1 2, Isabella Higgins 1 0-0 2, Cooper Martin 0 0-0 0, Hallie Williams 3 0-0 6, Camden Wilson 2 0-1 4, Adriana Sotelo 4 0-0 12, Braaeton Moran 0 0-0 0, Angel Bozarth 2 2-4 7. Totals 13 2-6 33.
ANNISTON – Taysia West 2 0-4 4, Serena Hardy 3 11-12 17, Nina Farrow 0 0-0 0, Shiwanna Jackson 1 2-4 4, Tiauna Thomas 0 0-0 0, A’Kayla Perry 2 0-0 7, Tykeria Smith 4 4-7 12. Totals 12 17-27 42.
White Plains 9 5 10 9 – 33
Anniston 9 16 9 8 – 42
3-point goals: White Plains 5 (Sotelo 4, Bozarth); Anniston 1 (Perry). Total fouls: White Plains 20, Anniston 15. Officials: Shirey, Zauchin, Hodge. [**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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