Anniston, AL – Rebounding from last season’s early exit, Anniston girls down Fort Payne to reach 10-0. Coker’s Fort Payne boys find the 3-point aim in the second half to hold off Anniston’s boys.
By Joe Medley
Suffering elimination in the area tournament didn’t set well with Anniston’s girls last season, and their start to this season signals a return to normal.
Tykeria Smith scored a game-high 22 points, and the Bulldogs downed visiting Fort Payne for the second time this season Tuesday, 49-30.
With its latest victory, Anniston hit double-digit wins in the first week of December. The Bulldogs are 10-0.
“We’re just a team full of guards, and we’re really just looking back on what we did last year and fixing it this year,” Smith said.
The first fix is health. Anniston lost guard Serena Hardy to a season-ending knee injury four games into the 2022-23 season.
Her injury forced others into bigger roles, and it’s paying off this season.
“Some of them have matured,” veteran Anniston coach Eddie Bullock said. “When she got injured, it allowed some other players to develop, and that’s what happened.”
A’Kayla Perry added 14 points Tuesday, hitting two 3-pointers. The Bulldogs led Fort Payne (4-3) 31-11 at halftime.
Anniston’s 10-0 start is business as usual for the Bulldogs, who won a Class 4A state title in 2020 and reached the finals three other times under Bullock. That made Talladega’s 41-34 victory over them in the first round of last season’s Area 8 tournament at Handley so shocking.
The Bulldogs finished 15-12 and suffered elimination in the area tournament for the first time in Bullock’s now-19-year tenure as their coach.
“Last year, we had more turnovers, and we didn’t play well as a team,” Smith said. “This year, we’re putting it all together.”
Bullock still brings a demanding sideline demeanor, but his familiar postgame smile has returned at 10-0.
“We’re just trying to play hard,” Bullock said. “I would’ve never imagined it, but we’re over here enjoying it.”
Boys
FORT PAYNE 42, ANNISTON 36: Fort Payne hit two 3-pointers in the first half, leaving one to wonder if first-year Wildcats coach Robi Coker had turned over a new leaf.
Then, the Wildcats hit five 3-pointers in the third quarter.
Fort Payne broke out to a 31-21 lead in the third and bagged its second victory over Anniston (4-2) this season, the Wildcats’ first under the man who coached Plainview to four state titles before changing jobs.
Coker said the move has been good for him. He channeled former Texas football coach Darrell Royal.
“It’s great,” the former Jacksonville State assistant said. “You know, building is fun. Maintaining a (challenge). That’s what Darrell Royal said.
“No doubt.There’s a lot of new energy. It’s been fun. I’ve met a lot of new people, and this group is trying to buy in. The guys who are out here have really paid the price. Every night, it kind of clicks a little bit more. We’re sitting at 7-0 right now with an eight-game homestand coming up.”
Anniston lost 41-30 at Fort Payne eight days ago but got off to a 7-0 start Tuesday.
“Give Anniston credit,” Coker said. “They hit us in the mouth there, at 7-0, and it’s really the first time this group has faced adversity. It’s the first time this group has ever been behind like that out of the gate. We kind of got steady and righted the ship a little bit.”
After falling behind by 10 in the third quarter, Anniston rallied to within 36-34 in the fourth.
“We played well in spurts, but we didn’t make enough plays down the stretch, defensively, to win,” Anniston coach Torry Brown said. “We kind of got something going offensively, a little bit, and we got in our press and were chasing them pretty good, but we didn’t make enough stops down the stretch.”
Delroy Francis led Anniston with 10 points, and Devin Coleman added seven.
Fort Payne went on to hit seven threes in the second half, and Josh Scott led three Wildcats in double figures with 13 points. He hit four threes in the second half.
“I really like Anniston’s team,” Coker said. “I told Torry before the game, I’d like to see two Calhoun County teams in the (Northeast Regional) final four. I think them and Jacksonville are favorites to be there. They both have good teams, and to come in here and get a win was big for my team.”
