Calhoun County, AL – Thursday girls roundup: JCA acting coach has Thunder heading in the right direction, Spring Garden dominates another opponent and more
GIRLS GAMES
Cherokee County 54, Alexandria 47
Handley 45, Munford 13
Jacksonville Christian 66, Gaylesville 28
Lincoln at Anniston
Saks 41, Wellborn 40
Spring Garden 91, Cedar Bluff 16
Talladega 39, Jacksonville 29
Westbrook Christian 49, Piedmont 37
By Al Muskewitz
If they actually were to give an award for it, Cindy Fair might be right in line for girls basketball’s interim coach of the year. Katy Bryant doesn’t know about all that, but the head coach Fair has been keeping the seat warm for this month has another title for her lead assistant.
“She’s our Cadillac,” the Jacksonville Christian head coach said after watching Fair lead the Lady Thunder to another victory Thursday night, 66-28 over winless Gaylesville.
Fair has been keeping the team on course while Bryant has been on maternity leave delivering her second child. Bryant’s reference to Cadillac, of course, is to Carnell (Cadillac) Williams, the Auburn assistant football coach who kept the Tigers and their fan base engaged and energized following the late-season dismissal of head coach Bryan Harsin.
Actually, Fair and Cadillac have a lot in common when it comes to the approach to their jobs.
“I will say I love this school, I went here also and I love the kids,” Fair said. “I have such a desire to see them succeed and to do well. I do well being their cheerleader and encourager, and it is awesome when Katy comes back because I can just completely be the cheerleader.”
Bryant, who has taken in a few games during her leave and was on the bench Thursday night cradling newborn Kase, can start driving again the day after Christmas and that’s when she’ll take over practices. The Lady Thunder play two more games before then, but she won’t go back to calling the shots in games until the JCA Holiday Classic Dec. 29.
And while she might not have coached a game yet this season, she hasn’t been far from the action.
“Having my sister run the team and I’ve got a niece (Addy Lee) playing so everybody keeps me pretty involved,” she said. “I’ve watched every game on the NFHS (network) and I’ve been texting my brother-in-law for updates and stuff.
“I’ve actually got to be more involved this time, plus my husband’s not deployed this time. The first time it was just me, but having him home has been a whole lot lighter load on me.”
Two years ago Fair took over the team while Bryant was out to deliver her first child and the Lady Thunder only won a couple games. This year, with the same group of players only older, they are 7-3 and moving towards a spot in the Class 1A tournament.
“This group of girls has played together several years, and I guess we kind of knew what we were getting into a little bit more this time because we have done it,” Fair said. “I still talk to Katy before and after the games. Katy has always had the ability to see the floor, to know the game, to be strategic. So far she’s allowed me to do it. We’ve been on the same train of thought.”
“Cindy’s a good coach, she’s very detail-oriented,” Bryant said. “She’s actually probably a little more aggressive at practice than I am, just not vocally.”
The Lady Thunder were in control of this one from the start. They scored the first five points of the game and opened a 24-7 lead by quarter’s end. Kara Grace scored 11 of her 14 points in the quarter. She also had 16 rebounds in the game. Erin Prater hit four 3-pointers in the game and led JCA with 18 points. Rebekah Carter also had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, and had four assists and three steals.
The lead was 21 at halftime and 28 entering the fourth quarter. Senior Shonda Epps had her best game of the year for Gaylesville, scoring 21 points, one fewer than her previous five games combined. She had scored just 36 points in the first eight games of the season.
JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN 66, GAYLESVILLE 28
GAYLESVILLE (0-9) – Ashlyn Grace 0 0-0 0, Logan Goza 0 2-4 2, Gracie Dawson 2 0-0 4, Jayden Dobbins 0 1-2 1, Delaney Coker 0 0-0 0, Emma Givens 0 0-0 0, Shonda Epps 10 1-2 21, Sydney Smith 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 4-8 28.
JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN (7-3) – Katie Beth Hudson 0 0-0 0, Addy Lee 3 0-0 9, Rebekah Carter 4 6-8 14, Erin Prater 7 0-0 18, Kara Grace 6 2-5 14, Kirsten Walker 3 0-0 8, Peyton Walker 1 1-2 3. Totals 24 9-15 66.
Gaylesville 7 9 12 0 – 26
JCA 24 13 19 10 – 66
3-point goals: JCA 9 (Lee 3, Prater 4, K. Walker 2). Total fouls: Gaylesville 13, JCA 9. Officials: Burroughs, Nelms, Hoffman.
TALLADEGA 39, JACKSONVILLE 29: Trinity Webb scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds with four steals and two blocked shots to lead the Lady Tigers to victory. Dee Prothro led Jacksonville with 12 points.
JACKSONVILLE – Dee Prothro 5-6 2-3 12, Ontarriah Braxton 3-6 0-0 6, Alexis Phillips 2-7 0-0 5, Halaina Lozano 1-10 0-0 3, Mya Swain 1-2 0-0 3, Ashley Grant 0-1 0-0 0, Olivia Rowan 0-0 0-0 0, Rachel Sanders 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 12-34 2-3 29.
TALLADEGA – Trinity Webb 7-15 3-4 17, Houston Goins 3-11 2-4 9, Zae Cunningham 2-4 2-4 6, Makayla White 2-3 0-0 4, Jakeria Wilson 0-1 2-2 2, Kailynn Williams 0-3 1-2 1, Justasia Pointer 0-0 0-2 0, Keyoshia Garrett 0-0 0-0 0, K. Massingale 0-1 0-0 0, Jaleah Spencer 0-0 0-0 0, Destiny Twymon 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 14-39 10-18 39.
Jacksonville 6 6 7 10 – 29
Talladega 8 10 12 9 – 39
3-point goals: Jacksonville 3-17 (Braxton 0-1, Phillips 1-4, Lozano 1-8, Swain 1-2, Grant 0-1, Sanders 0-1); Talladega 1-10 (Webb 0-4, Goins 1-4, Massingale 0-1, Twymon 0-1). Rebounds: Jacksonville 23 (Prothro 8, Braxton 5); Talladega 30 (Webb 8, Williams 6). Total fouls: Jacksonville 16, Talladega 7
CHEROKEE COUNTY 54, ALEXANDRIA 47: The Lady Warriors were 9-of-13 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to hold off a furious rally by the Lady Cubs. Ella Garmany was 6-for-6 from the line in the quarter and 8-for-10 in the game. She finished with 19 points.
The Lady Cubs tried to come back from a 16-point deficit entering the fourth quarter by going to the long ball. They hit four 3-pointers in the quarter. Jordyn Walker scored nine of her 20 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Cubs win the fourth, 20-11, but coming up short.
ALEXANDRIA – Jordyn Walker 5 8-9 20, Kirsten Heathcock 2 0-0 4, Jill Cockrell 1 0-0 3, Charlee Parris 3 0-0 6, Kailey Dickerson 1 1-2 4, Sumira Duncan 3 0-0 8, Alyssa Hunt 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 9-11 47.
CHEROKEE COUNTY – Raechel Russell 1 0-3 3, Mary Johnson 2 0-0 4, Audrey Haygood 3 4-5 11, Vivian Connell 1 2-6 4, Ella Garmany 5 8-10 19, Deannia Starr 2 1-2 5, Ellison Clevens 2 0-1 4, Nevaeh Gaidivigis 2 0-0 4, Hannah Mosley 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 15-27 54.
Alexandria 4 13 10 20 – 47
Cherokee Co. 12 16 15 11 – 54
3-point goals: Alexandria 6 (Walker 2, Cockrell, Dickerson, Duncan 2); Cherokee Co. 3 (Russell, Haygood, Garmany). Fouled out: Cockrell. Total fouls: Alexandria 16, Cherokee Co. 12. Officials: Childs, Childs, Dupree.
WESTBROOK CHRISTIAN 49, PIEDMONT 37: Bella Millirons scored 10 of her game-high 14 points in the third quarter as Westbrook broke out at halftime and outscored the Lady Bulldogs 21-4 to take control of the game. Jones had 13 and Bean had 10.
PIEDMONT – Armoni Perry 1 0-0 3, Ava Pope 5 1-2 12, Josie Young 0 0-0 0, Rylie Anne Holbrooks 0 0-0 0, Jaycee Glover 0 0-0 0, Lele Ridley 2 4-4 8, Cayla Brothers 3 5-7 11, Melanie Studdard 0 0-0 0, Carson Young 0 2-2 2, Gracie Naugher 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 12-15 37.
WESTBROOK CHRISTIAN – Bella Millirons 5 1-6 14, Sara Cate Windle 1 0-0 3, Ellison Stewart 0 0-0 0, Chloe Jones 0 0-0 0, Danielle Prime 0 0-0 0, Grace Hyfield 2 0-0 4, Kathryn Elam 0 0-0 0, Landri Lipscomb 2 0-0 5, McKayla Bean 4 2-2 10, Keyara Jones 2 3-8 13, Alyvia Carden 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 6-16 49.
Piedmont 9 10 4 14 – 37
Westbrook 8 8 21 12 – 49
3-poiint goals: Piedmont 3 (Perry, Pope 2); Westbrook 7 (Millirons 3, Windle, Lipscomb, K. Jones 2). Rebounds: 24 (Ridley 7). Total fouls: Piedmont 18, Westbrook 13. Officials: Battles, Thomas, Ingram.
SAKS 41, WELLBORN 40: The Lady Wildcats opened a 15-point halftime lead, but had to stave off a furious Wellborn rally in the second half. The Lady Panthers were driving for a game-winning layup at the end but were turned away.
Alonna Crews scored all 11 of her points in the first quarter to get Saks started. Sania Angel scored all 13 of her points in the second half.
Anna Odom led Wellborn’s comeback with 16 of her 19 in the second half, 12 in the fourth quarter. She made her last four free throws and five of her last six. Brooklyn Singleton scored nine of her 15 in the third quarter.
“We turned one corner – we learned how to come back,” Wellborn coach Mindi Amberson said. “We were a different team after halftime. The team I see in practice finally showed up.”
SAKS – Deihanna Taylor 0 0-1 0, Sania Angel 5 3-9 13, Alonna Crews 4 1-3 11, Madison Turner 1 2-10 4, Alayah Christopher 0 0-0 0, Jada Foster 3 1-2 7, Trenzly Bolding 0 0-0 0, Camrie Denham 2 0-0 6, Kennedy Robinson 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 7-25 41.
WELLBORN – Braelyn Bean 0 0-2 0, Anna Odom 6 7-15 19, Mikayla Williams 0 0-0 0, Taniya Traylor 0 0-2 0, Bentley Rae Bean 0 0-3 0, Destiny Benefield 0 0-0 0, Calla Hayes 3 1-2 7, Brooklynn Singleton 3 3-5 15, Layla Amberson 0 0-0 0, Hannah Grubbs 0 1-2 1. Totals 14 12-31 40.
Saks 13 10 10 8 – 41
Wellborn 3 5 17 15 – 40
3-point goals: Saks 4 (Crews 2, Denham 2). Fouled out: Crews. Total fouls: Saks 25, Wellborn 22. Officials: Mahone, Mallicoat, Merritt.
SPRING GARDEN 91, CEDAR BLUFF 16: The Lady Panthers destroyed another opponent, placing five scorers in double figures, getting a pair of double-doubles and racing to a 33-2 lead after the first quarter.
Libby Brown (17), Kayley Kirk (15), Ace Austin (13), Maggie Jarrett (12) and Chloe Rule (11) were all in double-figure scoring for Spring Garden. Hunt and Rule each had 10 rebounds.
The Lady Panthers collected 43 steals in the game and blocked 18 shots. Maggie Jarrett had eight and Libby Brown and Chloe Rule had seven apiece.
Spring Garden 33 23 23 12 – 91
Cedar Bluff 2 2 7 5 – 16
