Calhoun County, AL – Girls roundup: Ranburne avoids the tiebreakers by beating Pleasant Valley to earn top seed in Class 2A Area 9; Oxford earns share in its area
FRIDAY’S GIRLS GAMES
Clay Central 51, Jemison 24
Cleburne County 47, Woodland 43
Collinsville 68, Gaylesville 21
Glencoe at Faith Christian
Handley 45, Anniston 33
Jacksonville Christian 51, Wellborn 44
Ohatchee 69, Alexandria 36
Oxford 70, Gadsden City 31
Ranburne 68, Pleasant Valley 58
Randolph County 61, Dadeville 31
Southside 70, Lincoln 33
Spring Garden 81, Ider 29
Talladega at Munford
Weaver 49, Saks 47
White Plains 41, Piedmont 34
Winterboro 72, Wadley 61
St. Clair County Tournament
At Moody
Moody 72, Victory Christian 28
By Al Muskewitz
Neither Marcus Harrell or Briley Merrill ever cared much for coin flips. Something about having control of one’s destiny and not leaving anything to chance. They were something to be avoided, Merrill said, “at all costs.” Now, the Ranburne girls basketball team doesn’t have to worry about it after putting away Pleasant Valley 68-58 to clinch the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Class 2A Area 9 tournament and automatically claim a spot into the subregion tournament.
Had PV won, the teams would have tied for the area tournament’s top seed and hosting rights and opened the door for the traditional resolution of the deepest of tiebreakers in the only three-team area in Class 2A. It might not have gotten that deep, given a newly implemented tiebreaker involving outside competition within a team’s classification that apparently is catching some coaches by surprise. But thanks to a fast start and a big second half by Merrill to turn back the Lady Raiders when they got back in it, the Lady Bulldogs don’t have worry about it anymore.
“I don’t want to take a 50-50 shot on anything if I can help it,” Harrell said. “Leave it up just to a flip would have been a tough thing to do. This is a tough place to play, just a tough environment. They’re team is really tough, a really good team. We’re definitely glad it’s going back to our place for the area tournament, for sure. “We were in a coin toss last year with Lanett’s girls and we lost it, had to go to their place and wound up losing. I don’t like to leave things up to chance. If we can control our own destiny, that’s something we definitely need to do.”
With Brylee Bailey and Jadie Phillips making things happen early with their scoring and rebounding, Harrell’s Lady Bulldogs jumped out to as much as a 14-point lead in the first half. But Pleasant Valley rallied behind Macey Roper and Rebekah Gannaway to get within three to five points on numerous occasions in the second half. But every time they did, Merrill was there to keep them at arm’s length. Gannaway got PV within five with 1:55 left in the third quarter, Merrill answered with two free throws and a bucket, and then had the assist on Aubree Anglin’s 3-pointer to push the lead back to 12. [read more…]
OXFORD 70, GADSDEN CITY 31: Oxford led 33-18 at halftime and blew the game open with 26-point third quarter, positioning itself for a tiebreaker to see which of the two teams would play host to the Class 6A, Area 13 tournament.
Gadsden City, missing center Jaedyn Sharp, who sat out with a minor injury, beat Oxford earlier this season. Fresh off of winning the Calhoun County tournament for the second year in a row, Oxford went 2-0 this week.
“Our defensive intensity was really good tonight,” Oxford coach Melissa Bennett said. “We had a good bit of defense that led to offense, so it was a lot of key for what we’re doing. “We stuck to the game plan and shut them down offensively, made sure when they did score, it was off of offensive rebounds.” Oxford also had Senior Night ceremonies for Shaniya Calloway, Keziah Mickler, LaMya McGrue and Justice Woods. – Joe Medley
WEAVER 49, SAKS 47: Aaliyah Marks led the way for Weaver, hitting three 3-pointers en route to 17 points. Madison Atchley hit a 3 and finished with 11 points. They both scored five points in the 16-point fourth-quarter rally that carried the Lady Bearcats to the area victory.
Saks got a game-high 18 points from Saniya Angel, who hit two 3. Meorri English added 10. “We played strong defensively in the second half and finally had some buckets drop,” Weaver coach Jamie Burns said. “(D.J.) Gibbs really played big defensively tonight. It was an overall team effort to hold them off and fight to get the lead back.”
WHITE PLAINS 41, PIEDMONT 34: After being dominated in the third quarter, White Plains turned the tables in the fourth and rallied for the victory. Cooper Martin scored eight of her game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter, including 5-of-8 from the free throw line, as the Lady Wildcats outscored Piedmont 19-3 to win. Jaycee Glover hit both of her 3-pointers in the third quarter as the Lady Bulldogs outscored White Plains 17-4 to take a 31-22 lead into the fourth. Lele Ridley led Piedmont with 16 points.
