Jacksonville, AL – Ohatchee’s Jorda Crook sets another Calhoun County Tournament scoring record, goes for 49 points and 20 rebounds as Lady Indians beat Jacksonville
CALHOUN COUNTY TOURNAMENT
(At Jacksonville State)
Wednesday’s Girls Games
Ohatchee 64, Jacksonville 53
Alexandria 48, Piedmont 41
Thursday’s Girls Games
Ohatchee vs. Anniston, 3 p.m.
Alexandria vs. Oxford, 6 p.m.
Friday’s Girls Game
Championship, 6 p.m.
By Al Muskewitz
Jorda Crook will stand right there and tell you she’s not “a basketball person.” But it’s funny, for someone who isn’t, she sure finds a way to dominate every basketball game she plays. The Ohatchee senior who puts the power in power forward set another Calhoun County Tournament girls scoring record in the quarterfinals round Tuesday, going for 49 points and 20 rebounds, in leading the Lady Indians to a 64-53 win over Jacksonville in Pete Mathews Coliseum.
The win sends the third-seeded Lady Indians (18-3) into Thursday’s 3 p.m. semifinal against second-seeded Anniston. They will be trying to reach the finals for the second time in school history and first since 2008. Crook is going to UAB to play volleyball after high school and doesn’t want to play basketball there, but she excels in every sport she plays, even the ones not at the top of her list. “I’m not a basketball person, but I always try to play my best,” she said. “Even though it wasn’t my best game I still gave all my efforts. My dad always tells me God’s given you the talent and I need to use it.”
Ohatchee coach Bryant Ginn has been the beneficiary of Crook’s best efforts on the hardwood and doesn’t buy that “not a basketball person” stuff for a second. “A, she’s a liar, and, B, she is a competitor and the ultimate competitor,” Ginn said in the most loving of terms. “It doesn’t matter what it is, she wants to be the best at it and she thrives under the spotlight. To me, it doesn’t matter what sport it is. She won a state championships in track last year trying something for the first time. Could’ve won another one in high jump but had a volleyball thing to go to. As a competitor, that’s why she is the way she is.”
Crook may try her best every time she’s on the floor, but the Calhoun County Tournament seems to bring out her very best. Last year in this round she set the girls single-game tournament scoring record with 43 points against Alexandria. In her last three quarterfinals round games in this tournament she has scored 149 points and grabbed 48 rebounds. With Wednesday’s outburst she moved up three spots on the state’s all-time girls scoring list, moving into a tie for 31st with St. James’ Leslie Claybrook (1986-89) – 2,668 points. She holds one of the top scoring averages in the nation this season. “We’re almost numb to the things she can do,” Ginn said. “She played her tail off, which is what we needed. She was calling for the ball at the end, that’s what you want out of your go-to leader. You want her to want the ball and she wanted the ball. It was a tight game. We had to have her.” [read more …]
