By Al Muskewitz
Tuesday’s girls roundup: Oxford hits 20 wins, completes undefeated regular season at home for second straight year; Gable gets No. 150 at Cleburne County, and more
TUESDAY’S GIRLS GAMES
Clay Central 47, Munford 19
Cleburne County 47, Piedmont 38
Glencoe 62, Cherokee County 60
Jacksonville Christian 60, Gaston 41
Ohatchee 50, Hokes Bluff 47
Oxford 66, Gadsden City 44
Ragland 49, Ashville 12
Ramsay 55, Alexandria 35
Ranburne 49, LaFayette 31
Spring Garden 70, Handley 27
Talladega 33, Jacksonville 28
White Plains 65, Lincoln 38
OXFORD – The Oxford girls basketball team reached a couple milestones Tuesday night in large part to the commitment the seniors they honored made two years earlier.
The Lady Jackets reached the 20-win plateau and completed the regular season undefeated at home – both for the second straight year – after thumping Gadsden City 66-44.
Kaleah Taylor, one of the team’s three seniors, led the way with 17 points. Justice Woods had 14 and Xai Whitfield 13.
“We want to shoot well here, we want to protect the house,” Oxford coach Melissa Bennett said. “For a long time people didn’t want to watch the girls because it was a struggle but as that performance has increased, as that record has increased, more and more people are coming. We want to put a product out there that’s exciting, that’s fun to watch and Oxford can be proud of.”
The Lady Jackets are now 20-4 and have won 21 straight at home going back to the 2019-20 season. Their last loss in the Sports Arena came against the Albertville in January 2020.
“That kind of goes into the work ethic they decided last year,” Bennett continued. “We came in at the end of the season two years ago and said something has got to give, something has got the change and it’s going to take a drastic change.
“Starting last year the girls really made that commitment. This group of seniors put in the extra hours, put in the extra work, put in all the extra reps. I can’t tell you how many shots Leah Taylor has taken even in the last month. It’s in the thousands, she puts in so much extra work. This group of seniors they’re a special group of kids.”
The Lady Jackets took control of their last home win early. They fell behind 2-0, then LaMya McGrue hit a 3-pointer and it touched off a 17-2 tear to the end of the quarter. They led by 19 at halftime and 26 going into the fourth quarter.
“Oxford girls basketball, they’ve had back-to-back 20-win seasons,” Bennett said. “A lot of time with that number comes a lot of respect from other people. It goes to their work, it goes to their effort, so I’m really proud for them and of them for that.”
Oxford 66, Gadsden City 44
GADSDEN CITY – Karleigh Sheffield 1 2-2 5, Mariah Ragland 0 0-1 0, ZyAya Lindsey 1 0-0 2, Ajainey Tinker 2 0-2 4, Monique Curry 0 0-1 0, Madison Tinker 2 1-3 5, Jaedyn Sharp 5 8-10 18, Tameah Gaddis 3 3-4 10, Simone Trimble 0 0-0 0, ZaNayah Brooks 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 14-23 44.
OXFORD – Justice Woods 6 0-0 14, Xai Whitfield 5 2-3 13, LaMya McGrue 3 0-0 7, Lauren Ellard 3 1-3 8, Kaleah Taylor 7 1-1 17, Jamea Gaston 1 0-0 2, Keziah Mickler 0 2-4 2, Shaniya Calloway 0 0-0 0, Kaylen Kenney 0 0-0 0, Brionna Wilson 1 1-1 3. Totals 26 7-12 66.
Gadsden City 4 7 14 19 – 44
Oxford 17 13 21 15 – 66
3-point goals: Gadsden City 2 (Sheffield, Gaddis); Oxford 7 (Woods 2, Whitfield, Ellard, McGrue, Taylor 2). Technical fouls: Ellard, Taylor. Fouled out: Taylor. Total fouls: Gadsden City 10, Oxford 24. Officials: Kelley, Warren, Jarrett.
CLEBURNE COUNTY 47, PIEDMONT 38: Brooklyn McDaniel and Faith Brown both enjoyed double-doubles as the Lady Tigers handed coach Todd Gable his 150th career varsity victory.
McDaniel had 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Brown had 20 points and 19 boards.
“I’ve got those wins because of great kids that played hard and great assistant coaches over the years,” Gable said. “I feel blessed I get to coach these girls and this program. The main thing is I have more Ws than Ls and maybe they will keep me around a little longer.”
Cleburne County 47, Piedmont 38
PIEDMONT – Ava Pope 4 3-3 14, Jaycee Glover 0 0-0 0, Lele Ridley 3 4-10 10, Carson Young 1 0-0 2, Z’Hayla Walker 0 0-0 0, Emily Farmer 4 1-2 12. Totals 12 8-15 38.
CLEBURNE COUNTY – Brooklyn McDaniel 6-20 12-17 24, Faith Brown 9-19 0-0 20, Jacy Littleton 1-4 0-0 2, Karley Boyd 0-1 1-2 1, Kaydence Wright 0-0 0-0 0, Hannah Turley 0-0 0-0 0, Libby Altman 0-4 0-0 0, Makenzie Frames 0-1 0-3 0, Allyssa Hunt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-50 13-22 47.
Piedmont 10 7 13 8 – 38
Cleburne County 15 13 14 5 – 47
3-point goals: Piedmont 6 (Pope 3, Farmer 3); Cleburne County 2-18 (McDaniel 0-6, Brown 2-4, Littleton 0-1, Boyd 0-1, Altman 0-4, Frames 0-1, Hunt 0-1). Rebounds: Cleburne County 40 (McDaniel 11, Brown 19). Total fouls: Piedmont 14, Cleburne County 12. Officials: Hollingsworth, Miller, Hyde.
WHITE PLAINS 65, LINCOLN 38:Angel Bozarth scored 21 points on Senior Night, while Camden Wilson and Adriana Sotelo added 13 points each for the Lady Wildcats.
White Plains 65, Lincoln 38
LINCOLN – Keivondria Blackmon 0 0-0 0, Jaelyn Hurley 0 0-0 0, Jaycee Woods 3 4-6 12, Haley Haynes 1 0-0 3, Zoe Korreckt 0 0-0 0, Aaliiyah Rivers 1 0-0 3, Clarke Cunningham 4 0-0 10, Aubrey Machon 5 1-8 11. Totals 14 5-14 38.
WHITE PLAINS – Callyn Martin 2 1-3 5, Isabella Higgins 1 0-2 2, Cooper Martin 1 1-2 3, Hallie Williams 1 1-2 4, Camden Wilson 3 7-8 13, Addison Bradley 0 1-4 1, Adriana Sotelo 4 2-2 13, Braeton Moran 0 0-2 0, Angel Bozarth 7 4-5 21, Cassidy Arnold 1 0-0 3. Totals 20 17-30
Lincoln 10 10 10 8 – 38
White Plains 12 17 21 15 – 65
3-point goals: Lincoln 5 (J. Woods 2, Haynes, Cunningham 2); White Plains 8 (Williams, Sotelo 3, Bozarth 3, Arnold). Total fouls: Lincoln 18, White Plains 12. Officials: Hoffman, Stubbs, Hall.
JACKSONVILLE CHRISTIAN 60, GASTON 41: Erin Prater scored 19 points and Kara Grace had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds as JCA pushed across the .500 mark (12-11) right before the start of its area tournament. Rebekah Carter had 13 points, seven rebounds and six steals, while Kirsten Walker and Hannah Clayton had nine points each for the Lady Thunder.
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