January 12, 2022
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Girls roundup: Foushee’s steal-and-score combo with 22 seconds left helps Piedmont clinch a No. 1 seed, Oxford clinches its No. 1, Ragland tops PV in 2 OTs and more
TUESDAY’S GIRLS GAMES
Anniston 48, White Plains 31
Cleburne County 54, Saks 18
Hokes Bluff 40, Glencoe 28
Jacksonville 48, Ashville 22
Ohatchee 37, Piedmont 36
Oxford 54, Springville 43
Ragland 68, Pleasant Valley 64 (2 OT)
Spring Garden 85, Gaston 12
Talladega Co. Central 45, Faith Christian 20
OHATCHEE – Morgan Foushee stole the Ohatchee Lady Indians a No. 1 seed Tuesday night.
Foushee’s steal and layup with 22 seconds to play gave Ohatchee the lead and the Lady Indians held on to defeat Piedmont 37-36 and secure the No. 1 seed and host the Class 3A Area 11 tournament.
“That was important,” Ohatchee coach Bryant Ginn said. “We wanted to play here at home. Last year kind of stunk; COVID messed us up where everybody didn’t play here. And we didn’t want to leave it to chance. We didn’t want to leave to a coin flip.”
The teams were locked in a tight battle all game and Piedmont, looking to force a coin flip for the top seed, took a 36-35 lead on Lele Ridley’s 3-pointer with 57.3 seconds to play. Ridley led the Lady Bulldogs with 13 points, their only scorer in double figures.
With 22 seconds left Foushee picked Ava Pope’s pocket in Ohatchee’s end and dropped in a layup that stayed on the rim a long time to put the Lady Indians ahead 37-36.
“We were just trying to keep tight defense and not let them get the ball at all,” Foushee said. “I was already down here so the worst I could do was foul her and even if she hit her free throws the ball would be ours.
“I thought I was going to miss (the shot), but it went in and thank God it did. I would say this was the biggest (play) that we’ve had probably this year. We never had anything this close before.”
Foushee’s basket was her only field goal of the game and Ohatchee’s first points since Jorda Crook’s layup put it ahead 35-31 with four minutes to play.
“Foushee’s probably played her best basketball this last week and a half,” Ginn said. “She’s got quick hands, she’s a basketball kid and came up with a huge steal there.
“There are some nights offensively we may not be there, but our defense has to show up every night. Our defense can carry us when our offense doesn’t. That’s kind of what they buy into. If we can play games in the 30s I think we’ll be all right.”
Piedmont had a chance for a last shot, but had to go the length of the floor with little time remaining. The Lady Bulldogs inbounded on the baseline with 1.3 seconds left, but they couldn’t corral Emily Farmer’s baseball pass and the horn sounded to end the game.
Crook led all scorers with 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. She needed 14 points to reach the 1,500-point plateau and hit the milestone with three minutes left in the third quarter. She finally shook the defensive blanket Piedmont threw over her in the second half, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 boards.
RAGLAND 68, PLEASANT VALLEY 64: Rylee Mickler hit a pair of free throws with one second left in the second overtime to secure Ragland’s victory. PV extended the game twice on a 3-pointer by Lily Henry at the end of regulation and one by Marlie Wright at the end of the first overtime.
Cadence Buchanan led three Ragland double-figure scorers with 19 points. Sammie Day-Jones had 16 and Aubrey Ball 14 with four 3-pointers. PV’s Rylee Haynes led all scorers with 26 points. Henry and Macey Roper had 14 apiece.
“I’m proud of my team for the way they fought tonight,” Ragland coach Sawyer Merritt said. “We did a good job of controlling the tempo and making plays when it counted. You find out a lot about your team when they are faced with challenges like this and I could not be more proud of the heart and determination my girls showed.”
OXFORD 54, SPRINGVILLE 43: Kaleah Taylor scored 17 points, Xai Whitfield had 16 and the Lady Jackets overcame a poor shooting night to avenge its only area loss of a year ago and secure the No. 1 seed in this year’s race.
Taylor and Whitfield both scored five points in the first quarter and the Lady Jackets went 7-for-7 from the line to open a 16-3 lead. They had missed only one free throw through the first three quarters and finished 14-of-18 from the line in the game.
JACKSONVILLE 48, ASHVILLE 22: Halaina Lozano came off the bench to hit 5 of 9 3-pointers and scored a game-high 15 points to lead Jacksonville. Amarie Curry had 14 points, five rebounds and four steals.
“Laney’s a really strong shooter for us and she works hard on that part of her game,” Jacksonville coach Tres Buzan said. “Her teammates did a good job of making the extra pass and finding her. We were really proud to see her knock down a lot of good looks tonight.”
CLEBURNE COUNTY 54, SAKS 18: The Lady Tigers were once again led in scoring by their big three – Brooklyn McDaniel, Faith Brown and Hailey Price – just in smaller proportions as 10 played and eight scored. McDaniel had 14 points and five rebounds, Brown inched closer to 1,000 career points with 13 and Price had 11.
It was the second opponent in as many days the Lady Tigers have held to fewer than 20 points. They have given up only 20 points in their last six quarters.
ANNISTON 48, WHITE PLAINS 31: Serena Hardy hit three of her four 3-pointers in the third quarter and finished with 15 points to lead the Lady Dawgs. [**read more]
**When you click read more you will be taken to the EA Sports Today website. Please make sure to come back to read more Calhoun County News.
Advertisement
