Calhoun County, AL – Cherokee County picks up defense in second half, pulls away from White Plains to stay unbeaten in area; Wildcats hope to clinch third in area Thursday
TUESDAY’S GIRLS GAMES
Alexandria 51, Lincoln 40
Beulah 49, Randolph County 45
Cherokee County 52, White Plains 34
Douglas 37, Southside 34
Handley 48, Talladega 41
Jacksonville 75, Cleburne County 38
Jacksonville Christian 62, Cedar Bluff 54
Ohatchee 52, Glencoe 44
Oxford 65, Fort Payne 25
Piedmont 58, Saks 27
Plainview 73, Sand Rock 46
Pleasant Valley 62, Munford 24
Ranburne 56, Woodland 30
Weaver 40, Wellborn 32
St. Clair County Tournament
At Ragland
Victory Christian 43, Ragland 21
By Joe Medley
Cherokee County turned up the defense in the second half and beat White Plains 52-34 in Class 4A, Area 10 play Friday. The Warriors held White Plains to 11 second-half points, four while pulling away in the third quarter. “I think we were a little undisciplined early on and, I don’t know, didn’t have the right mindset coming in,” Cherokee County coach Richard Barton said. “They were hitting shots, we were overplaying, and they were backdooring us and getting good looks, so our defense was a little flat, and that kind of showed in the first half. “We were able to pick it up a little bit in the third.”
Mary Hayes Johnson led the Warriors (17-6) with 17 points. Aubrey Haygood added 13 and Navaeh Gaidurgis 12. Cherokee County remains unbeaten in area play. White Plains pulled within 26-23 in two Hallie Williams free throws in the second quarter. She finished with 11 points. Cherokee County started a 14-0 run that carried into the third quarter. Cassidy Arnold led White Plains with 12 points.
White Plains is 1-4 in area play. A win over Cleburne County on Thursday would clinch the third seed, behind Cherokee County and Jacksonville. “The girls are getting better, and that’s a really good 4A team we just played,” White Plains coach Matt Ford said. “I’ve been telling them since Christmas, really, what I care about is how we compete and if we improve every game. I saw flashes of improvement, but we’ve got to play 32 minutes.” [read more …]
WEAVER 40, WELLBORN 32: Aaliyah Marks scored 10 of her 13 points in the second half as the Lady Bearcats pulled away after Wellborn erupted in the second quarter to take the halftime lead. The Lady Panthers scored 13 points in the second quarter to grab a 19-14 halftime lead, but Weaver doubled-up its hosts in the second half to win. “After the first half I just told the girls we had to have a gut check,” Weaver coach Jamie Burns said. “We weren’t playing the kind of ball we needed to. We came back out after the half, made good choices and played better team ball.” Anna Odom led Wellborn with 23 points.
OXFORD 65, FORT PAYNE 25: The Lady Jackets showed no letdown from winning their second straight Calhoun County Tournament title, putting four scorers in double figures and winning on the road. Mya McGrue followed her big game in the county final with a team-high 16 points. County MVP Xai Whitfield and Justice Woods had 14 apiece and Jamea Gaston had 13 with three 3-pointers. “I was proud of our effort, especially in the press,” Oxford coach Melissa Bennett said. “We played good team ball, made the extra pass most of the night.”
PLEASANT VALLEY 62, MUNFORD 24: Laney Robinson hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points and the Lady Raiders knocked down 11 treys in the game. Robinson did all her scoring in the first half as PV opened a 42-17 lead. Rebekah Gannaway scored all 11 of her points in the first half, too.
ALEXANDRIA 51, LINCOLN 40: Jordyn Walker scored 21 points, Jill Cockrell had 13 and both hit three 3-pointers to lead the Lady Cubs. Walker had nine in the first quarter as Alexandria opened a 16-7 lead. Aubrey Machen led Lincoln with 18 points. Trinity McClellan had 15.
PIEDMONT 58, SAKS 27: The Lady Bulldogs crushed it coming out of the gate, outscoring their hosts 30-8 in the first quarter. Lele Ridley scored nine of her game-high 18 in the quarter and Ava Pope added eight of her 13. Gracie Naugher scored all 11 of her points for Piedmont in the first half.
JACKSONVILLE 75, CLEBURNE COUNTY 38: Ashley Grant scored 21 points, hitting 5-of-8 3-pointers, Dee Prothro had a double-double and the Jacksonville went 19-of-36 from the free throw line. Prothro had 15 points and 10 rebounds. She also had six steals. Faith Brown led Cleburne County with 21 points.
