Weaver, AL – Weaver holds on to give Burns her first coaching victory in a neutral-site battle of first-year head coaches
GLENCOE TOURNAMENT
Girls Games
Weaver 46, Faith Christian 41
Fort Payne 51, Glencoe 43
By Al Muskewitz
Somebody was going to get their first win as a head coach Wednesday. For Weaver’s Jamie Burns, that day was two years in the making.
In a matchup of first-year coaches, Burns’ Lady Bearcats outdueled La’Ray Williams’ Faith Christian 46-41 on the final day of girls play in the Glencoe Thanksgiving Tournament.
“We knew it would eventually happen but we’ve had a really tough opening week to our season, so it’s very rewarding for me, but even moreso for the girls,” Burns said. “They worked really hard. I think we took the things we struggled with in each game and got a little bit better to where we were playing the kind of ball I know they’re capable of playing.”
Burns was pegged to be the Lady Bearcats’ coach when last year Gary Atchley took the school’s head football coach job and had to give up one of the three sports he coached. But she decided to wait a year following the birth of her daughter right before the start of the season and Atchley took it back.
The Lady Bearcats lost their first five games this season, but broke through Wednesday, holding off the Lady Lions down the stretch. They starting pulling away at the start of the fourth quarter and led by 10 with four minutes left, but Faith rallied to get within two with 1:30 to play and had the ball twice with chances to tie.
Weaver held off the Lady Lions with three free throws in the final 32 seconds and Erionna Richmond’s block of a 3-point attempt from the left elbow with 12.7 seconds to play.
“We struggle sometimes with that finish; it’s easy to let it slip away,” Burns said. “But they stayed composed, they didn’t let their emotions get the best of them. They stayed focused, they stayed composed and they were able to do the things I was asking them to do. They were executing on all the small things.”
Aaliyah Marks led the Lady Bearcats in scoring with 13 points, opening the game with a deep 3 and scoring the first five points of the game. Ellamae Kines added 10. Faith’s Ally Folsom led all scorers with 19 points.
WEAVER 46, FAITH CHRISTIAN 41
FAITH CHRISTIAN (0-5) – Ally Folsom 8 3-9 19, Maya Montgomery 0 0-0 0, Serenity Pate 2 0-0 4, Cheyenne Rice 2 0-1 4, Anna Kate Robertson 3 0-0 6, Joelle Tillery 3 0-0 8. Totals 18 3-10 41.
WEAVER (1-5) – Annalynna Canchucaja 0 2-2 2, Erionna Richmond 3 3-5 9, Ellamae Kines 3 3-5 10, Mckenley Davis 1 0-0 2, Aaliyah Marks 4 4-6 13, Madison Atchley 3 1-4 7, Kimora Miles 1 1-2 3, Alayia D’Ambrosia 0 0-0 0, Josselyn Masaniai 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 14-24 46.
| Faith | 10 | 7 | 10 | 14 – | 41 |
| Weaver | 14 | 7 | 9 | 16 – | 46 |
3-point goals: Faith 2 (Tillery 2); Weaver 2 (Kines, Marks). Fouled out: Robertson. Total fouls: Faith 18, Weaver 10. Officials: Childs, Childs, Guyton.
FORT PAYNE 51, GLENCOE 43
FORT PAYNE – Avery Chadwick 0 5-10 5, Anna Kate Akins 1 1-2 3, Meredith Jackson 2 6-10 12, Lydia Crane 3 10-15 16, Amiaya O’Neal 3 0-1 7, Brylan Gray 2 0-0 4, Libby Redden 1 2-4 4. Totals 12 24-42 51.
GLENCOE – Madalyn Amberson 2 0-0 4, Autumn Greene 1 0-0 3, Anna Grace Ponder 1 0-0 3, Kinslee Gray 0 0-0 0, Alli Jo Amos 3 3-5 9, Kinlee Montgomery 0 0-0 0, Hailey Hanners 5 0-0 11, Emma Gray 0 0-0 0, Jaxson Sizemore 5 3-4 13. Totals 17 6-9 43.
| Fort Payne | 18 | 14 | 10 | 9 – | 51 |
| Glencoe | 6 | 16 | 8 | 13 – | 43 |
3-point goals: Fort Payne 3 (Jackson 2, O’Neal); Glencoe 3 (Greene, Ponder, Hanners). Fouled out: Redden, Amberson, Greene, Gray. Total fouls: Fort Payne 15, Glencoe 27.
