AHSAA AREA RESULTS: PCA girls slip past Trinity; STJ boys advance
PCA’s Hannah Jones launches a shot over Trinity’s Emma Kate Smith in the Lady Panthers’ win Tuesday. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
It wasn’t a game for the faint at heart as the Trinity girls and Prattville Christian set aside their offensive talents to wage a physical defensive battle as if it was the last game of the season.
For Trinity, it was. Prattville Christian rallied from a six-point deficit late in the third quarter with a sudden change of strategy that stalled the Wildcats just long enough for the Panthers to escape with a 45-39 win in the opening round of the 3A Area 6 tournament at Trinity’s Captain Jack Court on Tuesday.
“Nothing against PCA, but at the end of the first half and at the end of the third, we felt really, really good,” Trinity coach Blake Smith said. “And that little (PCA) run killed you. Not only did you know (how tough it would be) last year when they told you the area matchups, if you would have told us we would be up six points late in the third quarter in the game to advance, we would have taken that and felt good about it. I know we lost to a great team, a very well coached team with girls we respect that play really, really hard.”
The win guaranteed PCA a postseason berth in the sub-regional round next Monday, but first the Panthers will face Montgomery Academy in the area tournament finals on Friday at Montgomery Academy at 6 p.m.
What made the win even more remarkable for the Panthers was rising up from almost certain defeat without the aid of their head coach. Jason Roberson was at home, quarantined from COVID-19 contact tracing, leaving the task to his assistants.
“He’s the driver, so it’s easy for the girls to let up,” PCA assistant coach Jim Graham said. “They want to please him. That’s not really my role. So that was my concern (and I sensed) that they weren’t giving it their all and he’s not here to get on them and fuss at them. But they turned it up and I was proud of them because they had to do that on their own.”
For the better part of three quarters, Trinity (17-5) had the upper hand, replicating the same defensive strategy that lifted them to an area win over the Panthers in mid-January -- keep an eye on 3-point specialist Avery Rogers and put two players on the leading scorer, Ella Jane Connell.
“This time, we had a game plan to go against it,” forward Hannah Jones said. “As we saw our mistakes from the last time, we came back with better decisions.”
Rogers never scored and, in fact, took just one shot. Connell had a pair of crucial baskets in the fourth quarter, but only took four shots and was rarely a factor. But as the physical back-and-forth battle continued -- Rogers was glued to the side of Trinity’s leading scorer, Emma Kate Smith, and Connell would face Maddie Smith each trip downcourt, then turn and guard Smith on the return trip -- PCA had a pair of weapons that were just heating up as the major players on both sides were rapidly wearing out.
“At the end of the day, you’re trying to take away Ella Jane, you’re trying to take away Avery shooting 3s and you’re trying to take away the post,” Smith said. “And the hardest thing for us to take away is going to be the post play.”
To the naked eye, few would have noticed the impact of Trinity forward Kaylee Peevy, who failed to score but was an important cog in the Trinity defense. And as the Wildcats grabbed a six-point lead with 1:07 remaining in the third quarter, Peevy’s exit two minutes earlier with her fourth personal foul was about to transform the game.
“Kaylee does a real good job of cleaning up the back side of what we’re trying to do,” Smith said, “so if the coach would have been a little smarter, we would have gotten out of that (full-court defensive pressure). Because that stretch really cost us the game and it really was as simple as staying in that particular full-court defense that we were running. Kaylee does a great job of quarterbacking that and slowing things down until everybody gets back.”
PCA, outplayed in the first half, came out with a different mindset in the third quarter but continued to struggle offensively against the Wildcats.
“We came out with a better mindset to push and play better on defense,” Jones said. “We went with a better decision on defense because we were playing a diamond-and-one at first and they were holding the ball, so we decided to play a different defense where we were trapping and rotating so that we can get steals.
“I felt like we just had to push hard and play for God. I felt like we came out there and played not only for Coach Rob but for each other.”
In the final 30 seconds of the third quarter, a jumper by Jones in the lane and a three-point play by CoCo Thomas brought the Panthers within a point. With Peevy still on the bench, PCA opened the quarter with a basket by Thomas and its first lead since early in the game. Emma Kate Smith countered with a left-handed shot in the lane, but Jones came back with another basket, Thomas added a steal and a basket and Connell added a pair of baskets and suddenly the Panthers were in control.
“The big change we made is we were behind and we couldn’t stay in that defense,” Graham said, “so we tried a second thing and it didn’t work. So we tried a third thing and they put the energy into that third defense and it rattled the other team a little bit.”
Interestingly enough, when PCA switched to the second defense, it left Emma Kate Smith wide open on the perimeter and one of the state’s top shooters, normally a dead shot from that range, missed three 3 pointers in a three-minute span. PCA called timeout and changed the defense before Smith could find her rhythm.
And in the new defense, she would have just one more 3-point attempt, finishing with 11 points on a 5-for-10 night that included no 3 pointers in four attempts.
Trinity’s 3-point arsenal, in fact, had little success on the night it mattered most. Mary Alice Sasser and Maddie Smith each had 13 points to lead the Wildcats, but the three top scorers for Trinity were a combined 16 for 46 and 4 for 18 from the 3-point arc, a testimony to the PCA defense.
To say the least, it was a difficult postgame meeting between Blake Smith and his players.
“Our motto is we do our part -- work hard, play hard and love each other -- and then trust Jesus with the rest,” he said. “Sometimes, that’s not easy but that’s the way it is in life. We just have to get back up and figure out how to get better.”
Jones, meanwhile, finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots while Thomas had 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists. The pair combined to go 5 for 5 in the fourth quarter.
The win sets up yet another meeting between PCA (23-5) and Montgomery Academy. Of PCA’s five losses, one was avenged on Tuesday night at Trinity. The other four belong to MA.
“Keep the same mindset that we had tonight,” Jones said, “and just continue to push hard and play for each other.”
GIRLS BASKETBALL
LAMP 50, BTW Magnet 42
Ariana Cannida scored 14 points to lead the Golden Tigers into the postseason with a 50-42 win over BTW Magnet in the opening round of the 4A Area 5 tournament in the LAMP gym on Tuesday night.
Caitlin Russell added 12 points for the Golden Tigers and Elizabeth Albrecht had 11.
LAMP (6-9) will face Alabama Christian on Friday in the area tournament championship game in the ACA gym.
With the win on Tuesday, the Golden Tigers automatically earned a berth in the sub-regional round on Monday at 6:30 p.m., facing either Bibb County or Montevallo.
Montgomery Academy 59, Catholic 24
Leighton Robertson had 12 points to lead the Eagles to an easy win over the Knights in the opening round of the area tournament on Tuesday at MA’s Joe Mooty Court.
Chloe Johnson had 11 points, seven assists and six rebounds and Madi Caddell added 11 points.
Montgomery Academy (23-2) will face Prattville Christian Academy for the fifth time this season in the area tournament championship game on Friday.
With the win on Tuesday, the Eagles automatically earned a berth in the sub-regional round on Monday at 6:30 p.m., facing either Beulah or Reeltown.
Pike Road 60, Tallassee 31
PIKE ROAD -- Jada Roberts scored 25 points to lead the Patriots in a 29-point rout of the Tigers in the opening round of the 5A Area 5 tournament in the Pike Road gym on Tuesday night.
Kelsey Williams added 14 points for Pike Road, followed by Jazz Johnson with 10 points and five rebounds. Gracie Branham had 13 rebounds and 10 steals for the Patriots in the win.
Pike Road (0-0) will play host to Brew Tech in the championship game on Friday.
With the win on Tuesday, the Patriots automatically earned a berth in the sub-regional round on Monday at 6:30 p.m., against an Area 8 opponent.
BOYS BASKETBALL
St. James 59, Bullock County 56
Bradley Thomas and K.J. Jackson combined for 37 points as the Trojans earned a trip to the sun-regional round with a 59-56 win over Bullock County in the opening round of the 4A Area 5 tournament on Tuesday night in the St. James gym.
The two area rivals split the regular-season series with each team winning on its home floor, but the Trojans won the all-important coin flip to determine the host of the opening round of the area tournament.
The game was close throughout. St. James led 14-12 after the first quarter, 28-27 at the half and 41-38 after three quarters. The Hornets only led twice in the first half (5-4 and 22-20, which would be their biggest advantage of the game). Thomas led the way with 20 points and at least a dozen assists, mainly to Jackson who scored most of his 17 points from within five feet of the basket.
Ethan Beard added 10 points, followed by Kevin Taylor with eight.
St. James had its largest lead of eight near the end of the game and held on as the Hornets converted several shots in the last minute to close the gap.
Dakari Anthoney led Bullock County with 15 points, followed by Trevan Palmer with 12.
St. James will travel to Tuskegee on Friday to play Booker T. Washington for the area tournament championship.
With the win on Tuesday, the Trojans automatically earned a berth in the sub-regional round on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., facing either Dale County or Geneva.
Pike Road 66, Beauregard 34
PIKE ROAD -- Four players scored in double figures as the Patriots advanced to the area tournament championship game with a 32-point victory over the Hornets on Tuesday in the Pike Road gym.
Blake Duram, KJ Westry and Jaylen Washington all had 11 points for Pike Road, followed by Jaylen Jarrett with 10 points.
Pike Road (17-7) will play host to Tallassee on Friday in the 5A Area 5 tournament championship game. Tallassee advanced to the finals with a forfeit win after Brew Tech elected not to participate.
With the win on Tuesday, the Patriots automatically earned a berth in the sub-regional round on Tuesday at at 6:30 p.m., facing an Area 8 opponent.
R.E. Lee 51, Park Crossing 49
Lorenz Hollenquest’s lay in with five seconds left allowed the Generals to move on to the Class 6A, Area 3 tournament final on Tuesday.
Last year’s Class 7A champion, the Generals (7-7) will travel cross town to face G.W. Carver on Friday at 6 p.m.