SOUTHEAST 3A REGIONAL: Pike Road girls earn first trip to Birmingham

Pike Road girls celebrate the school’s first-ever Southeast Regional title on Wednesday. (by Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

The game plan had been brilliant for a half, but a rash of turnovers and a pair of 3-pointers by Aaliyah Manora ended Montgomery Academy’s dream of returning to the state tournament.

Manora’s shots wiped out the Eagles’ lead and the turnovers ended any hope of a rally as Pike Road captured the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Southeast Regional 3A girls championship with a 43-33 win over Montgomery Academy at Garrett Coliseum on Wednesday.

“The third quarter was really the turning point in that game,” Montgomery Academy coach Barry Fencher said. “We had played a clean game up until that point. We gave them some turnovers. When we ran our offense, we scored in the first half and we really controlled the tempo. They thrive on turnovers.”

Pike Road (26-4) will face defending state champion Pisgah (29-3) in the BJCC’s Legacy Arena on Tuesday at 9 a.m. Montgomery Academy ends the season at 24-8, with half of those losses at the hands of Pike Road.

“I was nervous,” Pike Road coach Courtney Ward admitted, “because I know we’ve beaten a team three times in a row (as a head coach at Sidney Lanier) and then lost to go to Birmingham, so we know how that feels. The hardest part is getting them (the players) to understand it. I’m extremely excited. I just want them to know that feeling.”

In the other locker room, the feeling was difficult to accept. Montgomery Academy had the ball and a chance to beat Pisgah in the 3A championship game a year ago and returned four starters eager for another shot at the title.

“It was disappointing for the season to end this way,” Montgomery Academy senior Millie Stevenson said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be a high scoring game and we had a real good game plan going into today. It worked in the first half. You know we were right there with them. Then we got out of our plan and we started freaking out and that cost us.

“We gave it our all today and their size played a major role. They are too big for us to let them have multiple shots but they did get those chances and I think that made the big difference.”

Fencher’s plan was to reduce the effectiveness of Pike Road post players Koya Knight and Tamirea Thomas with back-door cuts and mid-range jumpers by Montgomery Academy guards whenever perimeter shots didn’t work. A 3-pointer by Pike Road point guard Sheria Clement at the buzzer gave the Patriots a 7-5 lead going into the second quarter, but the Eagles’ plan to hold the ball and be deliberate in their offense was clearly frustrating.

“You want to get the ball, but then again, we’re up, so why go for the ball,” Clement said.

“They’re going to try something different,” Ward said of the pre-game message to the players. “It’s up to us on how we control that, how we handle it. They tried to slow us down. It was 7-5 and they were stalling. OK, if we win this game 7-5, who cares? We won.”

At halftime, the Eagles led 16-15 and two minutes into the third quarter Montgomery Academy was still leading. Six turnovers later, the Eagles were still within striking distance at 28-25 heading into the fourth quarter. That’s when Manora hit a pair of 3-pointers in three possessions and suddenly the game was over. 

“The game plan was to push the post players out of the lane and keep Clement and Skye Harris from shooting wide-open shots,” Fencher said. “Then the other girl, Manora, got hot. They’re just hard to beat. We gave them our best shot.”

Montgomery Academy had six minutes to answer but could not respond. Ward extended the Patriots’ defense and shut off the perimeter from 3-point attacks.

“We were trying to do it,” Fencher said. “They went man-to-man and we just couldn’t get those wide-open shots. You’ve got to give them credit. They can afford to spread the floor and get in your face and contest you because they’ve got two big trees under the goal.”

Manora led Pike Road with 13 points, followed by Clement with 12.

Madi Caddell and Gabby Ramirez each led Montgomery Academy with 11.

“Those girls are torn apart,” Fencher said. “We expected to go back to the final four again. But you fall short sometimes. That team is just better than us.”

Good enough, he feels, to do what Montgomery Academy couldn’t do last year – win a 3A championship.

“They’re a good team,” Fencher said. “They’re going to be hard to beat. They’ve got shooters, they’ve got ball handlers.”

And after losing to MA four times last year, they returned the favor and earned a Southeast Regional championship in the second year of their program.