TUESDAY PREPS: Hooper girls open playoffs with win; PCA stays unbeaten

STAFF REPORT

GIRLS

Hooper Academy 58, Macon East Academy 28

HOPE HULL -- Grace Seale hit three long 3 pointers to extend a 10-point lead in the third quarter and propel the Colts to a win over the Knights in the first round of the AISA AA state playoffs at Darrell Self Gym on Tuesday night.

Hooper (14-11) will play Sparta in the AA quarterfinals on Feb. 9 at noon in the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl. 

Seale, a freshman, led the Colts with 20 points, but her 3 pointers sparked Hooper to a 22-5 run in the third quarter after Hooper led 29-19 at the half.

“We may have played our best half of basketball this season in the second half,” Hooper coach Buzz Phillips said. “We did a great job of guarding and allowing only one shot. Victoria (Hageman) was dialed in and played a great defensive game. Grace had a great offensive game with four 3s. I love how this young team competes.”

Kaylee Midkiff and Sydney Dicks each had 10 points for Hooper, while Maddie Ross led Macon East with 11 points.  

Trinity 79, Alabama Christian 22

Mary Alice Sasser passed the 1,000-point milestone with 16 points and four steals to help the Wildcats grab a 79-22 win over the Eagles at Captain Jack Court on Tuesday night.

Mya Moskowitz led the Wildcats with 21 points, five steals and four rebounds, followed by Maddie Smith with 17 points, six steals and five assists and Emma Kate Smith with 13 points and eight assists.   

Trinity (23-5) will face Catholic in the opening round of the 3A Area 6 tournament next Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Prattville Christian Academy.

St. James 62, LAMP 46 

The Trojans scored the final 13 points of the game to finish off the Golden Tigers on Senior Night in the St. James gym on Tuesday night.

LAMP got out to an 11-3 lead and led at the end of the first quarter but St. James turned up the defensive pressure in the second quarter, holding the Tigers to five points in taking the lead. LAMP trimmed the deficit to 49-46 with about four minutes remaining, but the Tigers could get no closer.

K.K. Hall led all scorers with 20 points while Ava Card and senior Danielle Greene each added 15.  Ariana Cannida led LAMP with 15 points and Mackenzie Lewis and Caitlyn Russell each added 10, followed by Serenity Griffin with eight.

St. James (20-5) closes out the regular season with a home game against Prattville Christian on Friday night before hosting the 4A Area 3 tournament next week.

LAMP (10-13) closes out the regular season with a home game on Friday against Brew Tech, then opens play in the 4A Area 5 tournament on Tuesday against BTW Magnet at 5:30 p.m. at home.

Montgomery Academy 47, Chilton County 17

Virginia Meachum scored 15 points to lead a balanced attack as the Eagles defeated the 6A Tigers at Joe Mooty Court on Tuesday night.

Chloe Johnson added 14 points, followed by Hayes Jenkins with 13 points. 

Montgomery Academy (12-12) will play host to Wetumpka on Thursday night. 

Prattville Christian 75, Montevallo 35

PRATTVILLE -- Ella Jane Connell had 20 points and six rebounds, becoming the school’s all-time career scorer in the process during a 40-point rout of Montevallo on Tuesday.

Connell’s point total on Tuesday gave her 2,126 points in her career, surpassing Kaitlyn Reyes, ho owned the school record with 2,124 career points. 

Hannah Jones added 15 points, 13 rebounds, and six steals, followed by Avery Rogers with 10 points and five assists, Nya Davis with 10 points and four rebounds and CoCo Thomas with eight points and nine rebounds. LB NeSmith added five points and Kayden Carr had three points and five rebounds.

PCA (29-0) will travel to St. James on Friday to close out the regular season, then will return home to play Montgomery Academy in the opening round of the 3A Area 6 tournament on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

BOYS 

Catholic 63, Calhoun 56

L.J. Green had 18 points, six steals and four assists to lead the Knights to a win over Calhoun in the Catholic gym on Tuesday night.

Matthew Reardon added 14 points, six rebounds and three steals, followed by Ethan Binns with 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists and Jonathan Rhoden with eight points and three rebounds.

Catholic (11-9) closes out the regular season at home on Thursday against BTW Magnet before hosting Prattville Christian in the opening round of the 3A Area 6 tournament next Wednesday at 7 p.m.

St. James 70, LAMP 35

The Trojans celebrated Senior Night as Bradley Thomas led a balanced attack with 16 points in a 35-point rout of the Golden Tigers in the St. James gym on Tuesday night.

The Trojans led 17-6 after one quarter and 31-18 at halftime before pulling away in the second half.

Jezreel Fishoe led the Tigers with 15 points.

St. James (13-5) remains home to play Prattville Christian on Friday before traveling to Tuskegee for the first round of the area tournament against Bullock County next week. 

LAMP (3-18) returns home to close out the regular season against Brew Tech on Friday, then plays Alabama Christian in the opening round of the 4A Area 5 tournament on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the LAMP gym.

Montgomery Academy 67, Chilton County 64 (2OT)

DJ Vinson broke a scoreless tie in the second overtime period with a free throw with two minutes left and Jamal Cooper added a layup with 30 seconds left as the Eagles outlasted the 6A Tigers 67-64 at Joe Mooty Court on Tuesday night.

The two teams were tied 56-56 at the end of regulation and an overtime period settled nothing as both teams scored eight points each, with Jamal and Jashawn Cooper each scoring four points for the Eagles to force a second overtime period. 

Jamal Cooper led all scorers with 29 points, along with seven rebounds, six steals and seven assists. Nigel Walker chipped in nine points and 10 rebounds, while Jashawn Cooper had nine points, eight rebounds and four steals. 

Cole Caddell added seven points for the Eagles, while Vinson had six points, 11 rebounds and three assists. Judson Lindsey also had six points, along with four rebounds, two steals and three assists. 

Montgomery Academy (8-10) will play Wetumpka at home on Thursday in the regular season finale before traveling to Catholic to face Trinity in the opening round of the 3A Area 6 tournament on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Prattville Christian 47, Montevallo 41

PRATTVILLE -- Coleman Hunter led the Panthers with 20 points and eight rebounds as PCA ended its home schedule on a winning note with a 47-41 win over Montevallo on Tuesday.

Carson Roberson scored nine points on three 3 pointers, breaking a tie with Adam Roberson (114 in 2012) and becoming the Panthers’ single-season leader in 3 pointers with 117.

Cade Segars added 10 points, five rebounds and four steals, Conner Williams scored four points and PJ Evans grabbed four rebounds. 

PCA (10-18) travels to St. James on Friday to close out the regular season, then travels to Catholic for the opening round of the 3A Area 6 tournament next Wednesday at 7 p.m.