MONTGOMERY – Lindsay Lane Academy junior guard Tommy Murr and Pleasant Home High School senior River Baldwin each reached major milestones in their AHSAA basketball careers last week to share the AHSAA Basketball Spotlight as the regular season came to an end. Murr scored 41 points and eight assists to lead the Lions to an 81-61 victory over Phillips to push him over the 4,000-point mark for his career. Brandon Green, who is averaging 26 ppg this season, had 24 points for the Bears. Murr, a 6-foot-1 guard, has scored 1,236 points this season in 28 games and is leading the nation with 44.3 points per game. He has scored 40 or more points 20 of those games, including eight over 50 and one over 60. Murr is shooting 86.7 percent from the foul line (319-of-368) and has sank 101 3-pointers on the year heading into this week’s Class 1A, Area 15 tournament. The son of head coach Steve Murr has 4,004 points for his career in 143 varsity games to become the fourth boys’ player in AHSAA history to go over the 4,000-point career mark. The AHSAA’s all-time scoring leader is Jeremy Monceaux, who amassed 4,555 points in 124 games over his final four seasons at Parkway Christian in Birmingham from 1998-2002. Currently the head boys’ basketball coach at Clay-Chalkville, Monceaux finished his prep career with 6,354 points in 198 games – including 1,799 points in 74 games playing on the high school varsity while still in middle school in Louisiana. His dad Dave Monceaux was also his head coach. Frankie Sullivan of R.C. Hatch High School in Uniontown totaled 4,224 points in a career that spanned 2005-2008 (139 games) for the Bobcats. And John Drew of J.F. Shields High School in Beatrice, totaled 4,018 points from 1969-1972 for the Panthers. He went on to score 15,291 points in 739 games in an NBA pro career that spanned 11 seasons from 1974-1985. Murr needs 98 points this season to break the single-season scoring record (1,333) set by Monceaux in the 1999-2000 season and 1,253 in the 1998-99 season. Drew had 1,320 to average 44.0 ppg in 1970-71 for J.F. Shields and Daryl Wilson of South Lamar totaled 1,243 points for the Stallions in 1991-92. Robert Whisenant of Ryan High School in Morgan County set the AHSAA single-season scoring record averaging 46.3 ppg in 1969-70. He had 1,112 points in 24 games. Pleasant Home’s 6-foot-5 senior center Baldwin went had 32 points and 14 rebounds in a 49-21 win over Kinston and followed with 30 points and 14 boards in a 58-34 victory over Straughn to close out the regular season. The Lady Eagles are hosting the Class 1A, Area 2 tournament this week. Baldwin, who earned MVP honors as Pleasant Home captured its first Class 1A state volleyball championship last October, was recently chosen to participate in the 2018 McDonald’s All-America Game. She has scored 534 points and cleared 288 rebounds this season in 21 games and is averaging 25.9 points ppg and 13.2 rpg. For her career, she has 3,034 points scored in 131 games and 1,469 rebounds – an average of 11.2 for her career that has spanned five seasons (2014-2019). Candace Byrd of Tanner is the all-time career rebounding leader in the AHSAA with 2,065 boards in a career that ended in 2000. Byrd is currently the head girls’ coach at R.A. Hubbard. The Florida State signee, who was 23-of-30 shooting (76.7%) in the last two games also had 671 blocked shots, 5.1 per game. Her blocked shots currently rank second all-time in the AHSAA behind Danisha Malone of Clements, who finished her career in 2013 with 721 for the Colts. Baldwin is the 20th girls’ player, according to the AHSAA Record Book, to score 3,000 points and the first since Geneva County guard Lacy Stafford, who closed out her career with 3,045 in 2016. Courtney Strain of Woodland set the AHSAA record with 5,283 points in six seasons for the Bobcats from 2004-05 to 2009-10. She is now the head girls’ coach at Handley High School. Other top performances reported from the last week of the regular season include: BOYS BRAXTON WILLIAMS, THOMASVILLE: Had 41 points, 13 rebounds and five assists to lead Thomasville to a 68-66 win over Monroe County. HAROLD KING, OPP: Sank a 3 –point goal with three seconds remaining to lift the Bobcats past Andalusia 53-50. It was his only points on the night and the first Opp win over Andalusia in the last three seasons. TREY LEWIS, MILLRY: Nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime as Millry beat Sweet Water 71-69. Lewis finished with 21 points and eight rebounds. KRISTON DAVIS, BAKER: Led the Hornets past Blount 77-72 in overtime with 30 points. DEANTONI GORDON, LEFLORE: Scored 30 points, including 22 in the second half, as LeFlore defeated Faith Academy 61-38. TAE WHETSTONE, SHELBY COUNTY: Keyed the Wildcats’ 49-42 win over Jackson-Olin with 25 points, seven rebounds and three steals. B.J, COMER, PRATTVILLE CHRISTIAN: Had 27 points in a 67-49 win over Class 7A Prattville and a career-high 34 points in PCA’s 76-58 victory over Calera. He also had nine rebounds for the Panthers (26-3) in that game. DEMOND ROBINSON, LEE-MONTGOMERY: Grabbed 11 rebounds and eight points in a 56-55 win over Carver-Montgomery to reach the 1,000-rebound milestone in his career for the Generals. JOHN COLE NORRIS, HUNTSVILLE: Scored 24 points in a 61-55 win over Decatur. REGINALD BROWN, MARBURY: Scored 27 points as the Bulldogs downed Autaugaville 73-69. KENDRICK CALHOUN, B.T. WASHINGTON: Led the Tuskegee school to a 55-47 win over Elmore County with 12 rebounds and 10 blocked shots.
The AHSAA is saddened to learn of the passing of Wenonah High School girls’ basketball coach Emanuel “Tubb” Bell IV. He died Thursday afternoon, Jan. 31, after a long battle with cancer. “Our AHSAA family of member schools has lost a special person in Coach Emanuel Bell,” said AHSAA Executive Director Steve Savarese. “His love for teaching and coaching was only surpassed for his love of his players. He had an impact on all who knew him. We are all very fortunate that he chose to teach and coach at Wenonah High School.” Coach Bell’s team beat Parker 70-15 Wednesday night to improve to 19-8 with one regular-season game remaining. He compiled a 529-194 overall record in 25 years as the Lady Dragons’ head coach. One of the nation’s biggest ambassadors of girls’ high school educational-based basketball, his teams won five state championships: including his first in 2004 and four in a row from 2014-2017. His team lost in the semifinals last year. Bell received numerous coach-of-the-year honors and was also the recipient of the Frank House Award presented to him by the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.
“His legacy will live on in the hearts and soul of those he helped mold into outstanding adults. Our hearts and prayers go out to Coach Bell’s family, his team, his school and all who loved him,” Savarese added. “He fought a valiant fight and now I can only imagine that he is organizing a team and coaching in heaven tonight. Yes, I am sure with his contagious smile that he is working the crowd and hugging everyone in sight. Heaven has a new angel and we have lasting memories of Coach Bell. “His life of service is one we should all emulate. He will be missed by us all.” Funeral arrangements were not available at this time.
MONTGOMERY -- Three boys’ basketball coaches share the AHSAA Basketball Spotlight this week for clinching milestone wins. AHSAA Hall of Famer Raymond White, who retired following the 2017 season after notching 794 coaching victories at Barbour County, came out retirement after one season to take over Carroll High School’s basketball program. After a 1-7 start for the Class 5A Eagles, White has turned the Carroll program around going 7-6 since with three wins in the team’s last four appearances. Carroll presented him with victory No. 800 with a 61-59 win over Dale County. White has since won two more games and has an 802-314 career record heading into this weekend’s games. Talladega High School Coach Chucky Miller recorded the 750th win of his outstanding career last week with an 82-55 win over Lincoln. The Tigers (18-5) opened the Talladega County Tourney earlier this week with beating Lincoln again 69-48. Miller led Talladega to the Class 5A State Tournament semifinals finishing the year with a 733-332 career slate. He now is 751-337. He and his father Chuck Miller, a Hall of Fame coach who passed away in 2018, are the only father-son duo in AHSAA history to register 700 coaching wins. Chuck retired from coaching with 704 wins. And Mark Blevins, currently in his third season as head coach at Buckhorn High School after an outstanding coaching career with stops at Bearden (TN), Johnson County (TN) and Bluefield College (VA), saw the Bucks beat Spain Park 57-47 at Wallace-Hanceville for his 900th win. Blevins’ record at Buckhorn (21-5) in three seasons is 60-25. He had 589 wins in 23 seasons at Bearden, 50 wins at Johnson County in two seasons and had 201 college wins at Bluefield College. He inherited a once-proud program at Buckhorn that had suffered three straight losing seasons before his arrival. The Bucks went from 6-20 the year before he arrived to 16-13 his first season in 2016-17, improved to 23-7 last season and opened this season with 11 straight wins. Also nominated for the AHSAA Spotlight this week are: GIRLS MIRIAM OLDACRE, WEST POINT: Scored 17 points as the Lady Warriors beat Russellville 72-34 to claim the Class 5A, Area 14 title and the right to host the area tourney. West Point had 10 3-pointers in the contest. Coach John Welborn’s team has outscored its area opponents this year 461-204 in its six area games this season. RANDREA WRIGHT, CARVER-BIRMINGHAM: Totaled 29 points, five assists, six steals and five rebounds in the Rams’ 62-42 win over Shades Valley and followed with 21 points, four assists and three steals in a 51-40 triumph versus Carver-Montgomery. KAITLYIN REYES, PRATTVILLE CHRISTIAN: Scored 26 points, all in the first half, in A 64-22 win over B.T. Washington Magnet went over 2,000 points in her career. She had 2,011 career points, a PCA school record, after last week’s games. DEVANA DODD, SPARKMAN: Recorded 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists in a 72-61 win at Grissom. ARIANA HART, MINOR: Scored 26 points in a 55-54 win over Jackson-Olin. BRE’ANNA RDHOES, CARVER-MONTGOMERY: Posted 26 points and 11 rebounds in Friday's 59-53 loss at Park Crossing. The Wolverines (10-9), after a 51-40 loss to Carver-Birmingham on Saturday, host Sidney Lanier on Tuesday. GABBY PERKINS, BRANTLEY: Had 20 points and 16 rebounds in a 52-51 Bulldogs’ home loss to Florala. Teammate River Baldwin had 25 points on a 12-of-14 shooting performance. And registered six steals, six assists, six blocked shots and six rebounds. HOPE GUNTER, PLEASANT HOME: Tied a season high with 18 points and added five steals in a 52-15 win at Red Level. MARGARET HEAD, MONTGOMERY ACADEMY: Had her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 16 rebounds in a 54-45 win over Saint James. Gabby Ramirez added 17 points for the Eagles. BOYS KAMERON WOODS, PINSON VALLEY: Was 12-of-15 at the foul line en route to a 35-point performance as the Indians fell 66-57 to Wenonah (20-3) at the MLK Classic hosted at Fairfield. J.D. DAVIDSON, CALHOUN: Had 57 points in three wins – over Highland Home, Greenville and arch-rival Central-Hayneville. He had 21 in the 68-60 win over Central to help the Tigers (20-6) clinch their first 20-win season since 2006-07. KOBE BROWN, LEE-HUNTSVILLE: Scored 30 points as the Generals downed Buckhorn 70-50. QUINN CLOANE, LAMP: Had 20 points and six steals in a 54-42 win over Trinity on Tuesday and followed with 23 points and seven steals in a 47-45 victory over Alabama Christian to help LAMP improve their winning streak to 12 in a row. CORNELIUS BROWN, CALERA: Had 33 points, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range, in a 66-54 win over Pelham and added 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists to lead the Eagles past Helena 84-55. C.J. MELTON, HOOVER: Had 20 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and six steals in a 66-55 win over Tuscaloosa County and had a double-double with 16 points and 16 rebounds in a 54-47 victory over Oak Mountain. JALON MOORE, GARDENDALE: Had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Rockets past Jasper 59-45 and scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a 58-53 win over Carver-Birmingham. MALIK TYRSON, SPARKMAN: Had 16 points and 14 rebounds in a 74-40 win over Gadsden City.
· Reviewed a football playoff comparison (for the first four rounds).
· Approved expenses for the State Basketball Tournament
· Approved increasing Coaches Championship Banquet tickets from $35 to $40.
· Heard an NFHS E-Sports Update.
· Was updated about Content Management software
· Heard a report from AHSAA Director of Officials Mark Jones concerning an NFHS survey comparing Contest Officials’ compensation.
· Heard a report from Daniel Smith and Michael McGreevey of Knight-Eady concerning the upcoming 2019 State Basketball Tournament.
MONTGOMERY – Midfield High School junior Jemeriah Moore scored the 2,000th point of her prep basketball career and Lindsay Lane junior Tommy Murr canned his 1,000th point this season as both captured the AHSAA Basketball Spotlight this week. Murr, who currently leads the nation in scoring with a 43.5-point average according to MaxPreps, scored 37 points in a 64-35 win over Whitesburg Christian giving him 144 points in his last three games. He tallied 53 in an 85-75 loss to Elkmont and followed with 54 versus Oakwood Adventist Academy in an 81-65 win. Murr’s 1,000th point this season came on his last bucket versus Oakwood. He has made 267 of 309 free throws attempted this season (86.4%) and is 42 of 47 since January 1 (89.4%). He has scored 50 or more point seven times in 23 games with his season high coming in December when he canned 61 in an 84-77 win over Sheffield. He was 24 of 27 at the foul line in that win. Murr, who increased his career total to 2,942 points in 84 games after the Oakwood win, averaged 39.5 points per game as a junior with 1,231 points in 31 games. The 6-foot-1 guard has scored 32 or more points in 21 of his team’s 23 games this season with his low of 25 coming in a 74-53 loss to R.A. Hubbard in early December. Stephen Murr, Tommy’s dad, is head coach of the Lions (13-10). Moore had 42 points in the Patriots’ 83-8 win over Holy Family last week – pushing her over 2,000 points for her career. She is averaging 19.9 ppg for Coach Charles Thomas’ team. Midfield (17-8) has three regular-season games remaining. All 42 points came from the field with four 3-pointers and 15 2-point goals. The two players’ milestone performances edged out a state-record tying effort by West Point High School’s Lady Warriors of Coach John Welborn. West Point sank 20 3-pointers in its 82-42 win over Hamilton to tie the state record for most in a game by a single team. Locust Fork set the record with 20 last season versus J.B. Pennington. West Point and Hamilton combined for 24 – tying the record set by Coach Tammy West’s Cold Springs Eagles in an 84-20 win over Southeastern last week. West and Welborn are brother and sister. Leading West Point’s effort was Lexi Shadix with seven treys. Six other players had at least one for the Warriors, including Miriam Oldacre (5), Macy Hamby (3), Micah Oldacre (2), Sheridan Bowers, Natalie Trammell and Emily Wells (1 each). BUZZER BEATERS NAUDIA BISHOP, NORTHVIEW: Grabbed a pass from teammate Alexis Hudgens and converted a layup with six seconds left to lift Northview to a 53-52 win over Dothan in the last meeting between the two on the Dothan High campus. The teams, who still have a game left at Northview on Jan. 25, will be consolidated into one program next year. Hudgens had 11 points in the win and added 24 one night later in a 61-52 victory over Holmes County of Bonifay (FL). DEMETRION BARNES, ESCAMBIA COUNTY: Sank a 3-pointer on a last-second shot to give the Blue Devils a 57-54 win over Williamson. BENNIE GAMBINO, DAPHNE: Made a layup with 3:24 left in the game to give the host Trojans the lead for good as Daphne held on to beat Spanish Fort 67-64 in the first meeting of the season for the Class 6A, Area 2 rivals before a packed gymnasium at Daphne. He finished with 12 points and surpassed the 1,000-point plateau for his career. Malik McClain scored his team’s final six points, including a pair of clinching free throws with 22.6 seconds remaining, and finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots. ALEX ODAM, PIEDMONT: The eighth grader gave his team the lead with 1:21 to play and then scored the last seven points of the game in the final 45 seconds to lift the Bulldogs to a 63-56 win over Weaver. Odam was 8-of-9 at the foul line and finished with 17 points as Piedmont played the eighth game of a nine-game stretch over 14 days. The Bulldogs (15-2) outscored Weaver 23-10 in the final quarter to erase a 47-40 deficit. Other top performances reported included: BOYS LUKE COUCH, VESTAVIA HILLS: Had 26 points, including a perfect 11-of-11 at the foul line, as the Rebels beat Hewitt-Trussville 61-49. Vestavia Hills finished 18-of-23 overall at the charity stripe. BRODY PEEBLES, HARTSELLE: Scored 29 points, including a 10-of-12 effort at the foul line, to lead the Tigers past Decatur 58-46. ANDREW BURNEY, PIKE COUNTY: Totaled 55 points in three games, including 39 in a pair of victories. The Bulldogs beat Wicksburg 59-22, lost to Barbour County 73-67 and beat Houston Academy 56-35. He also had 26 rebounds and 11 blocked shots in the wins over Wicksburg and Houston Academy. ELIGAH ALLEN, DOTHAN: Had 29 points to lead Dothan past Smiths Station 74-44. KEYSHAUN MARTIN, DALE COUNTY: Scored 29 points, including 22 in the first half, in the Warriors 65-60 area win over Ashford. SRDJAN PETROVIC, HOUSTON ACADEMY: Scored 27 points in leading the Raiders to a 58-40 win over Providence Christian on Friday. JYQUAN WHITE, GENEVA COUNTY: Managed 25 points and 13 rebounds in Geneva County's 66-63 win over Houston County. LUE WILLIAMS, ESCAMBIA COUNTY: Scored 28 points and cleared 10 rebounds as the Blue Devils beat the Tigers 69-54. He also had 21 points and 10 rebounds in a 59-54 win over Williamson. JERMAINE BROWN, ST. LUKE’S EPISCOPAL: Tallied 29 points in a 66-59 win over McIntosh. KALEB MOORE, HACKLEBURG: Scored 42 points in his team’s 78-65 win over Tharptown and added 27 in a 2-point win over Phillips. JAKE BAXTER HALL, SHOALS CHRISTIAN: Reached the 1,000-point mark for his career with a 25-point effort against Waterloo in a 67-49 setback.
MONTGOMERY -- Camryn Crider sank 13 of the 22 3-point goals she attempted to tie the AHSAA girls’ single-game state record in the Lady Eagles’ 74-58 win over Cleveland on December 7. She opened the new year with eight in an 84-20 win over Southeastern on Jan, 8 as Coach Tammy West’s team grabbed the AHSAA Prep Basketball Spotlight for the second time this season. Crider, who tied four others with her 13 treys versus Cleveland, sank seven in the first quarter for 21 of her 39 points in that win. She also had eight 3-point goals in the victory over Southeastern. She now shares the single-game mark with Erica Smith of Belgreen (2011), Jordan Dollar of Russellville (2007); Heather Morris of Vestavia Hills (1995); and Heather Mayes of Fyffe (1994). Cold Springs beat Southeastern with 17 treys on 33 attempts – an amazing 51.5 percent accuracy rate from beyond the 3-point arc. Kinley Campbell added three 3-pointers and Neely Ellison, Toni West and Kylon Hamby two each. Southeastern had four – giving both teams 21 total. Kasandra Soto had three and Andrea Zamoro one. The Lady Eagles had 19 treys overall in the Cleveland win to tie the school record set in 2009. The Panthers had five. The 24 3-pointers by both teams set an AHSAA single-game record. The old mark (21) was set by Brilliant in a 2016 82-78 win over Vina and tied by Cold Springs and Southeastern earlier this week. The state record (20) was set by Locust Fork in a 95-36 win over J.B. Pennington in the 2017-18 season. Three schools have had 19 – with Cold Springs the only school to complete the feat twice. The Eagles had 19 in an 88-80 victory over Addison in 1999; Clay-Chalkville had 19 in a 79-43 victory over Ardmore in 2008; and North Sand Mountain canned 19 in a 97-13 win over Whitesburg Christian in 2010. Cold Springs is the only school in state history to have four games with 17 or more 3-pointers in a single game. West’s teams have now had 19 twice and 17 twice. In other highlights reported over the Christmas break and first week of 2019: MILESTONES PRIDE BECOMES FIRST FORMER PLAYER TO WIN CLASSIC AS COACH: Howard Pride, the boys’ basketball coach at Mae Jemison High School, became the first person in the Huntsville City Classic tournament’s 36-year history to win the Classic title as a player and a coach when the Jaguars defeated Columbia 75-65 in the finals in late December. Pride, a former Alabama Mr. Basketball who is in his first season as head coach for the Jaguars, won three Classic titles with Butler during the early 1990s while playing under Coach Jack Doss. Tony Toney recorded 25 points, six rebounds and three blocks to lead the Jags in the finals. HARDING CAPTURES 400TH CAREER WIN: Albertville’s 63-42 win over Scottsboro on Jan. 8 at AHS’s Hambrick Hall notched the 400th Albertville victory for Coach Patrick Harding. Harding, who has coached 472 wins in his prep coaching career spanning more than 20 years, won his 400th game as a coach in 2015 when Albertville beat the Wildcats 58-48 at Hambrick Hall. He had 72 wins prior to starting his 20-year coaching run at Albertville. The Aggies are now 13-6 this season with six wins in the last seven games. Trinity Bell had 14 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots in the Aggies’ win. SEGARS SETS PRATTVILLE CHRISTIAN ASSIST RECORD: Guard Gen Segars dished out six assists in a 60-19 win over Trinity Presbyterian to become the school’s career assist leader. He upped his career total to 294 to eclipse the record (291) set by Wyatt Jennings, who graduated in 2017. Segars also had 11 points in the win. JAKE HALL TOPS 1,000 POINTS: The Shoals Christian guard had 25 points in a 67-49 loss to Waterloo and went over 1,000 points for his high school career in the process. LUE WILLIAMS, ESCAMBIA COUNTY: Had 14 points and eight rebounds for Escambia County (9-1) in a 68-40 win over Flomaton. The points put him over 1,000 for his prep career. BUZZER BEATERS PARKER DRIGGERS, BRANTLEY: Sank a bucket at the buzzer to give Brantley a 67-65 win over Florala. He finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Teammate Tucker Kilcrease had 25 points and 10 rebounds. KAILEY RIRY, OAK MOUNTAIN: Nailed a 3-pointer at end of regulation to the game with McAdory and the Lady Eagles responded by posting a 61-52 win in overtime. She finished with 10 points and teammate Hannah Edwards posted 32. LOGAN PADGETT, HOMEWOOD: Nailed a clutch put-back at the buzzer in overtime to send the game into its second extra period and finished with 12 points as the Patriots beat Oak Mountain 40-36 to win the Homewood Metro Tourney. He earned MVP of the tourney in the process. GARRETT HICKS, JAMES CLEMENS: Nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, his seventh of the night, to lift the Jets to a 59-56 win over Athens. He finished with 33 points, seven assists and was 7-of-10 shooting from the 3-point zone. TYLER EUBANKS, SPANISH FORT: Scored 19 points, including sinking a free throw with eight seconds remaining in overtime to seal a 76-72 win over Baker. It was the sixth straight win for the Toros. Kirston Davis had four 3-pointers and finished with 31 points for the Hornets. SRJDAN PETROVIC, HOUSTON ACADEMY: Fired a shot from just inside the mid-court line at the buzzer to lift the Raiders to a dramatic 32-30 win over Pike County. He inbounded the ball under the Pike County goal to a teammate with 4.9 seconds left and got a pass back before dribbling downcourt for the game-winning shot. He led HA with 14 points. KATE ANDREWS, HOUSTON ACADEMY: In the girls’ game, Andrews scored twice in the final minute to spark the Lady Raiders to a 49-47 win over Pike County. She had 14 points on the night. OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES
BOYS TRENDON WATFORD, MOUNTAIN BROOK: The senior had 38 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Spartans past nationally-ranked IMG Academy 72-67 in the City of Palms Classic at Fort Myers (FL) during the Christmas break. He also had 18 points and 10 rebounds in a 63-62 loss to De La Salle (MN) and scored 29 in an 89-44 win over Mitchell (S.D.) at the Hoop City Classic in South Dakota to close out the Christmas break. He opened 2019 with 30 points and 17 rebounds as Mountain Brook beat Hoover 63-49. TOMMY MURR, LINDSAY LANE: Scored 47 points to lead Lindsay Lane to a 77-70 victory over Skyline. Collin Lockhard had 32 for Skyline. JACOB HOPPER, SARDIS: Had 32 points and 20 rebounds in s 66-63 double-overtime win versus Douglas. BRANDON GREEN, PHILLIPS: Scored 31 points as the Bears topped Brilliant 75-41. D.J. BROWN, WILLIAMSON: Had 25 points, five assists and three steals as the Lions downed Gulf Shores 69-64. He also had 17 points, six assists and two steals in an earlier win over Alma Bryant. TRINITY BELL, ALBERTVILLE: Recorded 26 points, 17 rebounds and seven blocked shots in the Aggies’ 79-71 win over Fort Payne. AUSTON LESLIE, WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN: Had 27 points as the Wildcats beat Madison County 51-35. MATTHEW McNEECE, McGILL-TOOLEN CATHOLIC: Had 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Jackets past Spanish Fort 68-52. MARTAVIUS PAYTON, GEORGIANA: Scored 22 points and cleared 16 rebounds as the Panthers beat McKenzie 83-51. MALIK McCLAIN, DAPHNE: Posted 19 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocked shots in a 72-52 win over Robertsdale. MATTHEW LANZI, CHELSEA: Was 12-of-14 at the foul line and finished with 20 points as the Hornets beat host UMS-Wright 55-44 to reach the finals of the William Mitchell Memorial Tourney at Mobile. He added 11 points in the finals as Chelsea beat Jackson 40-35 to win the championship. GIRLS ELSIE HARRIS, B.C. RAIN: Totaled 37 points and four steals in a 59-29 win over Daphne. KAROLINE STRIPLIN, GENEVA COUNTY: Scored 36 points as the Bulldogs beat Cottonwood 70-24. RODRECKIA PARKER, SELMA: Had 31 points as the Saints beat Foley 60-59 in the Dwight Madison Christmas Classic. KRISTIN BROWN, CARVER-MONTGOMERY: Totaled 32 points and seven rebounds in the Wolverines’ 70-55 win over Park Crossing. Teammate Bri’Anna Rhodes also contributed 21 points and 10 rebounds in the win. EMILY HENDERSON, MOUNTAIN BROOK: Had 30 points as the Spartans downed Dr. Krop (FL) 77-63 in the Holiday Basketball Classic at West Palm Beach (FL) in December. Mountain finished 3-1 in the tourney. RIVER BALDWIN, PLEASANT HOME: Tallied 34 points and 16 rebounds as the Eagles beat South Walton (FL) 47-38. BREE GRIFFIN, GOSHEN: Had 26 points and seven assists in the Eagles’ 48-22 win over Highland Home. AALIYAH AUSTIN, FAITH ACADEMY: Aaliyah Austin scored 23 points and pulled down 13 rebounds for the Rams in a 50-44 win over Harrison Central (MS). NYA VALENTINE, McGILL-TOOLEN CATHOLIC: Had 17 points in a 53-40 win over Booker T. Washington. DESTINY SANDERS, FAITH ACADEMY: Scored 21 points and cleared 18 rebounds as Faith Academy downed Vigor 55-43. JAKIYA JACKSON, FOLEY: Sparked the Lions to a 59-38 win over Baldwin County with 22 points and also had 16 in a win over Robertsdale. TATIYANNA DAVIS, LEE-HUNTSVILLE: Had 10 points, 12 rebounds and five steals to lead the Lady Generals to a 68-29 win over Bob Jones. MACIE WILLIAMS, SOUTHSIDE-GADSDEN: Had 24 points and 11 rebounds as the Lady Panthers beat Etowah 54-38.
MONTGOMERY – Central-Phenix City High School girls’ basketball coach Carolyn Wright reached a special milestone on December 8. Her Lady Red Devils’ basketball team beat Russell County 80-24 to notch the 500th win over her high school coaching career. That puts her in special company – with her husband Bobby Wright, who has won more than 600 games in his fabled coaching career as the Central-Phenix City boys’ basketball coach. They now are officially the only husband-wife coaching tandem to reach the 500-win mark as head coaches in the same sport. Combined, they have more wins in the sport of basketball than any other husband-wife tandem in AHSAA history. The milestone victory landed Coach Wright and squad squarely in the week’s AHSAA Girls’ Basketball Spotlight. Central is currently 6-4 this season. Coach Wright opened the year with a 498-281 record. Since she became the head coach at Central in 1991, she has taken many other duties including assistant athletic director and department chair of the school’s health and PE department. Her 2016-17 team finished 26-4 and won the Central Regional title earning Central a trip to the AHSAA Class 7A State Tourney at the BJCC. Win No. 500 didn’t come easily. The young team opened the year with three straight losses before beating Spencer (GA) and Russell County. Morgan Ficklin had 14 points and Eryn Johnson added 11 in the 500th win. “It has been a long road to get to this point in my career,” she told Citizen of East Alabama sportswriter Mark Clark. “To win 500 games is special. I could not have won that many games without the help of a lot of good coaches and a lot of good players. They are the reason I have made it to 500 wins.” Coach Wright learned in November that she has been selected for induction into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2019. The banquet will be next March. That will add another feather in the caps of this amazing coaching couple. Her husband was inducted in 2015. They will became just the second husband-wife tandem to be enshrined into that esteemed hall. The first were legendary football coach Tom Calvin and his wife and longtime cheer/gymnastics coach Lynette Calvin.
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