Due to the impending weather, schedules for teams in the area have been turned upside down. It was nice to get a game in Monday night despite all of the uncertainty. The Lady Eagles (19-4) hosted Wetumpka and completed the season sweep with a 45-34 defeat of the Indians. ACA played sloppily in the first half as they turned the ball over on 14 of 35 possessions and shot 6 for 25 from the field, but outscored the visitors 30-15 in the second half to pull away.
Jaide Newkirk hit a shot on the team’s second offensive set for the first points of the game. After the initial score both teams offense’s were as cold as the temperature outside. Neither team scored for the next four and a half minutes as the teams combined to miss fifteen shots and commit nine turnovers. With 2:45 left in the period, Wetumpka made a free throw followed by two points the next time down the floor for a 3-2 lead. ACA closed the quarter with back to back threes by Adalyn Newkirk and Sam Burgess for a 10-6 lead at the quarter break. Burgess hit another long one to start the second to give the Eagles a 13-6 lead, but once again the offense went cold for the remainder of the half as they scored only one other time in the quarter. The Indians scored five points in the final minute of the half to retake the lead. Wetumpka outscored ACA 13-5 in the period for a 19-15 lead at intermission.
The Indians connected on a couple of freebies to start the second half, but ACA responded with a 7-0 run to retake the lead. Katelyn Sutton, Evelyn Tankersley, and A’Kirra McElveen each scored a bucket in the run. After a Wetumpka score, Izzy Warrick put the Eagles ahead for good with 4:32 left in the third. Sutton drew a charge on the next play and Alabama Christian scored on its next two possessions for a 28-23 lead. The third ended with a Sam Burgess three ball and an and-one conversion by Warrick for a 34-25 lead after three. It took two and a half minutes to accomplish, but the visitors scored the first four points of the final quarter to cut the lead to five points. The Lady Eagles responded with their second 7-0 run of the half as Sutton, Tankersley, and Adalyn Newkirk all hit big shots to extend the lead to 41-29. ACA’s last four points came from the charity stripe over the final 1:39 for the 45-34 victory.
Izzy Warrick led the offense with 10 points, all in the second half. Sam Burgess had nine points with a 3 for 5 night behind the arc. Evelyn Tankersely finished with eight points, twelve rebounds, and five blocks while Adalyn Newkirk also had eight points. A’Kirra McElveen also corraled twelve rebounds while Katelyn Sutton led the team with six assists.