The Lady Eagles finished 2024 in style with two wins at the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational and squeezed in some fun time on their off day. With the two victories, Alabama Christian sports a 13-2 record for the season. One of the highlights of the tournament was Katelyn Sutton breaking the career 3-pointers record. She surpassed Leah Sirmon’s mark of 144 in the third game of the weekend. Sirmon’s record had stood since 2005.
12/20 - Steinbrenner (FL)
ACA opened the tournament with a local school, Steinbrenner High School. The school is named after Tampa native and late owner of the New York Yankees, George Steinbrenner. The Eagles had a strong start, led by Katelyn Sutton and Jaide Newkirk, and led 15-12 after a quarter. However, Steinbrenner regrouped in a big way and outscored ACA 40-7 over the next two quarters to take command of the game. The Warriors would go on to win 64-40.
Jaide Newkirk led the team with 20 points, scoring 11 in the fourth period. Katelyn Sutton had eight points while five other players scored a single basket.
12/21 - Edgar Mevers (NY)
Alabama Christian’s next opponent is located in the Bronx and is the first team ACA has ever played from New York. The Eagles again started strong and maintained a healthy lead through the contest although the gap was closed by Mevers. ACA led 41-30 at the half and went on to a 73-66 victory. This was the team’s best offensive performance of the tournament.
A’Kirra McElveen was the team’s top scorer with 23 points, including 12 of the team’s 15 fourth quarter points. Three other player finished in double figures as Katelyn Sutton and Jaide Newkirk both scored 16 and Izzy Warrick had 11 points.
12/23 - Armwood (FL)
After a day off of relaxation, the Eagles had their best overall performance of the tournament with a 51-44 win over Armwood. It took the team a little while to get started as they trailed by eight at the end of the first. The team did not panic and closed the gap by halftime and led by seven at the end of the third, which was the final margin of victory. With the team’s normal top scorers stifled in the first half, Izzy Warrick and Campbell Hammett each scored seven to keep the game close.
Jaide Newkirk would lead the team in scoring with 18 points, 14 in the second half followed by Izzy Warrick with 11 and Katelyn Sutton with 10.