The girls game on Friday against MA played out like any super hero movie you might have watched in the past. At first everything seems to be fine as the good guys (ACA) appear to have everything under control. In the middle of the movie things get really bad as the super villain (MA) starts to gain momentum and seems ready to take over. Then, just in the nick of time, the good guys pull of the impossible against great odds to win the day. That was the roller coaster ride the Eagle nation went on as the two teams of Eagles battled at Alabama Christian.
The contest against MA started slowly as neither team scored in the first two minutes of the game. MA scored first followed by back to back buckets by A’Kirra McElveen and Jaide Newkirk to give ACA an early 5-2 lead. With a minute left to go in the first, Sam Burgess hit a three to give the home team an 8-6 advantage after a quarter. Evelyn Tankersley scored the first points of the second period, but the offense would go cold after the make. MA rolled up twelve points in a row, prompting a timeout by Coach Cantrell, to take an 18-10 lead with 2:30 left in the half. ACA missed seven consecutive shots and turned the ball over four times during the cold snap. Katelyn Sutton hit a three to help close the margin to five points by the half, 15-20.
MA looked ready to put the game away in the third period. ACA’s offense continued to be stagnant against the MA zone. The visitors took advantage and led by as many as sixteen points with a little more than a minute left in the third. Luckily for ACA, the MA offense went into hiding as they did not score again until there was just 2:27 left in the game. The Eagles defense played a key role in the inefficiency of MA’s offense.
Despite MA’s inability to score, ACA still trailed by ten with four minutes left in the game. A Katelyn Sutton three started the comeback as the margin was cut to seven, 29-36. After an MA turnover, Sutton found Evelyn Tankersley in the post for two and a 31-36 score. Next possession Tankersley hit a cutting Izzy Warrick for a layup for a 33-36 score with two and a half minutes left. MA hit two free throws, their only points of the quarter, for a 38-33 lead with 2:27 left. Sutton and Warrick both hit one of two free throws on consecutive possessions to cut the lead to 35-38 with 1:44 left. With just over a minute left, Warrick stole the ball and raced for the basket and drew a foul as the MA defender pushed her in the back as she went up. Although she missed both free throws, Jaide Newkirk got the board and the put back to cut the lead to one with less than a minute to go. Two possessions later, Tankersley scored on an offensive rebound to give ACA its first lead since 10-8 early in the second quarter. MA called timeout with 23.7 seconds left trailing by a point. The visitors would not get a shot off and never touch the ball again as ACA corralled offensive rebounds on two missed free throws to keep possession. The last four points were scored at the free throw line in the 43-38 triumph.
Jaide Newkirk led the offense with 15 points along with nine rebounds and three steals while Katelyn Sutton had eight points with five assists. Izzy Warrick had seven points, four rebounds, and three steals as Evelyn Tankersley finished with seven points, ten rebounds, and three blocks. A’Kirra McElveen also had ten rebounds.
The boys faced one of the best 3A teams in the state and points were hard to come by. The MA defense suffocated ACA as the home team turned the ball over on 14 of its 35 possessions in the first half. MA led 22-3 after a quarter and unfortunately, the outcome was never in doubt. The visitors controlled the game from the outset as they led 42-11 at the half. MA would go on to win 67-22.
Christian Snipes scored more than half of the team’s points with twelve along with three rebounds. Mac Moorer had six points and four rebounds.
Both teams return to action on Saturday as they host BTW-Magnet.