Wenonah senior guard Jameka Holmes scored 25 points with 15 coming on clutch free-throw shooting as the Lady Dragons captured the Class 5A Girls State Championship Saturday night with a 57-46 victory over Sylacauga in the finals at the BJCC.
Holmes, who earned Class 5A Tourney MVP, was 13-of-16 in the second half at the charity stripe as Wenonah (27-7), held off a strong challenge from the Sylacauga Aggies (28-4). Holmes also had six steals
Coach Emanuel Bell’s Dragons also got 12 points from Aja Cumbie and 10v from Kaitlyn Rodgers. Cumbie also had 11 rebounds.
Sylacauga senior Shakayla Thomas had 31 points for Coach Derrick Crawford’s Aggies. She was 7-of-10 at the foul line, had four steals, 15 rebounds and two blocked shots. She finished the tourney with 71 points in two games. Tierra Dark also had nine points and six assists.
Wenonah lost in the state finals last season to Faith Academy. The Dragons have now won five state girls’ titles with the last coming in 2004.
Class 5A All-State Tourney Team
Jameka Holmes, Wenonah (MVP); Kaitlyn Rodgers, Wenonah; Aja Cumbie, Wenonah; Shakayla Thomas, Sylacauga; Tierra Dark, Sylacauga; Jamya Williams, B.C. Rain; Riley Northway, Brewer.
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Defending Class 4A state champion Oneonta outscored Calera 21-6 in the final quarter Saturday morning to post a come-from-behind 51-39 win as the Redskins captured their second straight AHSAA state title.
Class 4A tournament MVP Destiney Elliott led Oneonta (33-6) with 20 points and 18 rebounds. She had eight in the final period. It was two buckets by Madison Boyd near the four-minute mark of the fourth quarter that turned a three-point Oneonta lead to seven. The Eagles (26-5) never fully recovered. Boyd finished with 12 points and Abby Blackwood had 14 for Coach Amber Deline’s Redskins.
Calera, coached by James Knowles, led 22-20 at the half and 33-30 after three quarters. Breonna Caldwell scored 11 points, Tyesha Caldwell and A’kia Harris added 10 points each for the Eagles. Harris also had 10 rebounds and three blocked shots. Caldwell sank two 3-pointers.
The 33 wins for Oneonta was the third 30-win season in a row.
Class 4A All-State Tourney Team
Destiney Elliott, Oneonta (MVP); Madison Boyd, Oneonta; Abby Blackwood, Oneonta; Tyesha Haynes, Calera; A’Kia Harris, Calera; Quanetria Bolton, Anniston.
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Midfield won its second state championship in three years Saturday afternoon at th BJCC with a 62-40 victory over Barbour County in the Class 3A state finals.
Tournament MVP Aaron Gaines scored 22 points sinking four 3-pointers. Coach Darrell Barber’s Patriots (26-7) also got strong scoring from Alvin Murry and Jermaine Turner, who added 15 and 11 points respectively. Murry also had 10 rebounds and Joseph Murry added nine rebounds and eight points.
Barbour County (22-12), coached by the AHSAA’s winningest active boys basketball coach Raymond White, were paced by Emanuel Thompson’s 15 points. He had 13 in the second half. James Grubbs added 11.
The Patriots, who won the 4A state title in 2012, out-rebounded Barbour County 48-25.
Class 3A All-State Tourney Team
Aaron Gaines, Midfield (MVP); Jermaine Turner, Midfield; Alvin Murry, Midfield; James Grubbs, Barbour County; Emanuel Thompson, Barbour County; Daniel Heard, Saks; Nathan Cothron, Madison Academy.
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Lauderdale County (38-0) became the first high school in AHSAA history to win 11 girls state basketball championships Saturday beating Holly Pond 56-35 for the 2014 Class 3A state title.
The 11 girls state titles, which date back to the first one in 1987, moved Coach Brant Llewellyn’s girls past the R.C. Hatch boys. Hatch has won 10 boys’ championships and one girls’ championship, which tied the Lauderdale County’s girls’ total. The Tigers have won three in a row.
Class 3A State Tournament MVP Ivy Wallen scored 17 points and handed out six assists to lead the Lady Tigers Saturday. Chatara Cox added 11 points with Emma Wallen and Makayla Liles each scoring eight. Liles also had a game-high 10 rebounds. Emma, Ivy and Ella Wallen are sophomore triplets for Lauderdale County. Ella also had three points and four rebounds.
The victory closed out a perfect season and extended Lauderdale County’s current winning streak to 45 games. The 38 wins also set a girls’ state record for most wins in a season.
Holly Pond (32-4), coached by Scott Adams, was led by Rachel Finley’s 17 points and seven rebounds. Melissa Clingman added six points.
Class 3A All-State Tourney Team
Ivy Wallen, Lauderdale County (MVP); Chatara Cox, Lauderdale County; Makayla Liles, Lauderdale County; Rachel Finley, Holly Pond; Natasha Holcombe, Holly Pond; Jacie Williamson, Straughn.
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Elba outscored Luverne 36-24 in the second half to post a come-from-behind 66-61 victory to claim its first AHSAA Final 48 Class 2A state boys championship Friday at the BJCC.
The rally started as the first half came to a close when guard Denzell Thomas sank a 3-point shot from the mid-court line to cut a 10-point Luverne lead to 37-30 going into intermission.
Darrean Burks came up with one of the game’s biggest defensive plays with 1:26 left and Elba leading 59-58. He ran down a long pass that looked like it was leading to a sure Luverne lay-up, fired the ball to a teammate who then set up Martavious Gray for a 3-point goal at 1:15 to give Elba a four-point lead. Coach Richard Dorsey’s Tigers never recovered.
Elba (27-2), which suffered two regular-season tournament losses to its Luverne, was led by Gray’s 20 points. Cobe Goosby, who was named MVP for Coach Karl Bledsoe’s Tigers, added 17 points and 14 rebounds – seven coming on the offense. Goosby was 9-of-14 at the foul line. Gray also had 14 rebounds and four 3-pointers. Thomas had 12 points including two treys.
Luverne (25-3), coached by Richard Dorsey, got 20 points and eight rebounds from Quindarius Thagard and 17 points from Preston Sankey. Luverne’s 6-foot-9 junior center Donta’ Hall got in foul trouble early and finished with seven rebounds and six blocked shots.
Class 2A All-State Tourney Team
Cobe Goosby, Elba (MVP); Martavious Gray, Elba; Nicholas Green, Elba; Preston Sankey, Luverne; Donta’ Hall, Luverne; Quindarius Thagard, Luverne; Johnathan Fletcher, Tanner.
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Senior Patrick Heim sand two free throws with four seconds remaining to lift Mountain Brook to a 60-57 win over Blount as the Spartans captured their second consecutive Class 6A state boys basketball championship Friday night.
The 6A championship game closed out the fourth day’s action of the 2014 AHSAA Final 49 State Basketball Tournament at the BJCC. Championships resume on Saturday’s final day with 4A girls at 9 a.m., 4A boys at 11, 3A girls at 1 p.m., 3A boys at 3, 5A girls at 5 and the 5A boys game between Birmingham City School rivals Parker and Ramsay closes the tournament Saturday night with tipoff at 7.
Heim went to the line with Mountain Brook (34-3) clinging to a 58-57 lead. Earlier he sank clutch 3-pointer at the 1:12 mark to put Coach Bucky McMillan’s Spartans ahead by three at 54-51. Heim finished with nine points. Class 6A State Tourney MVP Tawarren Grant had 22 points before fouling out late in the game. Alex Peters added eight points, four rebounds and seven blocked shots, Jack Kline had six points and Ben Shearer had five steals for Mountain Brook. The Spartans forced 26 Leopards turnovers.
Blount (27-4), coached by Jeffery Pope, led 32-28 at the half and by one, 42-41 heading into the fourth quarter. Divine Myles led the Leopards with 23 points, hitting 9-of-10 free throws. Antonio Chapman added 17 points, Reginald Harbin had nine points and 12 rebounds before fouling out late.
Mountain Brook won its first state title last season beating Sparkman in the finals.
Class 6A All-State Tourney Team
Tawarren Grant, Mountain Brook (MVP); Alex Peters, Mountain Brook; Patrick Heim, Mountain Brook; Antonio Chapman, Blount; Divine Myles, Blount; Micah Fuller, Bessemer City; Demetrius Houston, Carver-Montgomery.
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Shades Valley trailed by five points heading into the fourth quarter Friday night against Sparkman, but turned to its relentless press and some of the best free-throw shooting in Final 48 State Basketball Tournament history to win the Lady Mounties’ first state championship in school history, 63-49.
Senior 5-foot-4 guards Morgan William and Frantisha Tyson turned up the pressure in the front court and made their free throws when it counted. William, the 6A State Tournament MVP, was 17-of-21 at the foul line and finished with 21 points overall. She made 12-of-13 free throws in the final quarter. Tyson, who put Coach Tonya Hunter’s Mounties ahead for good 43-42 with four free throws in a 25-second span early in the fourth period, added 16 points. She sank 12-of-17 free throws for the game and was 10-of-11 in the final quarter. William led the Mounties with eight rebounds and five steals.
Shades Valley was 36-of-50 at the foul line for the game. Sparkman was 10-of-11.
Sparkman (33-3) came into the game with no losses to teams from the state of Alabama. Coach Patrick Delay’s Lady Senators got a 28-point, 19-rebound performance from 6-1 senior center Alexis Jennings. Toni Brewer also had 10 points and Wynter Sales had four assists.
Shades Valley’s Hunter, who played won a state title as a player in the first Final 48 state tournament held at the BJCC 20 years ago in 1994 with Eufaula High School, became one of only a handful of coaches who have now won Final 48 state titles as a player and head coach.
Class 6A All-State Tourney Team
Morgan William, Shades Valley (MVP); Frantisha Tyson, Shades Valley; Alexis Jennings, Sparkman; Toni Brewer, Sparkman; Cierra Johnson, Blount; Lavarsha Thigpen, Jeff Davis.