By Lee Davis
In the first quarter of its Class 6A sub-regional game with Wetumpka, the Spain Park girls’ basketball team looked to be in real trouble.
The Lady Indians rolled to an early 9-2 lead before Lady Jaguar coach Mike Chase called for a timeout.
It may have been one of the most important timeouts of the season.
“We settled down after the slow start and didn’t have those turnovers that led to easy baskets,” Chase said later. “Then we started chipping away.”
Spain Park responded with a 9-2 rally of its own to tie the score at 11-11. From there, the Lady Jags dominated the rest of the game to win 60-46.
The victory sent the Lady Jags, 26-7 for the season, to the Central Regionals at Alabama State University in Montgomery to face Opelika on Wednesday.
Spain Park was just one of five Over the Mountain girls’ teams that advanced to regional play last weekend.
Oak Mountain, who lost twice to Class 6A Area 7 champion Thompson during the season, made the third time the charm with a 72-69 upset of the Lady Warriors. The win propelled the Lady Eagles to the Central Regionals at Alabama State to face Jeff Davis of Montgomery on Wednesday.
“Thompson has such a great program,” Oak Mountain coach George Minoso said. “For our team to be able to finally not only be competitive with them but to beat them makes this a special win for us.”
It wasn’t easy. The Lady Eagles led 68-67 with less than a minute to play before earning four consecutive points to close the verdict.
Madison Pierce led the way for the victors, scoring 22 points with six rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. Christian McGowan scored 15 points with two rebounds. D’Miyah Foster had 14 points, six rebounds and two steals.
Hoover easily earned its way to the Northwest Regional at Hanceville with a 51-19 domination of Tuscaloosa County. Jailyn Maddox scored 17 points, while Jada Smith added 10 points with six steals.
The Lady Bucs ran their record to 17-13. Hoover faced Sparkman on Tuesday.
Mountain Brook gained a berth in the Northeastern Regionals at Jacksonville State University with a 61-47 rout of Huffman. Sara Carr led the Lady Spartans with 20 points, while Mary Katherine Pinson and Collier Ogilvie each added 13.
Mountain Brook raised its record to 23-7 for the year. The Spartans met Huntsville in the regional on Wednesday.
In Class 5A sub-regional play, Homewood slipped past Springville 55-45 to reach Jacksonville’s Northeast Regional. Hannah Barber and Tori Webb each scored 10 points for the Lady Patriots, who will enter the regionals with an 18-5 mark. Homewood met Arab in the regionals on Wednesday.
