AREA TOURNEYS: Catholic, Trinity girls advance to 4A Area 5 finals; Evangel Christian tops Hooper
COMBINED REPORTS
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Trinity 64, Booker T. Washington 31
Mya Moskowitz returned to the lineup and had 18 points and five steals to lead the Trinity girls to the 4A Area 5 finals with a 64-31 win over Booker T. Washington at Captain Jack Court on Monday.
Moskowitz had been battling nagging injuries but the senior forward returned in time to lead the two-time defending state champions back to the postseason.
Trinity (25-4) earned a berth in the state playoffs for the fourth consecutive year and the sixth time in the last seven years. The Wildcats won their eighth consecutive game since losing to Catholic 57-48 on Jan. 7 and will face the Knights for the fourth time this season, this time in the area tournament finals on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
Maddie Smith added 13 points and four assists for the Wildcats, followed by Ellie Causey with 12 points and Lilly Smith with eight points and 10 rebounds.
Catholic 63, Tallassee 38
Catholic jumped out to a 20-3 lead in the first quarter and led 36-19 at the half on the way to a 63-38 win over the Tigers in the 4A Area 5 Tournament semifinals that guaranteed the Knights their third consecutive berth in the state playoffs.
Catholic (18-6) will play Trinity for the area championship on Tuesday at Trinity at 5:30 p.m. Win or lose, the Knights will advance to a sub-regional game on Friday.
Kierstyn Green led Catholic with 17 points, followed by Hannah Smith with 16 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals. Ajah Tuggle added 12 points and 13 rebounds and Heaven Bailey had 11 points, eight assists and five steals.
Evangel Christian Academy 41, Hooper Academy 33
Symone McNeil scored 20 points to lead the Lions to a 41-33 win over Hooper Academy in the Evangel gym on Monday night.
Erica Burton added seven points for the Lions, followed by A.K. Davis with six.
The win left Evangel (4-2) in a three-way tie for first place in Class AA Region 1 Area 2, giving the Lions the second seed for the upcoming state playoffs.
Evangel Christian (15-6) will play host to Chambers Academy in the first round of the Alabama Independent School Association Class AA state playoffs at home on Friday.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Trinity 42, Catholic 32
TUSKEGEE -- John Morris scored 22 points to lead Trinity to a 42-32 win over Catholic in the Class 4A Area 5 Tournament in the Booker T. Washington gym on Monday.
Both teams struggled to find any offensive rhythm, with the Wildcats holding Catholic to five points in the second quarter to grab an 18-15 lead. Trinity extended its lead to 30-22 heading into the fourth quarter and held off the Knights with seven points from Morris and five from Brady Bennett, who finished with nine points.
Kamari Hutson added seven for Trinity (17-7), which advanced to the state playoffs for the third consecutive year and the fourth time in the last five years. The Wildcats will face Booker T. Washington on Wednesday in the area finals, then play a sub-regional game on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Catholic, which ends the season at 8-10, was led by MJ Belser with nine points and JJ Williams with eight.
Hooper Academy 53, Evangel Christian Academy 45
Nolan Cole scored 22 points to lead the Hooper Colts to a 53-45 win over the Lions in the Evangel Christian gym on Monday night.
After a tightly contested first half, Hooper outscored the Lions 15-6 in the third quarter to take control of the game. Cole, which had been held to eight points in the first half, added eight more in the third quarter and six in the fourth.
Dallas Henderson added 14 points, followed by Luke Moseley with 12.
Tylon Shine led Evangel with 16 points, followed by Jordan Duncan with 13 and Desi Stovall with nine.
Hooper Academy (22-2) will play host to Cornerstone on Tuesday and will draw a bye in the first round of the Alabama Independent School Association state playoffs, advancing to the AISA quarterfinals at the Multiplex on Feb. 12.
Evangel Christian (16-6) will play host to Chambers Academy in the first round of the AISA Class AA state playoffs on Saturday.
American Christian 43, Prattville Christian 41
CENTREVILLE -- The Prattville Christian boys ended their season for the second consecutive year with a loss to American Christian as the Patriots escaped with a 43-41 win over the Panthers in the Class 4A Area 6 Tournament in the Bibb County gym on Monday night.
PCA ends the season at 9-21.
Wade Mora led the Panthers with eight points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots, while Cody Chapman had 10 points and five rebounds and Carter Fiacco had nine points and eight rebounds. Justin Chapman added five points and six rebounds and Ethan Girlie had four points and four assists. Sam Wheeler scored three points.