GIRLS 1A CENTRAL REGIONAL: Autauga Academy rally falls short
Destinee Carroll looks to score against the R.C. Hatch defenders in the Class 1A semis at ASU’s Dunn Oliver Acadome on Tuesday. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
For a while, everything seemed to be going Autauga Academy’s way
Then the shots stopped falling, the defensive intensity wasn’t quite the same, and R.C. Hatch rallied to take the lead.
And in the final 31 seconds, the Generals had three opportunities to catch the Bobcats, but turned the ball over each time on inbounds plays, falling to R.C. Hatch 41-37 in the Central Regional Class 1A semifinal at Alabama State’s Dunn-Oliver Acadome on Tuesday morning.
R.C. Hatch advances to the regional final on Monday against Francis Marion, while Autauga ends its first season as an Alabama High School Athletic Association member at 17-8.
“Just too many mistakes,” Autauga coach Emily Barnett Davis said. “We’re young. This is our first year in the public school (organization) and the expeirence itself, I’m grateful for that. Hopefully, they’ll learn from it and we’ll be back here next year.”
The Generals rolled out to a 14-4 lead in the first quarter, breaking the Bobcat pressure and converting on the other end of the floor. Suddenly, as R.C. Hatch started hitting shots, the momentum shifted and the Generals scored just four points in the second quarter.
A pair of Breoynce Myers’ 3-pointers gave the Bobcats the lead and they continued to ride the momentum into the third quarter, taking a 34-26 lead into the final period.
“We weren’t handling the pressure well and they took advantage of that,” Davis said. “We had 15 turnovers, I think, in the first half. That’s crazy. So we came back trying to cut that down a little bit and really didn’t start doing that until the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter, we started pressuring them a little more and taking care of the ball better. It was just a little too late.”
Autauga pulled within a point on three occasions in the final four minutes, but couldn’t overtake the Bobcats. Da’merria Bates made a free throw on two separate trips to the line to make it a three-point game and the Generals had two turnovers on consecutive inbounds plays in the final 19.4 seconds before Bates added another free throw for the final margin.
Despite the disappointing finish, Davis said a tough non-area schedule in December helped prepare the Generals for the AHSAA postseason after previously playing in the Alabama Independent School Association.
“Once we settled into our area, we were 10-0 in the area but I think that (scheduling opponents from higher classifications) helped us, having a little more challenging schedule as a team,” she said. “We’ve enjoyed it. The girls love it. It’s challenging but we love that challenge. We love seeing different teams, we love traveling to different places and not seeing the same old teams. The style of ball is faster and we like that. We’ll just chalk this up as a learning year and we’ll be back next year.”
Ja’kobia Ross and Bates each had 10 points to lead R.C. Hatch, followed by Myers with nine and Toriyanna Billingsley with eight.
Destinee Carroll led Autauga with 14 points and six rebounds, followed by Chloe Davis with 13 points and seven rebounds and Teonna Davis with 10 points and 12 rebounds.