GIRLS PLAYOFF HOOPS: St. James, Trinity, PCA roll to area finals; Stanhope eliminates Wetumpka

St. James center Ava Card is guarded by ACA’s Jaide Newkirk and Izzy Warrick in the Lady Trojans’ win on Monday. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

St. James girls 67, ACA 22

It wasn’t their best game, St. James coach Katie Barton admitted, but the goal of surviving and advancing was achieved as the Trojans defeated Alabama Christian 67-22 in the opening round of the 3A Area 6 tournament at Trinity’s Captain Jack Court on Monday night.

“I felt like we were a little ‘going through the motions’ early and then we picked up our intensity some and put some plays together in a row,” Barton said. “But I felt like we came out a little slow.”

St. James led 17-4 at the end of the first quarter and 28-6 at the half, doing enough to control the rhythm of the game and advance to the sub-regional round for the third consecutive year. St. James (21-8) will play Trinity (26-2) for the area championship on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Alabama Christian ends the season at 12-14.

“I think this was a good game for us because I got to get in a rotation with everybody,” Barton said. “We all got to get out there and get a feel for offense and execute. All 10 players were able to score today and that’s good going into the playoffs.

Win or lose against Trinity on Thursday, the Trojans will advance to a sub region game on Monday. Last year, St. James reached the 4A finals before losing to Deshler in the championship game.

 On Monday, St. James bounced back from a 17-point loss to two-time defending state champion Prattville Christian with a solid first half and a strong performance in the third quarter, outscoring the Eagles 28-10 to take a 56-16 lead into the fourth quarter.

Ava Card led the Trojans with 21 points, followed by KK Hall with 11 and Natalie Barton with 10.

Izzy Warrick led ACA with 11 points and a pair of steals, hitting a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter. Jaide Newkirk added five points and five rebounds.

Trinity 76, Montgomery Academy 13

The Trinity girls came out and hit their first seven 3-pointers on the way to a 76-13 win over Montgomery Academy in the opening round of the 3A Area 6 tournament at Trinity’s Captain Jack Court on Monday night.

Montgomery Academy was trailing 40-0 before putting its first shot up on the glass and trailed 64-1 before scoring its first basket midway through the third quarter. As bad as the Eagles were shooting, the Wildcats couldn’t miss, making a desperate situation hopeless.

“I wanted us to come out sharp, offensively and defensively, and I thought we did that,” Trinity coach Blake Smith said. “I thought our minds were engaged. We did what we wanted to do offensively, we did what we wanted to do defensively. And to top that off, the icing on the cake is we were making shots. When we do that, we’re really, really good.”

Emma Kate Smith finished with 23 points after hitting her first six 3-point attempts.

“She shot them in rhythm, just catch and shoot,” Blake Smith said.

Emma Kate Smith was 7 of 10 from beyond the 3-point arc, taking just two long-range shots in the second half after the Wildcats had built a 53-1 halftime advantage. Francie Morris hit both of her 3-point attempts in the first half and finished with 14 points, while Mya Moskowitz missed a 3-point attempt in the first quarter and Maddie Smith missed one to end the third quarter.

 Cameron Stanley hit a 3-point attempt in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats finished 10 of 15 from behind the arc.

Moskowitz added 10 points, Lilly Smith had nine and Anna Moore had eight. 

Emma Kate Smith’s 23 points gives her 2,220 points for her career, trailing Ella Jane Connell, who is third in the River Region in career points with 2,253.

Sophia Cho led Montgomery Academy with four points.

Trinity (26-2) will face St. James (21-8) for the area championship on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Montgomery Academy ends the season at 2-21.

Prattville Christian 68, BTW Magnet 13

PRATTVILLE -- Hannah Jones had 20 points, eight rebounds and four steals to lead the two-time defending state champions back into the playoffs with a 68-13 win over BTW Magnet in the opening round of the 4A Area 5 tournament in the PCA gym on Monday.

With the win, PCA (28-3) is guaranteed a postseason berth by advancing to the finals of the area tournament. PCA will face Wilcox Central on Thursday at 6 p.m. for the area championship. Win or lose, the Panthers will be back in action on Monday in a sub regional game.

Avery Rogers added 12 points, four rebounds and four assists for PCA, followed by Jenna McClendon with 10 points and eight rebounds, Kayden Carr with eight points, eight assists and four steals and CoCo Thomas with eight points, seven rebounds and four steals. Ally Blankinchip added six points and eight steals, Leah Cate Wilson scored four points and Laura Beth NeSmith collected four steals.

Stanhope Elmore 56, Wetumpka 52

The Lady Mustangs lost the first three meetings against Wetumpka but picked the right time to earn their first win of the season in the rivalry, advancing to the finals of the Class 6A, Area 3 tournament Monday at the G.W. Carver gym.

Tamira Smalls led the Mustangs with 17 points while Ariel Gilchrist added 14 in the win. Wetumpka’s Zariah Fannin led all scorers with 31 points.

Stanhope Elmore will face Carver in the tournament final. Carver defeated Sidney Lanier in the second game on Monday, 60-14. The two teams will play Thursday at 5 p.m. at Carver.

Lowndes Academy 60, Cornerstone Christian Academy 27

LOWNDESBORO -- Molly Powell had 13 points, nine assists, four rebounds and four steals to lead the Rebels to a convincing 33-point win over Cornerstone in the Alabama Independent School Association Class A quarterfinals in the Lowndes Academy gym on Monday night.

Lowndes Academy (14-6) will face Wilcox Academy in the Class A semifinals on Wednesday at 9 a.m. at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl.

Haley Briggs added 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and three steals for the Rebels, followed by Cameron Hess with seven points, four rebounds, an assist, three steals and a pair of blocked shots, Riley Lane with six points and two rebounds, Catie Wallace Self with six points, a rebound, three assists and five steals, Harley Hooper with five points, a rebound, two assists and a steal, Haylon Self with four points and three rebounds, Abby Lovell with four points and two rebounds, Alice Murchison with three points, five rebounds and a steal, Addi Bridges with three rebounds, an assist and three blocked shots and Kinley Dismukes with two rebounds and a steal.