RRS DIGEST: Hooper extends winning streak to nine; PCA, Catholic split wrestling duals; Tide women drop SEC opener
COMBINED REPORTS
BOYS BASKETBALL
Hooper Academy 59, Macon East Academy 42
CECIL -- Hooper Academy won its ninth consecutive game, jumping out to an early lead and holding off the Knights 59-42 in the Macon East gym on Thursday night.
Hooper Academy got 10 points from Luke Mosley in the first half and three 3-pointers from Lucas Spellman to jump out to a 16-6 lead in the first quarter and extend it to 33-16 at the half. Macon East was held to one field goal in the first quarter, a basket by Jackson Todd.
Spellman finished with 17 points, followed by Mosley with 13, Nolan Cole with 12 and Slade Russell with eight.
Jacob Johnson led the Knights with 13 points, followed by Omarion Wilson with 12 and Keagan Roney with nine.
Hooper Academy (10-3) will travel to Luverne to play Crenshaw Christian on Friday, while Macon East (4-8) will travel to Glenwood School on Friday for a region game, Lakeside on Saturday and Springwood on Monday.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Catholic 72, Autaugaville 32
AUTAUGAVILLE -- The Knights jumped out to a 35-6 lead in the first quarter and were up 49-9 at the half to complete the season sweep of the Class 1A Eagles in the Autaugaville gym on Thursday night.
Kierstyn Green hit five 3-pointers to lead the Knights with 23 points. Hannah Smith added 17 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and four steals, followed by Grace Levanda with 13 points and three steals and Heaven Bailey with 13 points, seven assists, five steals and four rebounds.
Catholic (5-9) will travel to Prattville on Friday to play Prattville Christian.
WRESTLING
PCA splits in Region 2 dual meet at Catholic
Prattville Christian traveled to Catholic on Thursday for the Region 2 duals, beating Beulah and Reeltown but losing to St. James and Catholic.
In PCA’s first dual of the night, the Panthers were defeated by St. James 41-27. In its second dual of the night, PCA wrestled Beulah and came away with a 50-15 win. In the third dual of the night, the Panthers took on the host Knights and lost a close dual, 42-39. In the last match of the night, PCA wrestled Reeltown and finished the night with a 48-33 win.
The PCA wrestling team did not advance to the next round of the dual state tournament, but will continue their wrestling season at the Julian McPhillips Invitational on Friday and Saturday at St. James.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Ole Miss tops Bama in conference opener
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama women’s basketball team dropped its Southeastern Conference opener to Ole Miss, 55-45, Thursday night inside Coleman Coliseum.
The home defeat snapped the Crimson Tide’s six-game winning streak as the Rebels claimed their third consecutive win in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama (13-3, 0-1 SEC) led early before Ole Miss (11-3, 1-0) used a 19-2 run that spanned more than 10 minutes of the first half to take the lead for good.
The Tide would go on to trail by as many as 14 points with just over four minutes left to play, but went on a late 8-0 spurt, fueled by back-to-back treys from Sarah Ashlee Barker and Jessica Timmons, to claw back into it. However, Alabama could not get any closer than six points before settling for the final result.
The Crimson Tide was led by Sarah Ashlee Barker’s 15 points, eight rebounds and two steals in the losing effort. Jessica Timmons hit double figures with 10 points matched Barker for the team lead with eight boards.
The Rebels were led by Rita Igbokwe who finished with eight points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Alabama returns to action Sunday with a road game at Missouri. Tipoff will be 5 p.m. CT and televised on the SEC Network.