Regionals: Lady Rebels advance, Rebels fall
JACKSONVILLE – The Class 7A Northeast Regional tournament began Wednesday morning at Jacksonville State University’s Pete Mathews Coliseum. The Vestavia Hills boys and girls, Hewitt-Trussville girls and Spain Park boys were all in action.
Vestavia girls turn up defensive heat
The Vestavia Hills High School girls basketball team shook off some early nerves and blew past Huntsville on Wednesday morning, rolling to a 65-32 win in the Class 7A Northeast Regional semifinals.
It will mark the third straight appearance in the regional final for Vestavia Hills.
The Lady Rebels (31-2) and Huntsville went toe to toe in the early going, as Vestavia held a slim 17-15 edge after a quarter of play.
But after that, Vestavia Hills made a few adjustments, turned up the defensive pressure and shut down the Huntsville attack. Huntsville scored 6, 8 and 3 points over the final three quarters as the Lady Rebels got in a groove and pulled away.
“It always is hard in the playoffs,” Vestavia Hills head coach John David Smelser said. “We knew we had to bring our game. In the first half, we had some trouble guarding (Huntsville’s Jae Smith) and (Kennesha Waddle). We made some adjustments defensively and that was the difference in the game for us.”
Emma Smith went for a double-double, posting 16 points and 11 rebounds in the contest to go along with 5 steals. She said it is always when the student body shows up and makes it a unique and energetic environment.
Sarah Gordon also scored 16 points in the game, converting on all five of her field goal attempts. Jill Gaylard scored 15 points of her own and tallied 4 steals.
Ally Smith knocked down two of the Lady Rebels’ nine 3s in the contest and scored 6 points.
Vestavia Hills will return to JSU on Monday to take on Hewitt-Trussville, as the teams meet for the fourth time this year in the regional final. Hewitt won the first meeting between the two foes, but Vestavia has won the last two by double figures.
Vestavia boys fall short
The Vestavia Hills High School boys basketball team was unable to gain any traction over the final three quarters and fell to Huntsville 70-42 on Wednesday in the Class 7A Northeast Regional semifinals.
A one-point game at the end of the first quarter turned into a double-digit lead for Huntsville by halftime, and the second half was all Panthers.
“I didn’t think we matched their physicality very well,” Vestavia Hills head coach Patrick Davis said. “I didn’t think we were very composed and I thought they were both of those things.”
Huntsville held the Rebels to just 8 points each in the second and third quarters as they pulled away. It is the third trip to the regional final in four years for Huntsville and the second straight at the expense of Vestavia.
Win Miller led the Rebels with 18 points, with Reese Gurner adding 11 points. Gurner is one of eight seniors that will graduate after winning a combined 51 games over the last two years.
“Today is not indicative of the quality of players that we have,” Davis said. “These seniors are guys that I’d go to battle with any day. The kids that come through our program and invest in our program all the way through that are just Vestavia are guys I’ll go in any fight with any day.”
Vestavia finishes the season with a record of 25-5.
Spain Park returns to regional final
The Spain Park High School boys basketball team got on track early and held its lead throughout, beating Sparkman 59-46 on Wednesday afternoon in the Class 7A Northeast Regional semifinals.
After Sparkman scored the first six points of the contest, Spain Park bridged the first and second quarters with a 22-1 run and held that lead for the rest of the contest.
“I’m real proud of our guys,” Spain Park head coach Chris Laatsch said. “I thought we guarded really well and played really hard.”
Spain Park shot 60% from the field, led by Colin Turner’s efficient performance. Turner finished a rebound shy of a double-double, going for 20 points and 9 rebounds on 9-of-12 shooting. He realized early he had an advantage, and threw down several dunks on the afternoon.
The Jags outrebounded an athletic Sparkman team 39-22. Josh Harrington, an undersized guard, ripped down 9 rebounds just like Turner.
“These are two of the best leaders I’ve ever coached in Josh and Colin,” Laatsch said.
Sam Wright scored 10 points and Chase James added 9 points. Zach Gray and Hunter Herritt each tallied 6 points.
Spain Park will face Huntsville in the regional final for the second straight season, matching up with the Panthers on Monday at 10:45 a.m. Last season, the Jags edged Huntsville by one point to advance to the final four.
“We have to go there to get to the finals, so it’s just one more step,” Wright said.
Hewitt-Trussville blasts Sparkman
Wednesday’s meeting between the Hewitt-Trussville and Sparkman girls basketball teams was a completely different story than their first meeting.
Hewitt won a back-and-forth battle in late December, but the Lady Huskies blew out Sparkman 61-45 in the Class 7A Northeast Regional semifinal this time around.
Audre Benson helped jumpstart the Hewitt-Trussville attack, outscoring Sparkman 13-12 by herself in the first half. An 18-4 second quarter allowed Hewitt to break the game open and take a 31-12 lead into the halftime break.
“I was just creating plays,” said Benson, who finished as the leading scorer with 16 points.
Over the final two quarters, Hewitt held Sparkman at arm’s length and advanced to the regional final for the third time in four years.
Head coach Tonya Hunter has spoken all season about the team finding a way to improve each day in order to play its best basketball toward the end of the year.
“I’m passionate about every play,” she said. “This is where we want to peak. We really want to win during the season, but we really want to play our basketball down the stretch.”
One of the ways the Lady Huskies have learned to do that is by stepping up to fill the void left by Amiya Payne, who graduated last season after a tremendous career.
That was evident Wednesday, as four Lady Huskies finished in double figures. Jordan Hunter scored 14 points, D’yona Jones scored 13 and April Hooks added 10 points.
“We played with (Payne) for so long and we know what it takes to win. Behind a leader, there’s a team. We knew we all had to step up,” Jordan Hunter said.
Jones is one of two Hewitt seniors this year and is finally enjoying a breakout season after battling through injury and illness the last two years. She finished a board shy of a double-double, with 9 rebounds and 5 blocks to go along with her 14 points.
“This is a healthy D’yona that you see. She’s leading us,” Tonya Hunter said.
Hewitt-Trussville will get another shot at Vestavia Hills, as the teams meet for the fourth time this year next Monday morning in the regional final. Hewitt won the first meeting between the two foes, but Vestavia has won the last two by double figures.