Boaz ends Jacksonville's winning streak, season
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JACKSONVILLE — Jacksonville's six-game winning streak came to a halt Thursday in the opening round of the Class 4A girls Northeast Regional at Jacksonville State. More experienced and deeper, Boaz wore down the Golden Eagles and won 52-24.
The Pirates (29-3) did not shoot particularly well — 2-for-12 from behind the arc — but fulfilled the game plan with aggressive play on defense. "They just know they've got to play defense if they want to play," said Boaz coach Tonya Littleton. "They're taught that way from junior high up." Boaz had 11 steals as Jacksonville (16-13) turned the ball over 17 times. Jacksonville stayed with the Pirates in the early going. After falling behind 4-0 in the first 30 seconds, Taylor Palmer and Brittney Nunn had baskets on Jacksonville's next two possessions to tie the score at 4-4. A jumper from the free throw line by eighth-grader Lacey Buchanon tied the score again at 6-6 with 4:55 left in the first quarter. Boaz followed with an 8-0 run over the next three minutes. Buchanon hit a turn-around jumper from near the free throw line to stop the run and Palmer scored on a left-handed layup to make it 14-10 with 57 seconds remaining in the first. The first quarter closed with Boaz up 16-10 and the Golden Eagles got no closer the rest of the afternoon. Boaz recorded the first basket of the second quarter then went to its half-court trap. The strategy created problems for the Eagles the remainder of the game. "The trap hurt us and we worked on it, but it's hard to simulate somebody who does it that well," said Jacksonville coach Jamie Harper. "We aren't accustomed to that kind of pressure. It kind of took us out of our game." Buchanon said she had experienced traps previously but never at half-court. Jacksonville needed almost four minutes to score its first points of the second quarter. Palmer, who played without a foul in the first quarter, picked up two quickly in the second and went to the bench with 4:37 left in the first half. In all, the Eagles' major threat inside played only 16 minutes. "When we get in foul trouble as we did tonight, we don't have that deep a bench," Harper said. Boaz started three seniors and two juniors. Off the bench, the Pirates got extensive minutes from another senior and a junior. Jacksonville countered with seniors Nunn and Lindsay Norris, junior Megan Buzan, sophomore Palmer and eighth-grader Buchanon as starters. Harper's first substitute was seventh-grader Sharon Osterbind. Two more sophomores — Telicia Hall and Megan Snider — accounted for the remaining Jacksonville players who entered the contest. Harper described the Pirates' depth as a "luxury", one he hoped to develop at Jacksonville. "We knew they were going to be tough going in; they're solid in every position," said Harper. "They have a lot of upperclassmen. They've played together for a long time." Boaz outscored Jacksonville 11-6 in the second quarter, then 12-2 in the third. There was no doubt about the eventual outcome when the fourth quarter began. Buchanon led the Eagles with 10 points. Palmer was next with six points and Norris scored four. Hall ended with six rebounds and Palmer five. Boaz had only one player, senior Caitlin Whitt, who scored in double figures. Whitt had 16 points but eight other Pirates added points. The loss didn't diminish Jacksonville's unexpected accomplishment of reaching the Northeast Regional for only the second time in school history, the first since the 1997 team claimed the regional championship with a 39-19 win over Boaz. The Eagles were considered the underdog in both their area tournament games and their sub-regional game. "I think really after the Piedmont loss at home it kind of made us mad or lit a fire under us," Harper said. "After that, a lot of us played with a chip on our shoulder." |
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