Northeast Regional: Lady Bucs roll, boys team falters
JACKSONVILLE – After the dominant regular season the Hoover High School girls basketball team put together, it would have been easy to take Thursday’s Class 7A Northeast Regional semifinal game against Huntsville for granted.
Huntsville led for the first five minutes of the contest. Those few minutes seemed like a distant memory after the Lady Bucs steamed ahead to a 70-24 victory.
After Huntsville’s early 8-4 lead, Hoover outscored the Lady Panthers 62-16 the rest of the way.
“We came out today and in the first three, four minutes, we played a little slow,” head coach Krystle Johnson said following the game. “Once we picked up the pace of the game, it got away from them and we did really good defensively.”
The Lady Bucs’ defensive priority was slowing down Huntsville center Emily Bowman, a 6-foot-7 senior committed to Vanderbilt. She led the team with 10 points and nine rebounds, while also blocking six shots, but Johnson was pleased with her team’s effort against her.
“We did a good job guarding Emily,” Johnson said. “We tried to make it as hard as possible on her.”
Hoover (29-2) posted a similar regular season track record this season to last, but Johnson noted the youth of the roster as a key difference on this year’s team. The Lady Bucs boast just two seniors and two juniors.
“You’ve got to come in with the right mindset and stay focused,” said Aniya Hubbard, a sophomore who led the way for the Lady Bucs, piling up 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting.
Reniya Kelly, a freshman who played a big role last season as well, scored 17 points and secured nine rebounds. She said the biggest difference between regular season and playoff games is the environment.
“The intensity is there and you have all the fans there to support,” Kelly said.
Another freshman, Kristen McMillan, also contributed significant production. McMillan went for 11 points and five rebounds in the game. Senior Madison Adamson had nine points and four rebounds as well.
Hoover will return to Jacksonville State on Tuesday at 9 a.m. to face Gadsden City in the regional final.
Click here to purchase photos from the Lady Bucs' victory.
Bucs falter without leading scorer
The Hoover High School boys basketball team’s season came to a close on Thursday afternoon, as the Bucs fell to Sparkman 61-47 in the Class 7A Northeast Regional semifinals at Jacksonville State University’s Pete Mathews Coliseum.
DJ Fairley, the Bucs’ leading scorer, missed the contest with the flu. Without him, Hoover shot just 32% from the field on the day and was unable to produce enough offense to combat Sparkman’s hot start.
“Missing a key piece today, we had no excuses,” Hoover head coach Charles Burkett said following the game. “We still had every intention of going in and doing what we were supposed to do.”
Sparkman jumped ahead with a big first quarter to take a commanding 21-7 lead. The Senators shot 7-of-10 from beyond the 3-point line and held a 36-25 lead at the break. Burkett knew his team would have a chance to make a run in the second half, but cited a number of key offensive rebounds that proved too much to overcome.
Despite the loss, Burkett views the season in a positive light.
“This team really overachieved,” he said. “We played with a lot of heart, a lot of energy, with guys in and out of the lineup all year. Twenty-two wins against our schedule is really tough.”
PJ King was one of three seniors for the Bucs, along with Alex Price and Isaiah Mason. In his final game, King scored eight points.
“We fell short and I wanted to do it for those guys,” King said. “It really means a lot. We really came together.”
Chip Culpepper led Hoover with 15 points and seven rebounds in the contest. Shun Sheffield went for nine points, six rebounds and four steals.
Trevon Ragland led Sparkman with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Sparkman will face Oak Mountain in the regional final on Tuesday at 10:45 a.m.
Click here to purchase photos from the Bucs' game.
Other regional action
There were several other local teams playing in regional semifinals on Thursday. Oak Mountain's boys and girls also played at Jacksonville State, with the Lady Eagles falling to Gadsden City and the boys routing Huntsville.
At Wallace State, Mountain Brook and Spain Park's boys won, while the Vestavia Hills and Spain Park girls emerged victorious as well.