Lady Jags, Bucs open area tournaments with wins

Lady Jags roll

Spain Park got all it wanted against Mountain Brook on Wednesday in the Class 7A, Area 6 tournament.

The Lady Jaguars closed the final 6:16 on a 13-0 run to defeat the Lady Spartans 49-41. Spain Park will play host to Huffman on Friday in the area championship game. Tipoff is at 6 p.m.

Mountain Brook led 41-36 with 6:16 to play, but Spain Park scored the final 13 points to close out the win. Claire Holt led the Lady Jaguars with a game-high 24 points. Ahrielle Parks added 10, and Bailey Bowers chipped in with nine points and six rebounds for Spain Park.

Spain Park head coach Mike Chase said Mountain Brook played harder and smarter than his team for most of the game.

“We didn’t play very good tonight, but hats off to them,” he said. “They came out and played well early. We played from behind. We weren’t making plays on defense. When you’re down, you can’t try to catch up by making more shots than the other team.”

Mountain Brook was led by Kate Bumgarner, who scored all 11 of her points in the first half. Lucy Harrison scored all nine of her points in the second half for the Lady Spartans.

Spain Park led Mountain Brook 25-22 at halftime. The first half saw six lead changes after Mountain Brook got out to a quick 9-2 lead. There were four second-half lead changes.

Huffman advanced to the area title game after beating Oak Mountain 41-28.

Chase said the key against the Lady Vikings on Friday will be rebounding.

“They’re athletic. We’ve played them twice. We’ve played well both times we’ve played against them. It’s going to be a totally different game, totally different style of game. It’s going to be more physical.”

With their wins, both Spain Park and Huffman clinched spots in the 7A regional tournament set for Feb. 16 at Jacksonville State University.

Lady Bucs run past Vestavia 

A pair of runs in the first and third quarters propelled the Hoover Lady Bucs to a 64-34 win over Vestavia Hills on Wednesday in the 7A, Area 5 tournament.

Hoover began the game on an 11-0 run and led 20-2 after the first quarter. The Lady Bucs led 37-15 at halftime. Hoover started the third quarter on a 9-0 run.

Hoover was led by Angela Grant, who scored 14 points. Eboni Williams and Joiya Maddox scored 11 points each for the Lady Bucs.

For Vestavia Hills, Grace Uldrich and Anna Wood led the way with 11 points apiece. Courtney Miller added eight points, all in the fourth quarter. 

With Wednesday's win, the Lady Bucs secured a berth in the 7A regional tournament set for Feb. 16 at Wallace State Community College. 

Hoover will play Tuscaloosa County on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. for the area championship.