Photo by Erin Nelson Starnes Media
Hoover Boys at Thompson Basketball
Hoover’s Parker Williams (5) dribbles the ball downcourt in a game between the Thompson Warriors and the Hoover Bucs at Thompson High School’s Warrior Arena in Alabaster on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. The Bucs defeated the Warriors 51-48. Photo by Erin Nelson
Over the course of the year, the Hoover Sun will keep you up to date on the various Hoover and Spain Park high school athletic teams. For previous weekly updates, click here.
BASKETBALL
Hoover
Last Monday, the Hoover girls basketball team traveled to Douglasville, Ga., for the J-4 Sports MLK Basketball Classic. The Lady Bucs rallied to knock off Lovejoy (GA) 47-41. Hoover trailed much of the contest, but outscored Lovejoy 19-4 in the final frame to pick up the win. Freshman Reniya Kelly was named the game’s Most Outstanding Player, as she led the team with 14 points. Aniya Hubbard added 10 points as well.
The Bucs returned to Class 7A, Area 5 play on Tuesday evening, as the girls and boys teams traveled to Thompson. The Lady Bucs continued their dominant play with a 64-25 win, as Hubbard scored 14 points to pace the team. Kelly and Janae Hubbard added 11 points in support. The boys picked up a much-needed 51-48 win over the Warriors. Christian Bryant scored 11 points to lead the Bucs. Chip Culpepper registered nine points, six rebounds and three assists, while Parker Williams got eight points, six rebounds and four steals.
On Friday, Hoover finished off the area slate at home against Tuscaloosa County. The Lady Bucs earned a 73-25 victory, as Kelly scored 15 points, Aniya Hubbard notched 14 points and Kristen McMillan scored 13 points. The boys team also won, earning a 58-47 win. DJ Fairley went off for 29 points, while Parker Williams added six points, four assists and six steals. Austin Montgomery and Grady each notched six rebounds.
Both teams were back in action on Saturday. The Lady Bucs traveled to Booneville, Miss., to take part in the Robertson’s Sportswear Lady Challenge. Hoover escaped with a 56-55 win over Olive Branch (MS), as Aniya Hubbard scored 16 points and hit the game-winning shot with five seconds to play. Kelly scored 15 in support. The boys team traveled to Hewitt-Trussville and picked up a 59-49 win over the Huskies. Fairley nearly notched a double-double, finishing with 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Culpepper finished with 10 points and five rebounds and PJ King had 10 points.
The Hoover girls are now 26-1 overall and finished 6-0 in area play. The boys are 21-8 and finished 4-2 in area. This week, the Bucs travel to Spain Park on Friday to wrap up regular season play.
Spain Park
The Spain Park girls basketball team took part in the Marvin Stone Classic at the University of Alabama in Huntsville last Monday. The Lady Jags took on a strong Hazel Green team and fell victim to a fourth-quarter comeback in a 38-34 loss. Hazel Green outscored Spain Park 16-6 in the final frame to claim the win. Sarah Ashlee Barker led the Lady Jags with 12 points and Katie Flannery added seven points.
Both Spain Park teams returned home on Tuesday for a Class 7A, Area 6 matchup with Hewitt-Trussville. The Lady Jags controlled play in a 65-49 victory. Barker went off for 37 points, nearly matching her career high. Avery Masdon chipped in nine points and Flannery added eight points. Erica Jones led Hewitt with 16 points. In the boys game, Spain Park let a big lead slip away, but Cam Crawford’s game-winning shot with 1.5 seconds to play gave the Jags a 69-67 victory. Josh Harrington led the Jags with 17 points on the night, while Crawford added 12. Cam Glover scored 23 points to pace the Huskies.
Spain Park traveled to Vestavia Hills on Friday night to wrap up area action. The Lady Jags edged out Vestavia 53-48. Barker scored 21 points to lead the way for Spain Park and Masdon added 13 points. Anna Wood led all scorers with 22 points and Ally Smith scored 10 for Vestavia. The Spain Park boys also earned a win, pulling out a 52-49 overtime victory. Harrington drained six 3-pointers on his way to 20 points, while Crawford tallied 16 points and eight rebounds. Coleman Barranco tallied 10 points for the Rebels.
On Saturday, the girls went to Atlanta to play Holy Innocents’ (GA). The Lady Jags fell 55-40.
The Spain Park girls are 24-4 overall and finished 6-0 in area play. The boys are 16-10 and went 3-3 in area play. This week, the girls visit Ramsay and the boys host McAdory on Tuesday, the boys host Cornerstone on Thursday and both teams host Hoover on Friday to wrap up the regular season.
BOWLING
The Hoover and Spain Park bowling teams concluded their seasons last week at the state tournament, held Thursday and Friday at Oak Mountain Lanes. The Hoover boys earned the No. 12 seed after the opening day of play and on Friday picked off No. 5 Hewitt-Trussville 1,579-1,485 in the first round of bracket play. In the second round, the Bucs fell to Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 1,447-1,231.
A week after winning the regional, the Spain Park boys struggled, earning the No. 11 seed and falling to Auburn 1,498-1,304 in the first round of bracket play. Spain Park’s girls were the No. 5 seed but got upset by Vestavia Hills 1,148-1,105 in the first round as well.
WRESTLING
Last Thursday, the Hoover wrestling team swept a tri-match, beating Auburn 60-21 and Enterprise 75-6. Hoover finished ninth in the Mountain Brook Invitational over the weekend. Spain Park also competed in the Mountain Brook Invitational, with the Jags finished fourth.
TRACK AND FIELD
The Hoover track and field team competed in the Martin Luther King Indoor Track Classic last Monday at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Several Bucs earned podium finishes. For the girls, Chakiya Plummer was third in the 60-meter dash, Kayla Jemison was second in the high jump and third in the triple jump, Alex Inglis won the pole vault, and Ainsley Staie and Anna Kay Clark were second and third in the shot put. The girls 4x800 relay team won, with both the 4x200 and 4x400 teams coming across second.
On the boys side, J’Marri McCall won the 60-meter dash and Jonathan Martin finished second. Julian Fore was third in the 800, LJ Hill won the 60 hurdles, McCall won the long jump and Hill finished second, John Watkins won the triple jump and Hill finished third. The boys relay teams performed well, with the 4x200 and 4x400 teams winning the 4x800 team coming across second.
— What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.
