Lady Panthers vanquish Valwood

Published 1:00 pm Tuesday, February 14, 2023

CHULA — One Tiftarea basketball season moved on Monday, Feb. 13, while the other likely ended during the play-in games of the District 3-AAA tournament.

Tiftarea’s Lady Panthers used a 23-0 run to take control versus Valwood, ultimately winning, 54-19. Brookwood took command early against the Panthers in the Warriors’ 68-23 victory that likely ended Tiftarea’s season. Needing to finish in the top 12 of the GIAA’s power rankings, the Panthers are currently 16th.

On the flip side, the power rankings might be much kinder to the Lady Panthers. As of Monday, Tiftarea was 3rd in the rankings. The top four teams get a first round bye in the state tournament.The GIAA’s No. 1 and No. 2 from Class AAA are the only two teams to have beaten Tiftarea this season, Deerfield-Windsor and Southland Academy.

A good showing in the semifinals and finals should cement the bye, especially as the No. 5 is Terrell Academy, a team the Lady Panthers swept during the regular season.

The district win and potential bye were not the only good news for Tiftarea at the district tournament. Before the Valwood game, Ali Strenth was honored for scoring her 1,000th career point. She is the second Lady Panther to hit the milestone this season, as Elli Bryan did so earlier.

Head coach Rob Flick said Strenth hit the mark with her first basket against Citizens Christian Academy Feb. 11 in Douglas. After Valwood, Strenth sits at 1,026 career points.

It’s a major milestone, said Flick, to have two players on the same roster hit 1,000 in the same year. “Obviously, they had their goals for the team they want to achieve,” he said. “Individual goals are secondary to the team but they’ve worked this hard for that sort of thing.”

Strenth was initially honored Saturday in Douglas. “CCA did a nice thing for her stopping the game,” said Flick. He pointed out that Strenth and Bryan were on the same team as Abby Carswell as 8th graders, making three members of a same Lady Panthers squad to achieve 1,000 in their careers.

Despite not having a full roster available, Mike Patrick’s Lady Valiants marched out to an early lead, courtesy of baskets by Lacy Ann McLeod and Charis Eager, an advantage that held for most of the quarter. With not quite a minute to go, Isabel Fernandez popped in an offensive rebound. That seemed to help Tiftarea click into place and they scored seven more points in the remaining time.

The 10 consecutive points they scored to end the 1st was added to the 13 more that began the 2nd. In a twist from previous contests, the main instigators were not Bryan and Strenth.

Amelia Mercer netted seven points in the 1st (and two more in the 2nd), with Livi Mullis scoring seven in the 2nd. Mullis dominated under the basket, while Mercer’s points came from mostly outside. Twice in the 1st half, she was assisted by her older sister, Elaine Mercer.

Mullis pushed the lead to 20, 25-4, midway through the quarter. Valwood cut into it some with five late points, Anna Harvey Shaw scoring on an offensive rebound with one second to spare. Tiftarea had a comfortable 27-10 lead at halftime.

Mullis further took over the 3rd, scoring Tiftarea’s first 12 points of a 21-point frame. She hit shots in a variety of ways, assisted by Bryan off steals, on inbounds plays and offensive rebounds. The player to break her string was Amelia Mercer, who also finished off the 3rd with a 3-pointer that made it 48-17 and allowed for a mercy rule-shortened 4th quarter.

Youth took over for Tiftarea in the frame six minutes. Kate Phillips’s jumper beat the buzzer to end the game.

Mullis and Amelia Mercer scored 19 and 18 points, respectively, for Tiftarea. Fernandez scored 8 points total. Three Lady Valiants scored 5 points apiece, Bella Shaw, Eager and McLeod.

Though eliminated from region, Patrick thinks his team will finish high enough in the rankings to make state.

It’s been a productive year for the former Tiftarea mentor. Their wins include an upset against Brookwood, their first region/district win since 2017.

The Lady Panthers were to face Southland Feb. 15 in the region semifinals. Terrell Academy, which won a 44-34 game over Brookwood in the other girls play-in game, faces Deerfield-Windsor.

BROOKWOOD 68, TIFTAREA 23

The Warriors used size, speed, outside shooting and an aggressive defense to take control within the first two minutes of the game.

Chris May landed four 3-pointers in the 1st quarter alone, part of a 20-point period for him. Brookwood jumped out to a 31-1 lead. J.R. Walker and Cully Hendley ended the frame on a positive note for Tiftarea with back-to-back buckets.

Tall Walker Jackson spurred Brookwood with six points in the 2nd as the Panthers’ difficulty scoring shots led to some frustration on their end. Tiftarea was called for a flagrant foul and a delay of game, though Brookwood was unable to connect on any of the four free throws.

Walker and Hendley again provided offense, with Raj Singh joining in as well. Brookwood was ahead 51-11 at intermission.

The 2nd half was played much more evenly as both teams relaxed. Tiftarea even outscored the Warriors 9-6 in the 3rd as Walker took over in the paint.

Walker, the squad’s leading scorer for 2022-23, finished with 9 points for the Panthers, with Hendley at 4. Singh and Tucker Hall scored 3 apiece.

May’s 24 1st half points were his final total, which also led the team. Levi Williams contributed 9 points for Brookwood.

In the earlier boys game, Valwood held a 62-60 lead late, but fouled Terrell’s Bryson Carter with 0.2 seconds remaining as he attempted a 3-pointer. With ice in his veins, Carter made all three at the stripe, allowing the Eagles to advance with a 63-62 win.