Defense keys win for Ashford
Sunday, February 11, 2007


ASHFORD - The fourth-ranked Ashford Lady Yellow Jackets put together an incredible defensive performance in the second half to earn a 58-40 win over the seventh-ranked Opp Lady Bobcats to capture the 4A, Area 4 girls tournament championship in front of a large crowd at the AHS Gymnasium Saturday night.

With the win, the Lady Yellow Jackets (24-3) advanced to face Central-Coosa in a sub-regional contest at home Thursday night.

The Lady Bobcats (20-5) now must travel to face Dadeville Thursday, winners of 4A Area 6.  Tipoff for both games is 7 p.m with the winners advancing to the regionals in Troy the week of February 19-24.

It was Ashford’s fifth area title in the last seven years and the Lady Yellow Jackets were unbeaten in regular season and tournament play in the area for five straight seasons.

The Lady Yellow Jackets took control in the second half by pulling down 33 rebounds and a total of 50 boards against the Lady Bobcats, but it was turnovers that may have crippled Opp's chances at victory as Ashford forced 15 steals against Opp’s talented backcourt.

Head coach Terri Gray said she was very humbled about her team’s victory.  "I know that I’ve been blessed," Gray said. "We decided to play defense in the second half. We ran the trap like it was supposed to be run.  We were able to force turnovers. Number three (Opp’s Kiara Henderson) is going to go places. We had helpside defense against her."

The game was tight for almost three quarters as neither team owned more than a six-point advantage. 

With Opp holding a 30-29 lead with 5:10 remaining in the third quarter, the Lady Yellow Jackets put together the run that helped them take control of the game.  Ashford put together a 10-2 run in the next five minutes. Freshman Christina Rogers and senior Chywanna Marshall scored six points in the run to give Ashford a 39-32 lead with just 10 seconds left in the third quarter.

A three-point shot by Opp’s Sharece Stephens in the closing seconds cut it to 39-35.  However, Stephens’ 3-pointer would be the final field goal of the night for the Lady Bobcats.

In the fourth quarter, Ashford outscored Opp 19-5 to earn the area title.

When the shots were not falling, the Lady Yellow Jackets dominated the boards.  Ebonee Cook came off the bench to score 10 points and grab 16 rebounds in the second half.  "Ebonee stepped up in the second half and became a monster on the boards," Gray said.  "The shots were not falling. But our rebounding and defensive effort overcame our shots not falling."

Rogers led all scorers for Ashford with 22 points, while senior Bethany Hornsby joined Cook with 10 points.  Marshall added nine points for the Lady Yellow Jackets.  Henderson scored 10 points, but was held to just two points in the entire second half.
 

Abby Foster led Opp in scoring with 13 points. Adriane Ellison followed with nine points.
 

Opp 50 Ashford 60

In a meeting of two of the top teams in 4-A, it was the #4 Yellow Jackets that got the best of the #7 Bobcats. Ashford outscored Opp 35-26 in the second half and earned the win. They finished the area race with a perfect 4-0 slate. They will host the area tournament on February 8 when Opp and Daleville meet again.  Opp took a 19-17 advantage after one quarter but Ashford led at the half 25-24.

The Jackets used a gimic defense in the second half and it was effective in limiting the production of Opp's two top scorers. A very good free throw shooting team, Ashford hit the late shots at the line and held on for the area win. Kiara Henderson led Opp with seventeen.
 

Opp 48 Andalusia 44

For the second time in a week the Bobcats got another sweet win over the Bulldogs. A near capacity crowd was on hand as the state-ranked Opp quint ran its record to 15-2 with the win. Andy got the better of it in the first half but Opp rallied and held on late for the victory.

Kiara Henderson led the Cats with thirteen while teammates Joi Rhymes and Abby Foster added eleven apiece to the winning totals. Blanche Alverson led the Lady Dogs with nineteen. Opp will travel to Ashford Tuesday to play the #4 Yellow Jackets. An Opp win and coin toss win would enable the Cats to host the tournament. Friday, Opp travels to Kinston.

Lady Bobcats 51 - Daleville 46


Opp picked up another important area 4 win Tuesday evening with a 51-46 victory at Daleville. Opp is not 2-1 in the area and 14-2 overall.  Daleville is now 0-3 and out of the area race. Opp faces Ashford Tuesday for the chance at hosting the area tournament February 8. Opp must beat Ashford and then win the coin toss. An Ashford win assures the Yellow Jackets of hosting and Opp would play Daleville.

Opp led throughout the game after another lethargic start. Opp's Kiara Henderson and the War Hawk's Kendra McKinney scored at will and most of the fourth quarter resulted in the two scorer's swapping baskets. Opp pulled out the win despite good free throw shooting and 34 points from McKinney.
Henderson led Opp with 28 while teammate Abby Foster added 11.

Opp moves to 12-2

Opp and Ashford played a great basketball game to watch this past Tuesday night in Opp. Unfortunately, it was the visiting Yellow Jackets that won, 61-59. The Cats had several opportunities late but the shots that were falling earlier failed to fall when it counted the most. These are two evenly matched teams with talented perimeter players that love to push the ball up the court.

Kiara Henderson led the Cats with 24 while Abby Foster added 16. Hornsby and Ward led the Jackets with 24 and 17 respectively. The fourth ranked Ashford quint is now 1-0 in the area while the sixth ranked Cats fell to 1-1 in the area and 12-2 overall. Opp will travel to Daleville January 16 for its next area game. This Friday Opp goes to Andy.

Lady Bobcats capture Christmas Tournament

Opp's Lady Bobcats captured the Opp Christmas Tournament with a 61-48 win over Goshen Thursday night in the Opp gymnasium. The Cats downed Kinston and Zion Chapel as did the Eagles prior to the meeting in the tournament finals. After a close first half, Opp erupted for a 34-23 advantage in the second half to register its eleventh win in twelve games. Abby Foster, Kiara Henderson, Sharece Stephens and Adriane Ellison combined for 59 points to lead the way. Foster had nineteen while Henderson added seventeen, Stephens had thirteen, and Ellison tossed in ten. Zadous Pollard led all scorers with 24. Teammate Shanketta Christian added fourteen for Goshen.

Girls All-Tournament Team

MVP--Sharece Stephens, Opp

Kiara Henderson, Joi Rhymes, Abby Foster, Opp
Shanketta Christian and Zadous Pollard, Goshen
Ashley McCall and Kaleigh Sanders, Kinston
Tori Hodge and Anna Wilson, Zion Chapel

Opp Defeats Elba

The Opp Lady Bobcats continued its winning ways this past Friday with a
51-22 win over the Elba Tigers. The rebuilding Elba quint could match athleticism with the hustling Cats. Nine different players hit the scoring column as the Cats earned its eighth win in nine tries.
Abby Foster and Kiara Henderson combined for 27 points to pace the Cats while Fonda Thigpen pace the Tiger attack with nine points. The two teams will meet again this Thursday in the Opp Christmas Tournament.

Opp dominates Tigers

Opp traveled to Red Level this past Tuesday expecting a war from the Tigers because the teams had played a five point game at Opp three weeks ago. The battle never materialized as the visitors turned up the heat defensively and dominated the Lady Tigers 54-27.

The Tigers led 9-8 at the end of one quarter but it was all Opp from that point. Opp led 24-14 at intermission and expanded its lead in the second half. Opp's guards challenged every dribble and pass and Red Level turned the ball over and missed most of the few good shots it had.  Abby Foster and Kiara Henderson led a balanced scoring attack in which nine Bobcats scored. Henderson led the way with fourteen while Foster added thirteen. With the win the Bobcats moved to 7-1 on the year with its only loss to 2-A power, Samson.

Opp wins over Straughn
(program23 correspondent)

Varsity Girls

The Lady Bobcats continued to roll and now has racked up six consecutive wins without a defeat. Tuesday night the Cats defeated the Lady Tigers of Straughn 44-36, their second win over the Tigers this season. Free throws kept the Tigers in the game as they converted 21 of 26. Opp was 13 of 19.  Joi Rhymes led the Cats with fourteen and Kiara Henderson added eleven.  Abby Bracewell led Straughn with fourteen and was aided by Allye Stokes' twelve.

Opp wins at Florala
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