By Erik Harris
TRUSSVILLE – Clay-Chalkville ran away with the third-place game of the New Year’s Shootout at Hewitt-Trussville’s Bryant Bank Arena on Tuesday night.
The Cougars claimed an early lead and rode it to a, 62-43, win over J.B. Pennington.
“I was proud of them. They showed up ready to play today,” said Clay-Chalkville head coach Justin Haynie. “I thought they were a pretty loose group that played hard and had fun.”
Junior Raven Omar dished an assist to Mekaila Hill to give Clay-Chalkville an 8-2 advantage two minutes into the game. Fortunately for the visitors, both Hill and Omar would have much more to say.
“Raven [Omar] is a true point guard. She would rather get an assist than score a bucket and I mean that in a good way,” said Haynie.
Omar would find the sophomore again in the second period to give her team a 15-8 cushion. Hill matched Akeria Medlock’s 15 points to lead the Cougar offense. Omar and Alex Johnson each finished with 10.
“Mekaila [Hill] was our sparkplug in the first half. We started a little sluggish and I thought she got us going,” said Haynie.
That group effort was too much for J.B. Pennington, who made its offensive mark with one star – Ollie Carson. The guard shot, drove and fought her way to a game-high 25 points. She scored 15 of those points in the second half. However, her opposition shot 45 percent from the field over that same stretch.
Clay-Chalkville finished the tournament No. 3 with a 2-1 record.
Erik Harris is the Sports Editor for the Trussville Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @jeharris2 or email him at jmseharris2@gmail.com.