By Loyd McIntosh, For The Tribune
IRONDALE – The Shades Valley girls basketball team rolled to an easy win over the Lady Colonels of Woodlawn, 51-15 to earn their first region win Friday night.
The Lady Mounties dominated the action from the opening whistle, despite a solid effort for the first two-and-a-half quarters by Woodlawn. However, midway through the third quarter the Lady Colonels Head Coach Ilishia Jarrett threw in the towel and the Lady Colonels essentially quit.
Shades Valley came into their opening game in region play with a record of 9-3, which includes a one-point victory over East Limestone County, 45-44, in tournament action on December 29. Woodlawn arrived in Irondale with a 4-5 record, but have struggled to put up points in recent games, including a 50-6 loss to Minor and a 57-22 loss to Parker in December.
Led by junior forward Angela Williams and junior point guard Jaikyliah Ravizee, the Lady Mounties controlled most of the action on both ends of the floor. Despite Woodlawn’s ability to move the ball around the perimeter, the Lady Mountie’s defense was just too much for the Lady Colonels as they created multiple scoring opportunities in transition throughout the game, especially in the first half.
The Lady Mounties jumped out to a quick and commanding lead in the opening frame, leading 11-2 with five minutes to play in the first quarter. The Lady Colonels shooters cerated some opportunities however, reeling off a 5-2 run in the latter half of the first period, cutting Shades Valley’s lead to six points, 13-7.
The second quarter belonged to Williams as she practically took over the contest, creating turnovers, blocking shots, and creating scoring opportunities for herself and her teammates. The Lady Mounties went on a 29-2 run, not allowing a score from Woodlawn until 4:29 in the second quarter.
By halftime, Shades Valley held a comfortable lead, 37-11.
Shades Valley started the second half hot as they pushed the lead to 49-13 with just over four minutes to play in the third quarter. It was at this point that Jarrett had had enough.
For the rest of the game, the Lady Colonels stalled as their guard simply bounced ball in place near the Woodlawn bench for minutes at a time, only half-heartedly attempting an offensive play once in a while.
The fourth quarter was much of the same. The Lady Colonels essentially took a knee in the final period during their possessions as they ran the clock out. Fewer than five shooting attempts were made among both teams in the final quarter as Jarett instructed her players to stall as the clock finally – and mercifully – ran down to zeros.
Lady Mounties Head Coach Gary Ferguson was gracious in his post-game comments, and even tipped his hat to the Lady Colonel’s for catching them off guard during the few times they drove to the hoop in the second half.
“I really didn’t feel they were quitting,” said Ferguson. “I know they’re very young and with some of that stuff, I think she was trying to execute particular plays. I looked at it more so as a delay and seeing if we could maintain our focus.
“Actually, on two occasions, she got two good looks as we kind lost our focus while they were in their delay game,” he added. “So we’ll tell our players you have to stay focused from start to finish.”
Williams led all scorers with 14 points, followed by Ravizee with 12 points. The Lady Mounties will travel to Pell City to take on the Lady Panthers on Tuesday, December 10.