By Loyd McIntosh, For the Tribune
HANCEVILLE — It was a heck of a run.
Clay Chalkville Point Guard Aniyah Crenshaw. (Photo by Loyd McIntosh)
With a trip to the Alabama High School Girls Semifinal on the line, the red-hot Clay-Chalkville girls’ basketball team lost to Hazel Green, 55-49, Wednesday at Wallace State Community College In Hanceville.
Clay-Chalkville came into the game with a 24-7 record and riding a seven-game win streak. However, their opponent, Hazel Green, winners of the last five consecutive state championships, came in with a 33-1 record, their lone loss to Hoover back in January.
Coming into the game, Clay-Chalkville Girls Head Basketball Coach Kevin Conner said his Lady Cougars squad would have a solid opportunity to surprise the Lady Trojans if they could control the lane on defense and compete for rebounds.
In comments after the game, Conner said he felt the Lady Cougars implemented the defensive strategy effectively, however, Hazel Green’s shooters found the zone early in the contest, forcing Clay-Chalkville’s defense to alter their game plan,.
“I thought we did a pretty good job in the paint,” said Conner. “The difference was in the first half, they made six of 11 on three pointers and that kind of stretched our defense out.”
At the end of the first quarter, Hazel Green held an 18-10 lead over the Lady Cougars.
Despite the fast start by the Lady Trojans, Clay-Chalkville kept pace with Hazel Green in the second quarter and had a chance to take the momentum into halftime. Behind the efforts of junior Kamoriah Gaines and senior Cheyenne Pearson, the Lady Cougars cut Hazel Green’s lead to one point before some miscues tipped the balance in favor of the Lady Trojans.
“The difference in the game was at the end of the second quarter,” said Conner. “We were down 25-24 and had couple of turnovers which led to them ending half on 7-0 run.”
Hazel Green went into halftime with an eight-point lead, 32-24.
Clay-Chalkville controlled the third quarter, outscoring Hazel Green 13-10. However, the Lady Trojans were just too much down the stretch, holding Clay-Chalkville to only eight points in the final period and ending Lady Cougars season, 55-45.
Conner says there is much for the Lady Cougars to be proud of in spite of Wednesday loss. “The season obviously was a huge success. We played a really tough schedule and finished the year 23-8,” said Conner. “We were area champs and made it to the Elite 8.”
Gaines led all scorers with 20 points, followed by Gaines with 12 points.
