By John Goolsby, For the Tribune
Irondale – The Lady Mounties (21-5) punched their ticket to the 6A playoffs with a 48-28 win over Woodlawn in the Area 10 tournament last night.
Shades Valley got off to a fast start and jumped out to a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Behind 11 first-half points from Angela Williams, the Lady Mounties built a 27-11 lead at the half.
Shades valley came out of the break and played outstanding defense, holding Woodlawn to 8 points in the 3rd period. Williams’ 6 points pushed the Valley lead to 40-19 as the two teams headed to the final period.
Kyliah Ravizee scored 6 of her 10 points in the 4th quarter, and Shades Valley cruised to a 48-28 victory.
Williams finished with 17 points. Rhaegan Evans chipped in 8 points, and Saniya Singh added 6 points for Valley.
Ashley Smedley drained five 3-pointers and led Woodlawn with 17 points.
Ferguson was recognized after the game for 100 career wins. The actual number is higher, but scheduling conflicts had prohibited the presentation, and the assistants wanted to recognize him after an important victory.
The Shades Valley girl’s basketball program has improved significantly over the last few years under the leadership of Gary Ferguson. “Our theme over the last few years has been Trust the Process,” Ferguson said.
The Lady Mounties face Pell City in the championship game this Friday night at Shades Valley.