Story By John Mann
The Albertville Lady Aggies basketball team finished out the Marshall County Tournament in a big way on Saturday, taking down the Guntersville Wildcats 70-67 to take home the championship and an MVP award for senior Lani Smallwood.
“It feels amazing,” Smallwood said. “Honestly this one was better than last year for sure. Obviously we met Guntersville earlier in the season and lost which really puts a fire in you to come back and beat them when it really matters. We knew they would come out just as strong as last time but we had the better game plan this time around.”
Mylie Butler would kick things off with the opening basket for the Aggies, but the first quarter turned into an offensive stalemate in a hurry as a three by Addison Hammond put the Wildcats on top 5-4. The score would tie again at 7-7, but Whitley Booker was able to nail a free throw that was followed by a steal and score by Smallwood to give the Aggies a lead they would hold for a good chuck of the first. Four straight free throws by Hammond and Kyndel Gray would tie the game again at 15-15, but two more by Booker put the Aggies back in front. When the dust settled on the first quarter the Aggies were hanging on to a slim 19-18 lead.
The start of the second quarter saw the Wildcats take things over 20-19 on a basket by Kenna’D Buie, but a free throw by Millie McBee that was turned into a three by Smallwood grabbed the lead right back. After two free throws by Wildcat Bristol Cook made it 23-22 the Aggies finished out the first half by going on a fourteen point unanswered rally while also holding the Wildcats to no more scores. This included a perfect ten for ten on free throws, four from Smallwood, four from McBee and two by Gracyn Robeson. Free throws would be a major contributor for the Aggies across the game, with them hitting twenty-six of them. The first half ended with the Aggies leading 37-22.
“We’ve told them all year that free throws are going to win ball games,” Aggies head coach Natasha Smallwood said. “You’ve got to make sure you’re hitting those down the stretch for sure.”
Smallwood would lead the Aggies offense by a wide margin scoring thirty-four points, followed closest by Butler with seventeen. The Wildcats meanwhile were led by Buie who racked up nineteen points, followed closely by Hammond with eighteen.
The Aggies continued to hold their lead for the third quarter, but there were some signs that the Wildcats were finding their momentum. Senior Sophie Porch hit back to back threes to cut the Aggie lead to ten halfway through the quarter, a gap the Aggies couldn’t seem to widen. A last second three by Gray would end the third quarter with the Wildcats down by just seven, the score at 54-47 Aggies.
Things started to get hairy in the fourth quarter as Buie hit two baskets along with a big three by Gray, leaving the score at just 58-56 at the five minute mark. Smallwood was able to steal and score again for some breathing room, but a three by Hammond made it a one point game at just shy of four minutes. The Aggies got a solid foothold though as Cook fouled out and Buie missed two important free throws, leaving them on top 65-61 with less than a minute remaining. Buie was able to hit two baskets and Avery George one for the Wildcats, but five hit free throws by Smallwood was enough to keep the Aggies in the lead long enough to run out the clock and take home the championship on a final 70-67 score.
“I thought the played their hearts out tonight,” Coach Smallwood said. “It was a little scary in the second half with them getting their momentum going but we never quit, they played to the end. That’s what I told they had to do was play start to finish. There were going to be Guntersville runs it was always going to happen but what mattered was how we finished at the end, I’m so proud of them.”
Alongside Smallwood as the Tournament MVP were Mylie Butler, Whitley Booker and Millie McBee as picks for the All-County Tournament Team. Wildcats Addison Hammond, Kenna’D Buie and SheLonda Wellington were named to the team as well.
With the tournament in the bag the Aggies will look to get back to their regular season, hitting the road to face Huntsville on January 20 followed by another road match against Thompson on January 27. The Wildcats will be at home for their next two games, facing Springville on January 20 and Arab on January 23. All games are excepted to tip-off at 530 pm.
