Calhoun women make conference tournament after program’s rebirth this season
The Calhoun women’s basketball team is making the most of the program’s rebirth.
The women have qualified for the Alabama Community College Conference Tournament under first-year head coach Candace Byrd-Vinson.
“This moment is surreal for the coaches, the students as well as our amazing Calhoun and community fan base. To say we worked hard to get to this place would be a complete understatement,” commented Byrd-Vinson. “After being hired as the new head coach, I knew time was not on my side, and that I had to begin recruiting very quickly. Recruiting late in the year can be extremely discouraging as many athletes have already decided where they wanted to go, but I truly felt in my heart that we still stood a chance with obtaining athletes that could help us have an amazing season.”
The Calhoun women (16-11, 13-6) are the third seed from the North Division. They play Bishop State, the No. 2 team out of the South, on March 8 at noon at Alabama A&M. The finals are set for March 10 at 4 p.m. at Alabama A&M.
The Warhawks ended the regular season Tuesday falling at Wallace-Hanceville, 84-75. Kennedi Hawkins (Florence) produced another double-double with 36 points and 18 rebounds. She hit 17 of 25 field goals and had 10 offensive rebounds.
Tashanti Watkins (Austin) also had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Kesiah Rogers (Sparkman) had 10 points.
The Calhoun men (12-18, 8-14) closed out their season under head coach Derrick Powell, Jr., with a loss at Hanceville, 87-55.
For more than two decades, Calhoun had been without a basketball program. After surveying the community, the college acted on the results, and basketball returned.
“There are many decisions that are made at the college, and this one is at the top of the list I deem as being a great decision,” commented Dr. Jimmy Hodges, Calhoun President. “The college sports experience is just as important as the academic experience. And if there is an opportunity to provide both to a student, I say go for it, which is what we did when we brought back basketball. This program has allowed students to attend Calhoun debt-free while enjoying the game they love and obtaining a high-quality education.”
“This season has been magical!” Byrd-Vinson said. “I have been blessed to be surrounded by talented and hardworking young women, who bought into the vision. This season has exposed what a team can do when everyone is on the same page, working together to accomplish the same goal.”
General Admission tickets are $10.00 a day. All games will be streamed live by JockJive at the following link: https://www.jockjive.com/acccsports.html.
