Sparkman girls get road win at Bob Jones to stay perfect
Sparkman coach Patrick Delay was breathing a sigh of relief after his #1 ranked girl’s basketball team averted an upset bid by #5 ranked Bob Jones on Friday night.
Down 20 points early in the fourth quarter, Bob Jones surged back to close it to seven and ultimately lost by nine, 62-53.
“Their defensive pressure caused us some problems late in the game. It got tight, that is what happens when you lose focus and don’t execute like you are supposed to,” said Delay whose team is now 4-0 in area play.
Both teams were coming off holiday tournaments and looked a little winded by the end.
“It looked like we got a little tired, I didn’t do a very good job of substituting. The kids on the bench couldn’t get into the flow of the game and I left my starters in there a little too long. I should have called some timeouts and stopped the momentum,” Delay said.
The teams started slowly with Sparkman leading 8-4 after one quarter. Sparkman led by eight at halftime. By early in the fourth quarter the Senators size advantage on offense had taken a toll.
Early in the fourth quarter, a Maiya Rumph lob to Alexis Jennings underneath for a basket put Sparkman up 49-30 and after two Jennings free throws the lead was 51-31.
The Bob Jones rally was led by Chandler Elder who hit two 3-point baskets and scored on an offensive rebound to make it 58-51 with 1:00 left in the game. But Maiya Rumph had 4 free throws for Sparkman and an Alexis Jennings layup ended the game.
Jennings finished with 28 points on 10 of 18 from the field including two 3-point shots. She also had 12 rebounds. But just as important was point guard Maiya Rumph who had 10 points and seven rebounds.
“They’re the team to beat,” Delay said of Bob Jones. “They’ve been to the final four from this area for four straight years so until somebody knocks them off they are the team to beat. We will see them again in the area tournament,” Delay said.
Motivation is not an issue for the Lady Senators who ran their record to 18-0.
Last season, Sparkman got knocked out of the area tournament in the first round and the players and the coach still use that loss as motivation every day.
“Our goal is to win the area and host the area tournament and win that first game. Last year we lost that first game and our season was over and they didn’t like that,” Delay said of the players.
“Toni is playing real well, she had 14 points tonight,” Delay said of Toni Brewer.
Sparkman has spread the scoring this season and their fast break is especially effective.
“The way we can run with our big players, teams can’t just focus on Alexis,” said Delay.
Sparkman has games left against Hazel Green and Buckhorn to determine who will host the area tournament.
Bob Jones head coach Danny Petty wasted no time in getting newcomer Chloe Long into the game. Long, who is 6-foot-1, became eligible the spring semester and had a strong game. She finished with 10 points including 6 of 7 from the free throw line.
Elder led Bob Jones with 12 points and Lindsey Jennings had 11.
