Sparkman defeats Bob Jones to win Area 15 tournament
Lindsey Jennings goes for two of her 12 points against Sparkman photo by Jeffrey Hall
The Sparkman Lady Senators made sure there would not be a repeat of last season when they were upset in the area tournament. Monday night against Bob Jones, Sparkman surged back in the third quarter after a lackluster effort in the first half and claimed a 43-33 win, their third over Bob Jones this season.
Now, all that stands in their way of advancing to the Northwest Regional is a Thursday night game against James Clemens, the runner up in Area 16. Sparkman defeated James Clemens in the first game of the season 67-45 back on Nov. 8.
Sparkman was led by Maiya Rumph and Alexis Jennings with 14 points each. Both shot over 50% from the field. Jennings had seven rebounds. Rumph had a blocked shot in the third quarter when Bob Jones scored only 4 points.
Defensively, Sparkman held the Patriots second-leading scorer Chandler Elder to two points after she scored 16 against Buckhorn in the opening round.
“Our gameplan was to slow Chandler down because Lindsey Jennings is good enough she is going to get her shots,” Sparkman coach Patrick Delay said.
Bob Jones had early success inside with Chloe Long and Jennings who shot a sizzling 6 of 7 from the field. Leading 15-9, Bob Jones missed two front ends of one-and-one free throws that could have extended the lead. Long finished with 10 and Jennings 12 points.
“We knew Danny Petty would try something different and they tried to slow the game down and run the triangle offense and did a great job. It threw us off-balance at the beginning. We like to play fast,” said Delay.
Sparkman also saw a team hold the ball and slow the game down for the first time this year.
Sparkman trailed 19-17 at halftime but Nicole Martin and Chelsea Robinson hit three-point shots to spark a 10-2 run that gave the Senators the lead for good. Sparkman had their biggest lead at 41-27 in the fourth quarter.
Alexis Jennings saved her best for the fourth quarter when she was 3-for-3 from the free throw line and had nine points.
Nicole Martin is a senior and played on some good teams but none have made it to the Final Four in Birmingham. “I want to do what I can to get my team down there,” she said.
“Right now we are doing the little things you need to do to have success down the road; play great defense, rebound, and run the court,” said Delay.
