The Selma Times-Journal

Four regional AISA teams traveled to Montgomery looking to extend their season by at least one more game.

When all was said and done, three of the four have advanced to the AISA’s Final Four Tournament &045; Lowndes Academy’s Lady Rebels and both MMI squads.

The LA Rebels came within five points of knocking off the defending Class A state champions, but fell short losing 45-40 to Cornerstone Christian.

On the AHSAA side of things, the Selma High Lady Saints have guaranteed themselves two more games by winning Thursday.

The Lady Saints upended the Carver Lady Wolverines in the Class 6A Area 4 semi’s at Jefferson Davis High School.

With the win, the Lady Saints have earned a berth into the championship against the winner of the Sidney-Lanier/Jeff Davis match-up and have also earned a berth into the sub-regional tournament.

Lowndes Academy (G) 38, Shelby Academy (G) 20

FAULKNER UNIVERSITY

&045; The Lowndes Academy Lady Rebels took the floor against the Shelby Academy Lady Raiders on Thursday afternoon and after less than 5:00 of play had raced to an 11-5 advantage. Shelby was never in the game with the Lady Rebs, falling 38-20.

In the second period, the Lady Raiders drained a three-pointer to open the period and cut the Lady Reb lead to four, 11-7.

They then forced Lowndes to have a pair of fruitless trips down the floor, but were unable to capitalize on the turnovers.

Lowndes strung together a 6-0 run that was capped by Jordan Insinga’s trip from one of the floor to the other to score. The Lady Raiders did manage to add a second basked, a pair of free throws, with :15 left on the clock.

Lowndes, outscored their opponents 11-7 in the third frame and then was able to expand the lead to as many 14 points in the fourth period before stalling to kill clock.

Renfroe added a basket with :40 left on the clock to push the lead to 16 points, 36-20 and then the Lady Rebels added a final basket to bring the game to its final tally of 38-20.

Lyndsey Renfroe led the Lady Rebels with 12 points and was followed by Chelsie Kilpatrick with 11 points. Kimbrell Lee finished the night with eight points for Shelby and Kendra Bristow added seven points.

The Lady Rebels advance to the AISA’s Final Four tournament, putting them two games away from a shot at a state title. Next week, they will face the Lakeside Lady Chiefs at Huntingdon College.

MMI (G) 78, Chrenshaw Christian (G) 21

HUNTINGDON COLLEGE – Not much opposition was put up against the Marion Military Institute Lady Tigers as they absolutely crushed the Crenshaw Christian Academy Lady Cougars 78-21.

The Lady Cougars proved to be no match for MMI in this AISA 1A State Regional contest. The Lady Tigers took care of business early scoring 27 points in the first quarter while holding Crenshaw to five.

They led 40-7 at the half. The game was all but over.

The crowd found themselves continually looking at the scoreboard. Not for the score, but the clock to see how much longer the game would last.

MMI led 69-9 after three quarters of play.

Emily Easley led all scorers with 24 points. Yolanda Kelly scored 21 points. Samantha Sutter added 14 and Felicia Sprott contributed 12 points.

The Lady Tigers will match-up with Autauga Academy in the AISA’s Final Four tournament at Huntingdon College next week.

MMI (B) 61, Lakeside (B) 56

HUNTINGDON COLLEGE – The Marion Military Institute Tigers staved off a charging Lakeside School Chiefs get a 61-56 win.

The victory moves them into the final four of the AISA Class 1A State Championship Tournament.

The MMI offense went inside early in the game and raced to a 19-11 advantage after one quarter.

They opened the second quarter with two consecutive triples and ended the quarter up by 17 points as the Tiger defense held the Chiefs to seven points in the quarter.

In the third quarter MMI seem to have forgotten how they got their big lead. The shots from the outside weren’t falling and turnovers gave Lakeside more offensive chances. Meanwhile Lakeside began to hit some shots they didn’t hit in the first half and battled back to a single digit deficit.

MMI held on to a 43-37 lead after three quarters of play, scoring only eight points in the quarter.

The Chiefs continued to cut into the Tigers lead in the final quarter, continually haunting them with three-pointers. The Tigers found themselves up by only one point, 55-54, with 1:35 left to play.

Jovaris Smith drained a jumper to give MMI a narrow, three-point cushion. Lakeside missed two free throw attempts with :40 showing on the clock and the chance to get within one again.

Smith and Kendric Moore knocked down two free throws each to seal the win.

Sam Greene was the high scorer for the Tigers with 16 points. Wendell Crews added 14 points. Smith finished with 13 and Moore finished with 12.

Blayne Green grabbed game high scoring honors with 20 points.

For a third straight game, the Tigers will face a three-point happy squad when they match-up with defending Class A champs, Cornerstone Christian in the Final Four tournament at Huntingdon College next week.

-James Gilmore

Cornerstone Christian (B) 45, Lowndes Academy (B) 40

At the end of the first period, the Lowndes Rebels found themselves on the low end of the scoreboard, the very low end, trailing 14-4. During the opening frame, the Chargers had gon on two runs, an 8-2 run and a 6-2 run to push ahead.

The Rebels, who were playing without the services of their big man Robin Hagood who broke both arms during a practice mishap, battled back and cut the Charger lead to within three, 20-17 with little time left on the clock. The Chargers added a final bucket to take a five-point lead into the locker room at the intermission.

For the most part, the Rebels took away the Chargers strength – their three-point shot. But the Chargers adjusted and began to exploit the Rebels main weakness – no true center – during the second half,

The Rebels battled in the third period with a 5-0 run to tie the game at 22-22. Trent Pate stole the ball from a Charger and carried it down the floor in the opposite direction to give the Rebels their first lead of the game.

Drew Harrell added the front end of a pair of free throws to push the Rebel lead to three points, 25-22.

Cornerstone, however, strung together and 8-2 run to close the period with the 30-27 lead.

The Rebels stood toe-to-toe with the defending Class A state champions but after a lane violation erased a T.J. Mills free throw, the Chargers were able to capture the momentum.

Cornerstone pushed ahead 41-31.

Lowndes, however, battled back in the game, cutting the lead to seven and then to five after a basket from Mills. But, the clock ran out on the comeback ending the Rebels season.

Bradley Adams led the Rebels with 17 points and Mill chipped in with 10, including a pair of three-pointers. Pate finished the night with eight points. For the Chargers, Ty Youngblood posted 16 points and Avery Alexander added 11 points.

Selma (G) 65, G. W. Carver (G) 62

With 1:54 left in the opening frame, the Selma Lady Saints pushed the lead to six points, 15-9, but the Carver Lady Wolverines battled back with a 6-0 run to tie the game. Erica Lumpkin pushed the Lady Saints up by a triple, 18-15 but Carver answered with one of their own, tying the game at 18-18 at the end of the first frame.

The Lady Saints scored first in the second period and was able to keep three points between them and the Lady Wolverines. Carver tied the game with 1:20 to go before the intermission, but Shameeka Simpson drained a three to push back up by three 31-28 at the half.

Selma came out in the second half and pushed ahead by seven with a 7-2 run and kept that seven-point distance for most of the period.

Carver took their first lead of the game when Harris got a technical foul, and the Lady Wolverine shooter sank both free throws. At the end of three periods, Selma trailed 47-46.

The intensity picked up in the fourth period, with Selma keeping their lead and the Lady Wolverines fighting to take it. With 1:02 left in the game, they did just that – 60-59.

But the Lady Saints however, took it back and pushed it up 63-60 with a pair of free throws from Simpson.

But, with time ticking down, a basket from an eighth-grader Kesha Moore, sealed the Selma victory, 65-62.

The Lady Saints have earned a berth into the sub-regional tournament as well as a trip to the Class 6A Area 4 championship on Saturday against more than likely the Jeff Davis Lady Vols.

Lumpkin fouled out in the fourth frame, but led all scorers with 35 points and seven rebounds. Simpson posted 18 points and Rochelle Jones added nine rebounds.

For the Lady Wolverines, whose season came to a close, Tiffany McClure led the charge with 16 points and was followed by Whitney Rupert with 14 points and DeAngela Floyd with 11 points.