Winchester leads Keith past Sunshine for area crown
Published 11:09 pm Friday, February 6, 2015
Keith’s Shatavia Moore grabs the ball when a Sunshine defender tries to take it from her grasp during Friday night’s game in Orrville. Moore scored 12 points for the Lady Bears in their 60-54 win over the Tigers that clinched the class 1A, area 5 championship.–Daniel Evans
ORRVILLE — Behind a big night from Harriet Winchester, Keith won its fourth consecutive area championship Friday with a 60-54 victory over Sunshine.
Winchester knocked in five free throws in the final minutes and totaled 31 points to help the Lady Bears lock up the class 1A, area 5 championship, ensuring they will host Autaugaville Monday in a sub-regional contest.
“Winning it four times back to back with this group is quite an accomplishment,” Keith girls basketball coach Cecil Williams said. “They love to protect their home court, and they love being area champs. I’m proud of them.”
Winchester did a little bit of everything Friday. She knocked in two three-pointers, had a big block that led to a Shatavia Moore layup in the fourth quarter and ignited the Bears’ offense in the second quarter.
The first time Keith and Sunshine met in Orrville this season, the Tigers made 10 three-pointers on their way to a one-point win. The Bears adjusted in the second matchup, holding Sunshine to just three three-pointers and Friday held Sunshine to just two made threes.
Williams said that was once again one of the keys to the game.
“I know that they like to shoot it and the open shots that they got, they made,” Williams said. “The ones that they missed there was a lot of pressure on them.”
Aided by a three-point play, Keith took the lead at the end first quarter 14-13.
The Bears didn’t trail again the rest of the way. Moore and Zykia Pettway hit shots in the second quarter, but Winchester found her shot too and started to take over.
She scored nine in the second to give the Bears a 30-21 advantage at the half and kept it going with eight more in the third.
Sunshine trailed by as many as nine points in the third but fought back to within five with a buzzer beating layup by Moesha Chandler. The Tigers got even closer on a Elacia Edwards jumper to begin the third.
Winchester and Moore gave Keith a little breathing room by knocking in shots on the next several possessions to put the Bears up 56-46.
Sunshine got as close as six in the final minutes, but the Tigers were unable to close the gap to a one possession game.
