Malia Riggs
Elmore Autauga News
Photos Submitted
The Varsity girls basketball teams across the county for Autaugaville, Billingsley, Marbury and Prattville High Schools swept their regular season area play. All four teams remained undefeated during the regular season and earned the opportunity to host or play in their respective area tournaments.
Autaugaville went 6-0, Billingsley 8-0, Marbury 4-0 and Prattville 8-0 for their regular area play this past season, most of which hosted or competed in their postseason semi finals games last week.
The Autaugaville Lady Eagles have won five consecutive area championships and are advancing to the regional semi finals, claiming their victory 51- 41 over the Tuscaloosa Holy Spirit Saints.
“They are led by their senior captain, she’s the most fluid and she just keeps the team together. We just made a valiant team effort and we just thrive off defense. We’re a defense team. But the biggest preparations that we’ve had was playing some bigger schools and bigger classifications. It helped prepare us to start playing on that level of competition. We use those games to make sure we have the mental toughness and the mental state, so we know how to conduct our game,” Autaugaville Athletic Director and Varsity Girls Basketball Coach Javaris Jackson said.
The regional semifinals is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, February 14th at the Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham, against the Keith Bears from Keith High School.
Marbury High School Varsity Girls Basketball was on their bye week just before their big games. The Bulldogs played Elmore County High School for their area championships last Wednesday where the lady Bulldogs commanded the court of the Elmore Panthers, finishing 62-23.
“We have a perfect record in our area play, our season has been up and down but we’ve been playing a lot of 6A schools, and we’re 5A. Once we got into area play, I think from us playing those tougher teams, it prepared us for our 5A area. We’ve been working on the fundamentals, and just making sure our girls are being aggressive in whatever they do. We prepare, we put up a lot of shots, we focus on intensity in our practice, and once they get in game mode, they just turn it on. Our girls play hard and they compete,” Marbury Athletic Director and Varsity Girls Basketball Coach Reginald Brown said.
The Lady Bulldogs then went on to grab a win Friday night over Sylacauga with a score of 62-43.
The Billingsley High School Bears have also been dominating their regular area play, where they took to the court last Friday and squeezed out a win over the Johnson Eagles, winning by a basket, 67-65.
“We just seem to be playing our best basketball at this point in the season and that’s where we need to be to extend our season. We constantly preach that we don’t lose at Billingsley, we learn. We have learned from those tough losses (outside of area play), and have worked to get better. We have a well experienced team that has a huge will to win. We set a standard of playing tough defense and being aggressive on offense. We feel like if we can continue playing that way, then we could make a good run during the postseason,” Billingsley Athletic Director Lanny Jones said.
The Prattville High School Lady Lions have had a huge impact on the court this season. Prattville Varsity Girls Basketball has geared up a win, as well as a perfect record for their area play this season, going 8-0. Their last game was Wednesday against the Enterprise Wildcats where the Lions secured a win 55-47 over the Wildcats, advancing them to their post season.
Autauga County varsity girls basketball has taken control of the court this season, from one side of the county to the other. Whether your loyalty falls with the lions, bulldogs, bears or the eagles, these teams played hard for their undefeated season in Autauga County.
