Scott Nickerson
Elmore Autauga News
The Prattville girls basketball team continued their recent hot streak, winning three games in three days to capture the championship of of the Pelham Thanksgiving Tipoff Tournament. Senior KeLeigh Mullens was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament.
“Everyone impressed me in some form or fashion,” said Prattville Head Coach Erica DuBois. “Our bench, while we were in a terrible scoring slump, stayed live and loud, and wouldn’t let the girls on the court feel it and lose confidence. We did not have a great shooting performance in this tournament but the defense and the team communication was really on another level. We held Clay Chalkville to 2 points in the 2nd quarter of the championship game. I think that says a lot about the type of work that we’re putting in.”
The Lady Lions won the first game of the tournament against Oak Mountain, 45-33. After posting a triple-double against Stanhope Elmore last Friday, Mullens almost had another triple-double in the next game, posting 19 points, 12 rebounds, 9 steals and 2 assists against the Eagles. Dayana Lewis had 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 assist, while her sister Danica Lewis had 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals.
The Lions faced Homewood in the tournament semi-final. With the game tied at 48 and less than 20 seconds remaining in the game, Mullens hit a go-ahead shot. The Patriots raced down the court to tie the game, but Mullens sealed the victory with a steal just before time expired. Mullens finished with 17 points, 9 rebounds, 6 steals, and 4 assists. Dayana Lewis had 17 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 4 steals.
In the tournament championship game, Prattville faced unbeaten Clay-Chalkville. The Cougars are ranked #5 in Class 6A, but the Lions won comfortably, 50-32. Mullens again led all scorers with 21 points, while Danica Lewis had 11 points and Dayana Lewis had 9 points.
In addition to Mullens being named MVP, Danica Lewis and Dayana Lewis were also both named to the All Tournament Team. The Lewis sisters’ oldest sibling, DeJaria Lewis, was the first Prattville player Head Coach Erica DuBois helped to play in college. The eldest Lewis is currently in her senior season at Talledega.
The Lions improve to 7-2 on the season. The early taste of success is important for a team returning only Mullens as a starter from last year’s team.
“To be honest, the girls just like to see their hard work paying off. The summertime work is on a different level with me, so it makes them feel really good to see that those lessons and workouts are translating to the court. This is a group of girls that want to continue to work, learn, and grow. So they don’t get caught up in early success. Their goal is simply to get better every game.”
