By Scott Nickerson
Elmore Autauga News
The Marbury girls basketball team earned a 54-43 win over Shelby County on Thursday at the Acadome in Montgomery in the semi-final of the Class 5A Central Regional. The win puts the Lady Bulldogs in the regional finals, as one of the last eight remaining teams in Class 5A, for the third consecutive season. Marbury will face Briarwood Christian with a chance to win the Class 5A Central Regional and move on to the Class 5A Final Four.
With the game tied at 20 at the halftime break, Marbury came out strong in the 2nd half and outscored Shelby County by five points in the 3rd quarter and six points in the 4th quarter.
“We came out flat and dug ourselves in a hole,” said Marbury girls’ basketball Coach Reggie Brown. “This is not our first time trailing after the 1st or 2nd quarter. One thing about Marbury girls, they will play until the end and don’t mind fighting to get back into the ball game.”
The Bulldogs won the battle of the boards, out rebounding Shelby County 39-28. AHSAA stats showed four Marbury players with at least 8 rebounds. But Marbury’s Gabby Brown was the difference in the game, scoring 27 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists.
“Gabby really put the team on her back this morning,” said Head Coach Brown. “We made a few adjustments at halftime and as the game went on, our girls started to wake up and play with more intensity and managed to get a small lead that we could work with. We’re proud of the team effort because in the end, it took us all to pull it out.”
With the victory, Marbury is one win away from the Class 5A Final Four. To get there, the Bulldogs will have to beat Briarwood Christian. The Lions are 21-11 on the year but have faced a gauntlet of tough teams from Class 6A or 7A, to include Huntsville High, Oak Mountain, Homewood, Cullman, Hartselle, Vestavia Hills, Homewood, Helena, and Mountain Brook.
Marbury and Briarwood Christian will face each other on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. at the Acadome in Montgomery. Good luck to Marbury!
