Prattville Christian Triumphs 48-40 Over St. James: Prattville Christian faced an unexpected challenge in the Coach Larry Chapman Foundation Tip Off Tournament, meeting St. James in the opening round. Despite early struggles against St. James’ defense, Prattville Christian managed to secure a 48-40 victory on Monday at Montgomery Academys Joe Mooty Court.
For the three-time defending state champion Prattville Christian (3-0), this game served as an early test without post players Hannah Jones and CoCo Thomas, key contributors to their three consecutive state titles. The Panthers faced difficulties in the first half, scoring only two field goals in each of the first two quarters and falling behind 15-9.
Coach Jason Roberson commented, St. James is an unbelievable team, and I think our team just decided to come out in the second half and be more aggressive. We were too passive in the first half. We started to attack a little bit more, and it changed the momentum of the game. Of course, its always nice when some shots start to go in.
St. James (2-2), a team that reached the regional finals in the past three years, couldn’t counter the adjustments made by Prattville Christian in the second half. Baylee Rogers’ three 3-pointers in the third quarter and Avery Rogers’ 20-point performance in the second half contributed to Prattville Christian’s comeback and eventual 10-point lead.
St. James coach Katie Barton acknowledged, (Roberson) went in at halftime and he made some adjustments to how he was going to run offense out of our 1-3-1, and we didnt counter the adjustments we needed to make on defense. Baylee Rogers hit some big shots in the second half. We didnt make those adjustments that I need us to be making out of our defensive sets.
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Baylee Rogers had 15 points, Jenna McClendon added 12, and Avery Rogers scored all 20 of her points in the second half. The Panthers advanced to face Pike Road in the semifinals on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.
For St. James, Ava Card contributed 14 points, and Natalie Barton added 12. St. James is set to play Catholic on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.
In another game, Jazz Johnson secured a last-second game-winner, leading the Patriots to victory over Catholic in the Coach Larry Chapman Foundation Tip Off Tournament. Audrey Blaine led the Patriots with 17 points, followed by Johnson with 13 and KJ Fencher with 12. The Patriots will face Prattville Christian in the second round on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m., while Catholic will play St. James.