Pelham girls rout Terrell County in region showdown

PELHAM —Friday night was a matchup that could possibly be duplicated later this season in the region tournament and possibly the Class A public school postseason as Pelham hosted Terrell County.

But Pelham took over first-place in the Region 1-A standings by hammering the Lady Greenwave 70-19 at Pelham High School.

Pelham took an a slight 3-0 lead in the opening minutes and the Lady Greenwave appeared to be in the game until about midway through the first period before the Lady Hornets went into their signature press defense.

A few Terrell turnovers later the lead swelled to 13-1.

Terrell County put a pause in the run when Jamya McDaniel found Tocobia Whiting under the basket for two to make it a 13-3 game. Terrell head coach Tammye Jenkins-Ware said her team struggled with spacing which caused them to have trouble breaking the press.

“I felt like it was a spacing issue,” she said. “I felt like in the second quarter, we handled it better and were able to get it across half court. Then after halftime, we kind of came out and did the opposite of what we had been doing.”

The Lady Hornets would get out and run in the second quarter, getting baskets from Mahogany Randall and Mahogany Brown. McDaniel knocked down a three and Staysha Allen scored six during that period, but Pelham still went into the halftime break with a 38-14 lead.

The second half wouldn’t get much better for the Lady Greenwave as Pelham held them to just five points. Pelham head coach Antonia Tookes said she was pleased with her team’s defensive effort during that half.

“Yes I am. Any time we can do that, I’m happy,” she said.

She added that defensively, they continue to improve.

“They played great defense,” she said. “They’re starting to play defense the way I like.”

The Lady Hornets remain atop the region much to the satisfaction of Tookes. Jenkins-Ware said playing the top dog shined a light on an area her team needs to work on immediately.

“We’re not hungry for it,” she said. “I’m not taking anything away from Pelham, but I felt like we could’ve played with a lot more intensity. Pelham, in every area, they outhustled us.”

She added that once the lead increased, her team dropped their heads and started going through the motions. Moving forward, she said it is imperative they learn how to deal with adversity and how to keep fighting regardless of the circumstances.

“We’ve got to learn how to overcome when things are not going our way,” she said.

Randall finished with 16 to lead the Lady Hornets, followed by Brown with 15, Destiny Thomas with 14 and Aaliyah Williams 13.

Allen led the way for Terrell with six.

Pelham boys 39, Terrell County 32

It was a game that featured several lead changes but Pelham was able to outlast Terrell County.

In the second quarter, Pelham seemed to be in control building a 19-8 lead midway through the quarter. From there, Terrell County closed the half on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to just one at the break. Pelham head coach Laron Smith said his team got away from what helped them build the lead.

“We just had to go back to doing what we did in the first quarter,” Smith said “We did a good job of defending and finding the open man. Second quarter, we got away from that and allowed them to get back in the game.”

The Greenwave took a 24-23 lead with 4:38 left in the third quarter, but an 8-2 run by Pelham capped off by Dewan Jones’ layup gave the Hornets a 31-26 lead heading into the fourth.

In the fourth quarter, Terrell’s Dontavious Huckaby slashed to the basket for two, then Jalen Allen got a steal and scored to make it a one point game with 6:07 left.

Despite another steal and layup by Allen, the Greenwave couldn’t stop Pelham’s Willie Kemp as he scored four points at key moments late in the game. Smith said that was the difference.

“We got it inside. Willie Kemp did a good job of finishing down the stretch,” he said. “We were able to get the ball inside to him and he made some big baskets.”

Offensively, the Greenwave couldn’t answer and head coach John Davis said they were impatient and didn’t let the offense come to them.

“At that moment we were trying to rush it,” he said. “Not being patient on offense, not getting the type of shot we wanted and as a result, they capitalized off it.”

Despite the outcome, Davis said he’s confident his team will bounce back. He said overall he was pleased with what they were able to do against their rival and said the game will serve as a teachable moment.

“I felt pretty good about it,” he said. “We’ve just got to continue to keep that up. I’m playing a lot of young guys and they see the level that they have to play and what they have to bring to the table. As we grow mentally, we’ll grow in the game and we’ll be fine.”

Pelham’s Ke’Monterious Byrd led all scorers with 10 points.