Sonoraville fights hard to keep State streak going
Lady Phoenix pull out tough victory at tourney over North Murray
Finding a way to win is the name of the game this time of the season, and there’s no other way to describe what the Sonoraville Lady Phoenix did on Wednesday afternoon than they found a way to win. Their prize...a fifth straight trip to the Class AAA State Tournament.
Sonoraville battled from tip to final buzzer on Wednesday and pulled out an extremely hard-fought 35-33 victory over North Murray in the second round of the Region 6-AAA Tournament to advance to the semis and assure themselves of a State berth.
The game was tight the entire way with neither team leading by more than six at any point. Sonoraville (8-19) trailed 25-24 early in the fourth quarter but put together two 5-0 runs when they needed them the most with the last holding their spot atop the scoreboard when the clock hit zero.
In those fourth-quarter points were a lay-up from Sandi McMullin, a couple big buckets and free throws from Maliyah Parks and a huge 3-pointer from Grace Darnell.
Sonoraville coach Stephanie Caudell said she was proud of how her young team didn’t let the moment become too much for them.
“I felt like we weren’t very tight before the game, and I don’t think the girls felt a lot of pressure,” said Caudell. “We turned it over several times, but that’s what North Murray does to you. But we made the plays we needed to make, and we’re going to State for the fifth year in a row.
“We’re so young and playing three more games certainly can’t hurt us. We get some more chances to learn and do some good things. We’re excited about it.”
Darnell’s 3-pointer with just over two minutes to play put Sonoraville up 34-28 for the largest lead of the game. However, North Murray’s Kailee Tipton answered with a 3 of her own at the 1:26 mark to pull her team back within three at 34-31. From there, both teams had several chances close to the bucket to swing the game the other way or put the game away, but each point from that point forward came at the free throw line, including a Parks free throw with less than a second to play.
Parks, a freshman, led Sonoraville with 12 points as she was the only player from either team to reach double figures. Darnell added eight, including two 3-pointers, and Cortney Williams, Sonoraville’s lone senior, scored six.
Two big areas Sonoraville excelled in that helped them come out on top was on the defensive end and on the boards. The Lady Phoenix made almost every shot difficult for North Murray (15-11), forced several turnovers and when the Lady Mountaineers did get a shot off, Sonoraville erased any chance of a putback opportunity by dominating the defensive glass.
“We’ve tried to emphasize learning how to play hard, play tough and play physical every game,” said Caudell. “We we do that, we’re not a bad team. I think we were really good on the defensive end tonight, and they also missed some shots which helped. Our help defense was big, and we took some charges.
“And rebounding was huge for us. That’s always a big part of the game for me. In the past we’ve had some big girls that could go get it, but this group has done a good job of it this year and again today.”
Tipton and Sarah Plemons each had nine points to lead the Lady Mountaineers. Tyree Walker added seven. Along with getting out-rebounded by Sonoraville, North Murray also struggled at the free throw line, going 9-of-24 overall and 3-of-8 in the fourth.
Next up for Sonoraville is a semifinal showdown with rival Calhoun on Friday at 4 p.m. The Lady Jackets won both meetings during the regular season. Caudell said she’s just looking for her team to take another step forward and show improvement against the top seed Calhoun.
“We definitely improved from the first time we played them to teh second time, and I’d like to see improvement again,” said Caudell. “We fought last time, but I would like to see us stay competitive and keep it close on Friday. Everyone from here on out is going to be good so we’ve got to come ready to play.”