Coosa takes down Model 63-60 to open tournament
♦ The Lady Eagles outscore the Lady Devils 11-8 in overtime to seal the win.
It didn’t take long for the Region 7-AA basketball tournament to get exciting as the first game of the day proved to set the tone.
The eighth-seeded Coosa girls’ basketball team began the tournament at Chattooga with a 63-60 upset over fifth-seeded Model in overtime, as the Blue Devils sit out of the state playoffs for the first time in Sally Echols’ 15 years as head coach.
It was Coosa coach Robby Dooley’s first win against Echols, whom he was a longtime assistant for at Model (10-15) before taking over as head coach for the Lady Eagles two seasons ago, and the first win for a Coosa girls’ team over Model since the 2013-2014 season.
“Obviously, it’s bittersweet for me,” Dooley said. “Playing a team like Model that is unbelievable year after year — it’s great for us to go in and play the way we did. It was just a great team effort. Give credit to Sally and Model. They fought from the beginning to the
end. They battled like any team Sally has ever coached. They’re going to battle.”
After Coosa (2-17) led 25-23 at halftime, the Lady Eagles outscored the Lady Devils 11-8 in the overtime to eke out the win.
Paris Woodard led the Lady Eagles with 16 points, Jordan Roberts followed with 15 points, and Kasey Thacker and Sarah Arrant each scored 13 points.
The win was only the second of the season for the Lady Eagles and was the first against an opponent from Region 7-AA.
Montana Moats led the Lady Devils with 25 points and five 3-pointers, Madison Moats added 14 points with three 3-pointers, and Nia Allen scored 11 points.
The Lady Devils finished out their season without one of their leading scorers Madison Harper. The senior suffered a knee injury back in January and wasn’t able to return to the court.
Coosa now needs only one win to grab a spot in the Class AA state playoffs for the first time since the 2008-2009 season. The Lady Eagles will get that chance Tuesday at 4 p.m. when they face No. 4-seeded Gordon Central.
Armuchee girls 47, Pepperell 45
After trailing 21-17 at halftime and scoring only three points in the first quarter, the Armuchee girls’ basketball team powered ahead in the second half to eke out a 47-45 win against Pepperell in the Region 7-AA tournament.
Julia Williams scored eight points to lead the sixth-seeded Lady Indians (11-14), Katie Shinholster had 14 points with four 3-pointers, and Olivia Moses had nine points.
For the seventh-seeded Lady Dragons (7-18), Ellie Cox scored 16 points with four 3-pointers, and Morgan Willingham scored eight points.
The Lady Indians will next face No. 3 seed Dade County on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Pepperell boys 85, Dade County 49
Pepperell’s Payton Rhoades sparked the Dragons’ offense in the Region 7-AA tournament totaling 33 points on the night after scoring 27 in the first half alone.
The senior, who was recently named the Region 7-AA Player of the Year, led the fifth-seeded Dragons to an 85-49 win against eighth-seeded Dade County.
Tom Vincent added 12 points for the Dragons (11-14), and Phoenix Prime, who was named to the Region 7-AA second team, finished with eight points.
Dade County (4-22) was led by Austin Holcomb with 10 points.
The Dragons will move on to face No. 4-seeded Coosa on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
Rome boys 63 Woodland 58
The Rome High boys’ basketball team found its way into the Region 7-5A tournament Monday by defeating Woodland 63-58 in a play-in game at Woodland.
With the win, the Wolves (519) have defeated the Wildcats (2-24) three times this season.
Rome trailed after the first quarter 16-12, but managed to pull ahead in the second quarter to take a 32-26 lead at halftime.
The Wolves will now travel to Kell to face the top-seeded Longhorns on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.