BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
FOR THE OBSERVER
LOACHAPOKA — The Auburn High School (7A) girls’ and boys’ teams both took down cross-county rivals Loachapoka High School (2A) on the road, with the Lady Tigers defeating the Lady Indians 59-33 and the Tigers downing the Indians 64-41 on Dec. 9.
With those results, the AHS girls’ team strengthened their record to 6-1 while the boys’ team improved to 9-3. The LHS girls’ team fell to 4-6, and the boys’ team must regroup with a 5-4 record.
Tigers 64, Indians 41
Since LHS star Mitchell Chenier was unavailable due to his participation in the North-South All-Star football game, the Tigers found their task against an understaffed LHS squad easier. For AHS head boys’ basketball coach Chris Brandt, whose team had 11 different players score, the opportunity also provided him with a chance to experiment ahead of high-profile tournaments and area play.
“Everybody got to play,” Brandt said. “We’re looking at different lineups. We’re looking for mismatches. Sometimes we went really small and pressed, and sometimes we went really big. That’s the thing we’re trying to do until we get to January. I stress to the team that all this matters somewhat, but it’s about us finding lineups, finding chemistry, understanding what we’re supposed to do and we’re going to have some ups and we’re going to have some downs. So I’m very pleased.”
After a dominant performance, senior guard Antwane Daniels said the Tigers expected to win, and the result gave him and his teammates the confidence to face other challenges moving forward.
“I knew we were way better than them, so we just had to pick up our energy toward the end of the first quarter and pick up the defensive intensity,” Daniels said. “That helped us out to get a good lead and break away. It gives the team confidence to know that they’re able to go do those things, and then if they need help, I’m still here. They can rely on me to get them open or if they need me, to knock down the shot.”
In the nightcap, the boys’ game began as a gritty, low-scoring, turnover-plagued affair, with more balls rattling out of the rim than swishing through the net. Yet by the time the first quarter ended, the Tigers had done just enough in the final minutes to secure an 11-4 run behind seven combined points from Antwane Daniels and Tre Ross.
With the initial caginess over, both teams’ offenses began to open things up as the Indians took the fight to AHS to start the second quarter and nearly tied the game at one point. However, the Tigers, particularly Daniels, began converting more of their chances to go on a 17-13 run and enter halftime with an 11-point lead.
In the opening two minutes of the third quarter, the Tigers opened up their lead with a swarming defense and brutal physicality that led to nine unanswered points in the opening two minutes of the third quarter. Despite the distance between the two teams, LHS’ Jordan Tyner sparked life into the home crowd and a comeback attempt with a thunderous dunk over an AHS defender midway through the quarter.
Entering the final period up 46-34, the Tigers turned in a near mirror-image start to the one they began the third quarter with as Daniels fueled a 10-0 run in less than two minutes. That run slowly grew in the remaining six minutes as both teams looked to essentially practice in-game situations.
Daniels powered the Tigers with 26 points, while Derrick Bandy backed him up with eight points. Tyner paced the Indians with 13 points, and Jamauri Todd contributed seven points.
Lady Tigers 59, Lady Indians 33
As the season progresses, non-area games allow coaches to experiment with lineups and allow younger or inexperienced players to play according to AHS head girls basketball coach Courtney Pritchett. He did just that, playing virtually every player on his roster who wasn’t sick or injured.
“The thing about games like this is that they’re great for us to develop our depth, and I kind of know what our first five will be,” Pritchett said. “We’ve got two kids out with the flu right now, but we know what our first five looks like. But we’ve got to have two or three guards coming off the bench that can help us later in the season in region play, and we’ve got to have one or two post players. So this game allows those kids to get an opportunity to play through mistakes.”
Junior guard Kayden Carr, who showcased her talents with a dazzling variety of shot attempts, attributed the Lady Tigers’ success to having everyone involved and engaged on the court when their number was called.
“[We’re] just playing together as a team, getting everyone the ball, passing it around,” Carr said. “That’s kind of how we play. We play fast together and with good intensity. I think we did that well tonight. It’s really good to have all the pieces, because they can’t take it all away, so when they take away something, another thing is open. And that gives more chances for other people to get shots.”
In the first quarter, the game began as a slow-paced affair with both teams content to run set plays offensively and allow each other to bring the ball up the court uncontested. Within the first four minutes, AHS’ clear size advantage played a critical role as the Lady Tigers forced the ball into their post players in the paint.
Up 19-4 entering the second quarter, AHS shifted from primarily focusing on finding scoring opportunities in the paint to getting more looks behind the three-point line. That strategy paid off as the Lady Tigers built on their lead despite increased offensive resistance from LHS.
Coming out of halftime down 33-11, the Lady Indians stormed out of the locker room with renewed energy and a flurry of scoring that gave AHS momentary cause for concern. However, the Lady Tigers expanded their lead with a 17-12 run that featured fast-break opportunities, second-chance points and disciplined free-throw shooting.
In the fourth quarter, AHS’ size advantage took its toll as the smaller LHS squad tried keeping pace, particularly with Jailyn White’s offensive rebounding prowess. Despite being down big, the Lady Indians showed fight in the final minutes with a 10-9 run that showed they would not give up.
Braylee Winfrey led all scorers with 13 points, while Jailyn White and Bella Paul chipped in 11 and nine points, respectively. Sanaa Drummond paced the Lady Indians with 12 points and Amanda Harris added seven points.
