BY ROB DAVIS
FOR THE OBSERVER

AUBURN — Clarke Ivatt scored 26 points Monday night as the Lee-Scott girls basketball team won the 3A Region 6 championship with a hard fought 37-30 victory over the Glenwood Lady Gators at the William J. and Evlyn B. Samford Gymnasium on the Lee-Scott Academy campus. Ivatt recorded 23 points in the semi-final victory against Dadeville and was named the tournament MVP.
Against Dadeville Friday night the Warriors hit 11 three pointers on their way to a lopsided 65-26 win. While Ivatt was the leading scorer, several players contributed to the three-pointer barrage including Haynes Keesee, Sydney Dunlap, Charlee Huddleston, Stella Henderson, Railey Langford and Ivatt. Keesee had three three-pointers on the night.
The championship game against Glenwood proved to be a tougher challenge. Maggie Herndon hit a three for the Warriors to begin the game but swarming defense from both teams led to a 7-4 lead for Lee-Scott at the end of the first period. Ivatt scored all nine points for the Warriors in the second period to give the host team a four point lead at the half.
“We knew we would have to execute tonight,” Lee-Scott Head Coach Corye Harrison said. “I told the kids we don’t have to win the rebound battle, but we have to keep it close.”
Junior guard Halle Palmore led the Lady Gators with 10 points and was a force in the third period as Glenwood outscored the Warriors and trailed by a single point at the end of the period.
“I told them at the end of the third period that we’ve got a ballgame,” Harrison said. “I said we have to get a stop. We have to get a stop on this possession and they ended up turning the ball over which was huge.”
Ivatt responded by scoring the first six points of the final period as Keesee and Langford contributed to the scoring before playing keep away to secure the 37-30 victory.
“I knew that if we executed we could come out on top,” Ivatt said. “We have so much chemistry, and we’ve played together so long that we just trust each other. I know that we’ve put in the hard work to be able to make the shots that we needed at the end of the game.”

Lee-Scott claims boys 3A Area 6 championship

BY ROB DAVIS
FOR THE OBSERVER

AUBURN — After scoring 101 points in their semi-final victory over Dadeville Friday night, the Lee-Scott Warriors relied on aggressive rebounding and a pesky defense to defeat the visiting Gators from Glenwood 59-39 Monday night to win the boys 3A Area 6 championship.
The William J. and Evlyn B. Samford Gymnasium on the Lee-Scott campus was packed to the gills on a night that saw the Warriors struggle with their outside shooting but find a way to compensate. Lee-Scott guard Haiden Harper notched 13 points and William Liles added 10 as the Warriors outscored the Gators 13-4 in the final period to pull away with the win. Harper was named tournament MVP.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well tonight but this may have been one of our better games defensively,” Lee-Scott head coach William Johnson said. “I just kept telling the guys, ‘If we can get one more run and one more push to start the fourth quarter’ — [and] we did. At that point, I felt like we were in total control of the game.”
Lee-Scott held Glenwood phenom Braylen Alexander to 21 points which was a testament to the Warriors tenacious defensive effort. Johnson told his team before the game that limiting Alexander would be the difference in the game.
“To not shoot the ball very well but still win the area championship is a tribute to how hard our guys played on defense,” Johnson said. “Braylen Alexander is an amazing player, and to hold him to under 30 points was a big part of this victory.”
Leading by just three points late in the first period, Liles hit back-to-back jumpers to push the lead to seven. Wyatt Watley, Barrett Cook, Parks Myers and Gray Hayley all contributed to the scoring in the second period that ended with a 15 foot jumper by Liles at the buzzer. The Warrior defense continued to put pressure on the Gators in the second half and at times double-teamed Alexander. By the three minute mark in the fourth period, Lee-Scott went to a spread offense and slowed the tempo to eat the clock.
The tournament proved that Lee-Scott is not one-dimensional and can win games in a variety of ways. Against Dadeville in the semi-final, the Warriors hit 11 threes in a run away 101-48 victory. According to Johnson, being able to adapt to how the game unfolds will serve his team well moving forward into the post-season.
“We’ve got to be more consistent defensively, but I thought tonight we were really really good,” he said. “I love these guys. We have nine seniors, and I want them to be able to play in this gym as long as possible. I couldn’t be more proud, and hopefully we can keep it going.”