by D. Mark Mitchell
Sports Editor

OHS Athletics

The Opelika Lady Bulldog basketball team (26-6) lost to Central (33-1) 57-42 in the Elite Eight round of the Class 6A state playoffs. This marked the fourth time this season the Lady Red Devils beat the OHS ladies.

Both teams started slow, due to the early (9 a.m.) start and playing in unfamiliar surroundings (the Acodome, home of the Alabama State Hornets basketball team).

Opelika scored the last 10 points of the first half to take a 26-20 halftime lead. The Lady Bulldogs couldn’t hold on to their momentum, however, as they scored only six points in the third quarter and trailed by 11 points going into the last period.

The second half statistics tell the story of the game: Central hit 20 of 24 free throws, outscored OHS by 20 points, forced 20 turnovers and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds.

“We talked about it at halftime. We knew they were going on a run and we had to handle it. We didn’t handle the ball, and that hurt us,” said head coach Devin Booth. “They did their job in the second half and we didn’t.”

Kendall Adams scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Opelika.

Bethany Howard joined Adams on the All-Tournament team.

The 26 wins was a school record. This was also the first Elite 8 appearance since Opelika was moved to 6A.

Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller and the City Council will honor the team this Tuesday, March 6, at the City Council meeting.

Congratulations to the OHS Lady Basketball team!

OHS Baseball

The OHS baseball team went 1-1 in a round robin tournament at Dadeville. The Dawgs defeated Dadeville 9-7, coming back to win after trailing 5-1 at the end of three innings.

Doss Arnold earned the win in relief, pitching three innings and not allowing a earned run. Mathew Christian, Tyler Jones, Duncan Asbury and Arnold all had hits in the game.

The Bulldogs lost to Trinity in the second game 7-6, despite having bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh with one out. Christian, Jared Harper and Jones contributed hits.

The split leaves the Dawgs 2-2 heading into this weekend’s game in Tallassee.