Lady Jackets Advance to Championship Game Against Pickens County

By Brian Hamilton, Sports Correspondent

Aliceville got off to a slow start against Pickens County in the Pickens County Championship semifinal game, as the Lady Jackets held onto a narrow 7-6 lead after one quarter. Aliceville outscored the Lady Tornadoes 14-6 during the second quarter to take a 21-12 lead, en route to a 42-27 win to advance and face Gordo in the championship game.

“We started in a soft zone and it really took us out of our pace,” Aliceville head coach Sebastian Shamery said. “We tried to speed up the game a little bit so we put some energy players in and went to a man-to-man to loosen us up.”

Valerie Wilkins helped the Lady Jackets jump out to a nine-point halftime lead by scoring eight first-half points to lead both teams. Jayla Bennamon made a basket with 4:53 remaining in the third quarter to increase the Aliceville lead to 25-13.

Aliceville capped an 8-1 run with a steal and layup to go ahead 29-13 late in the third. The Lady Jackets took a 29-15 lead into the final stanza.

After going ahead 31-15, Pickens County’s Skylin Joe converted a three-point play to cut the Aliceville lead to 31-18 early in the fourth quarter. The Lady Jackets would build a 17-point lead with just over a minute to go in the game, as Wilkins hit a jump shot for a 40-23 lead.

Aliceville led 42-24, their largest lead of the game, when Joe drained a half-court buzzer beater to make the final score 42-27 in favor of the Lady Jackets.