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Lady Tigers lock down Lamar County, take home area title

RED BAY - It’s an adage nearly as old as the game of basketball itself, one echoed throughout the halls of history by countless coaches after countless big wins in high school gymnasiums from Florence to Florala, and everywhere in between.

Still, the idea that defense wins championships seems to carry significantly more weight when it’s expressed by Donnie Roberts.

After all, if there are two things Roberts knows, one is defense and the other is championships. Which is probably why the Hall of Fame head coach, now in his 34th season at Red Bay High School, didn’t seem all that fussed about his team’s sluggish offensive showing in Thursday night’s 47-28 victory over Lamar County in the Class 2A, Area 14 finals.

“That’s common this time of year,” said Roberts, who took another small step toward claiming his fifth state title with the Lady Tigers. “We had a tough night on offense. Our girls were pretty frustrated at halftime. But I thought our defense was solid as a rock.

“That’s what wins state championships for you—defense and rebounding.”

Top-seeded Red Bay (24-7) put that theory to the test in Thursday’s first half, finishing with more than twice as many turnovers (nine) as made baskets (four, in 18 attempts) and scoring just 15 points. Despite those struggles, the Lady Tigers still led by five at the break after holding second-seeded Lamar County to just 2-for-17 shooting from the field.

“We didn’t play very well on the offensive end, but our defense was good,” said senior post player Darby Madden, who overcame first-half foul trouble to finish the night with 11 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots. “They only had ten points at the half, so that’s pretty good. Coach Roberts has always been really big on man-to-man defense, and that’s what did it for us tonight.

“This time of year, it’s not really about how many points you score—it’s about making sure the other team scores less than you do.”

Red Bay, which held the Lady Bulldogs to an average of just 39.5 points in two regular season meetings, sent an early message that things were going to be even tougher on Thursday night. Sophomore Reagan Kuykendall blocked Lamar County’s first two shots attempts, and the 5’11 Madden swatted away two more shots before the game was six minutes old. The Lady Bulldogs shot just 1-for-11 from the floor in the first quarter, and they endured a dry stretch of more than 11 minutes between their two first-half field goals.

The Lady Tigers weren’t much better on the offensive end as they struggled to solve Lamar County’s matchup zone. After opening the second quarter with a three-pointer from Morgan Pierce, two free throws from Allie Kennedy and a putback from senior reserve Jordyn McKinney to stretch the early lead to 15-4, Red Bay failed to score over the final six-plus minutes of the first half.

“We just had an off night,” said Kennedy, the team’s senior point guard. “We tried to push the ball up the floor, but the offense was a little slow. And we had a hard time making shots. But we played well on defense.”

The defense was there all night for the Lady Tigers, but the other half of Roberts’ tried-and-true championship formula (rebounding) came and went. Red Bay finished plus-six on the boards but did allow Lamar County to grab 12 offensive rebounds—much to Roberts’ displeasure.

“A lot of people don’t realize how important rebounding is,” he said. “It’s probably the biggest factor when you get to games like this at the end of the year. At times tonight, we stunk it up on rebounding. We didn’t rotate right, and there were times where we didn’t do a good job boxing out our man.”

Eventually, of course, it helps to make some shots, and Kennedy answered the bell midway through the third quarter, nailing a step-back three from the left wing at the 4:10 mark and then drilling another trey from the opposite wing a minute later to push Red Bay’s lead to 25-14.

“I wasn’t shooting the ball great tonight, so it felt good to see the ball go in,” said Kennedy, who came in averaging 16.1 points per game but was just 1-for-5 from the field before hitting those back-to-back threes. “Those two shots helped my confidence and gave us some momentum.”

A layup by Kuykendall sent the Lady Tigers to the fourth quarter with a 27-14 lead, but Kennedy was whistled for her fourth foul with 7:00 remaining and headed to the bench—continuing a recent trend that saw Madden battle foul trouble throughout Monday’s semifinal win over Phil Campbell and then sit out a large chunk of Thursday’s second quarter after picking up her second foul.

“I was a little more concerned when Darby went out, just because we hadn’t got going yet,” Roberts said. “But we had some other girls come in and step up for us, and we were able to maintain what we had.”

McKinney, one of the team’s six seniors, provided a spark off the bench, scoring on a putback while playing in Madden’s stead in the second quarter and then making a pair of free throws shortly after Kennedy checked out in the fourth. The Lady Tigers held down the fort while Kennedy sat for nearly four minutes, keeping their lead in double-figures.

“They did a good job,” said Kennedy, who returned to go 3-for-4 from the line down the stretch and finished with a game-high 14 points. “I was proud of them.”

The Lady Bulldogs made more field goals (six) in the fourth quarter than they had in the first three combined, but Red Bay responded by going 14-for-20 from the foul line in the fourth to seal a win that was all substance and no style.

“Like Coach Roberts just told us,” Madden said after emerging from the locker room, “if we can play like that and still win by twenty, that’s not bad.”

Odds are good the Lady Tigers will have to play much better in next Monday’s sub-regional round if they hope to continue their drive for five. Mars Hill (17-11) will present a major step up in competition, not only from Thursday night but also from the teams Red Bay faced in sub-regional play the past two seasons. The Lady Panthers, who lost to Tanner 63-48 in Thursday’s Area 16 final, were an Elite Eight team in Class 2A a year ago.

“We’ll have to play well on Monday night,” said Kennedy, who had three rebounds, two assists and two steals to go along with her 14 points on Thursday. “We know that.”

Kuykendall shot 4-for-8 from the field on Thursday and finished with 11 points and four boards. Red Bay shot 38 percent (12-for-32) from the field and 19-for-25 from the line. Reagan Prowell led Lamar County with seven points and 10 rebounds. The Lady Bulldogs shot just 22 percent (10-for-45) from the floor and did not make a three-pointer.

Pierce finished with five points and six boards, and Kennedy and Madden combined to shoot 12-for-15 from the line. Those three and their fellow seniors (McKinney, Carlee Humphres and Autumn Higginbottom) will play the final home game of their high school careers on Monday night, and Roberts will stalk the sideline at Red Bay’s gym one last time. He’s retiring after this season, his 45th overall as a high school head coach, but Kennedy said she and her teammates are trying to stay focused on the task at hand.

“We try to keep our eyes on the prize,” she said.

That prize, of course, is another Blue Map, which would be the perfect parting gift for Roberts—and also for a highly decorated senior class.

“We talked at the beginning of the season about finishing strong and going out on top,” said Madden, who helped lead the Lady Tigers to a state title in 2015. “We want to make sure Coach Roberts goes out on top, and that’s what we want for ourselves as seniors, too. He wants the same thing for us. We just have to stay focused on the main goal.”

Already looking ahead to Monday’s sub-regional showdown with Mars Hill, then two games in Hanceville, then two more in Birmingham, Madden had a message for her teammates before they departed on Thursday night.

“Five more,” she said. “We’ve got five more to go.”

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