Lady Jags overcome slow start, advance to regional final

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. — Spain Park High’s girls basketball team got off to a sluggish beginning Thursday, but went on a 17-0 run in the first and second quarters to defeat Grissom 59-47 in the Class 7A Northeast Regional semifinal game at Jacksonville State University.

Down by as many as seven points early on, the Lady Jaguars turned up the defensive pressure on the Tigers and bolted into the lead. That advantage, which swelled to 10 points by halftime, helped Spain Park get through a tight spot in the second half when their shooting touch went cold.

Rebounding also favored the Jags, who grabbed 15 offensive boards that led to 14 second-chance points. In total, Spain Park nabbed 34 rebounds, compared to Grissom’s 31.

The Jags turned up the pressure again in the fourth quarter, led in part by a strong effort from forward Sarah Ashlee Barker. The sophomore finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and six steals.

“Late in the game, I felt like we weren’t making shots,” Barker said, “so the offensive rebounds really helped us out along with our defense, even though we were up and down some.”

Spain Park coach Mike Chase only wished that his squad played the entire game the way they did during the first-half run.

“Give them credit — I saw Grissom play Hewitt in the area finals, and they’re probably playing the best basketball they’ve played all year,” Chase said. “We weren’t shooting the ball from 3-point range well and that’s a big part of what we do. When you’re limited in how you can score, it makes it difficult to be consistent.”

Indeed, the Jaguars were just 4-of-18 from beyond the arc (22 percent), and 24-of-58 (41 percent) overall from the field.

Claire Holt scored 16 points and Ahrielle Parks added nine for Spain Park. Ari Powe scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Tigers (14-18). “We knew she was their best player, and we still struggled to stop here. She jumps as well as any girl I know,” Chase said.

The Jags (28-6) will face a familiar foe Tuesday at 9 a.m. as they take on Huffman in the regional finals. The winner moves on to the Final Four in Birmingham.

“We’re going to have to do a better job, because they [Huffman] are very similar to Grissom in that most of their scoring comes from two players,” Chase said. “If we don’t, we’re going to be in a bad spot come Tuesday.”

Images from this game can be purchased here.