By Kyle Parmley
JACKSONVILLE – The Lady Cougars’ playoff run came to a screeching halt in the fourth quarter.
Fort Payne blew past Clay-Chalkville in the final period, outscoring the Lady Cougars 24-9 and winning 55-48 in the Northeast Regional Semifinals of the AHSAA Basketball State Finals, held in the Pete Mathews Coliseum on the campus of Jacksonville State University.
Clay-Chalkville sophomore guard Raven Omar
photo by Ron Burkett
“All I can say is wow, what a game,” Fort Payne head coach Steve Sparks said.
Lexi Stover dominated the game and the fourth quarter for the Lady Wildcats, scoring a game-high 32 points and going 11-of-12 from the free throw line in that final frame. For the game, she made all five of her field goal attempts and shot an incredible 21-of-24 from the charity stripe.
“It was a combination of things,” Clay-Chalkville head coach Justin Haynie said on what went wrong in the final quarter. “We were a little bit rattled, in foul trouble, and we missed a couple of easy shots.”
Raven Omar gave Clay-Chalkville (23-8) its final lead of the day, with 3:23 to play. She drove all the way to the basket and scored to make the score 47-46. Kristian Hudson took a charge on Fort Payne’s next possession that would open the door slightly, but Jasmine Finch was unable to knock down either of her free throw attempts the next time down the floor, and the Lady Cougars could not hit a shot the rest of the way.
“Our kids did what they always do,” Haynie said. “I feel like they deserved to win. The effort was there. I can’t be more proud of them.”
Fort Payne (29-3) came out hot early, starting the game on a 10-3 run before Clay-Chalkville settled in. The Lady Cougars came right back with a 9-3 run the rest of the first quarter, and only trailed by one at the conclusion of the period.
Clay-Chalkville dominated the second quarter to the tune of a 17-8 score, hitting shots while the Lady Wildcats struggled. A 6-0 run late in the quarter would send the Lady Cougars to the locker room up 29-21. A stop-and-go third quarter produced the same eight-point edge heading to the fourth quarter.
TJ Thomas gave the Lady Cougars their biggest lead of the game, as she started the fourth quarter with a rebound and put back to put her team up by 10. The senior capped off her career with 14 points, nine rebounds and five blocks, and knocked down all six of her free throws.
“She doesn’t always score a lot, because she has to work so hard on defense,” Haynie said. “She’s our biggest rebounder, she’s always having to guard the other team’s big. But she accepts that role and does a really good job with it.”
Hudson struggled in the final game of her prep career, only hitting two of her 16 field goal attempts. Her presence was felt mainly on the defensive end, as she swiped five of the team’s 10 steals. Senior Daffany Lewis pulled down ten boards, tying for the game lead. Brittney Wood also played her final game for the Lady Cougars.
“The kids had fun all year long, and played well because of it,” Haynie said. “That’s what I will remember about this team. I just hate that it ended the way it did.”
Alex Johnson played well with Thomas battling foul trouble, scoring six points with three rebounds and battling in the paint. Raven Omar scored eight points with four rebounds and a pair of assists.
The game marked Clay-Chalkville’s first return to the regional round of the postseason since 2008, when the team advanced to the state title game.
