South stops All-Star slide in girls hoops with 57-53 victory
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (ahsaa.com) – South All-Star Unique Thompson of Faith Academy scored 17 points and cleared 15 rebounds to lead her team to a 57-53 win over the North Wednesday night at Dunn-Oliver Arena on the campus of Alabama State University.
The victory ended an eight-year drought for the South, which last won in 2007. The North holds a 17-3 advantage in the 20-year series after Wednesday’s setback.
The 6-foot-3 Thompson and her inside play helped stake the South to a 30-20 lead at halftime. The South, coached by Cecil Williams of Keith and Darrell Walton of LeFlore, kept a double-digit lead deep into the fourth quarter before North MVP Queen Ford of Sipsey Valley and Shelby Hardy of Homewood sparked a late comeback effort .
The North, coached by David Hill of Lexington and JoVanka Ward of Homewood cut the lead to four, 55-51, with 27 seconds remaining when Gadsden City’s Brooke Burns sank a free throw.
The South stretched the lead back to six with two free throws by Nakia Kincey of Abbeville with 20 seconds remaining. Haley Troup of Gadsden City nailed a jumper with 11 seconds left, but the South ran out the clock to seal the win.
Tiyah Johnson of Central-Phenix City chipped in 11 points with two 3-point goals for the South. Johnson’s Central teammate Kayla Vance had eight points and five rebounds and Lanett guard Ataiya Bridges had five points, four steals and a team-high three assists.
Ford had nine points and nine rebounds for the North. Troup had eight points and was 4-of-4 at the foul line. Hardy had six points, four rebounds and two steals and Burns had seven points.
