Recent ActivityInstructor: Coach Sparks
2008 -2009 Class 5A Area 14 Champions
Class 5A Northeast Region Champion
Final Four
Team Results 2009-2010
Team Announcements Lady Wildcats Open Season With Victory Over Hazel GreenConner Jordan and Alicia Williams scored 16 points apiece as the Fort Payne girls edged host Hazel Green 54-51 in high school basketball. Fort Payne coach Steve Sparks, whose team reached the state semifinals last season, said the Lady Wildcats did a nice “We fouled too much and put them on the free throw line a lot more than I would have liked, and we’re not going to be able to do that down the stretch in big games,” he said. “The first half, they shot 17 free throws, and we shot one. I just felt like we were doing a lot of playing defense with our hands, not moving our feet … not playing fundamental defense.” Fort Payne led 23-17 at halftime, but Hazel Green rallied for a 32-31 lead after three periods. Hazel Green was 20 of 31 from the foul line. Fort Payne was 7 of 13. Taylor Dean and Tori Edwards had nine points apiece for Fort Payne. Diamond Elston added six rebounds. Williams dished out four assists. Chelsi Bryant led Hazel Green (0-3) with 14 points. Fort Payne Varsity Girls Opens Season at 6A Hazel GreenFort Payne girls’ coach Steve Sparks said his team is ready to get started.
The Lady Cats finished 27-8 last winter and reached the state semifinals for the first time in team history. The defending 5A Northeast Regional champs return seven players from that squad, including four starters. “We’ve been practicing for several weeks now and been going through preseason and summer workouts and team camp, “ Sparks said. “I’m ready, as [are] the girls … to play a basketball game and let us see where we stand and what we need to focus on from this point on.” Sparks said Hazel Green always provides a good gauge. “I always use Hazel Green as an opportunity to really measure what type of team that we have,” he said. “Hazel Green has always had a strong basketball program, ninth-12th grade. They always compete on the 6A level. It just gives us a game that’s not an area game against good competition.” Fort Payne basketball practice starts MondayFort Payne returns seven players, including four starters, from a team that finished 27-8 and reached the state semifinals for the first time in team history last season. The group includes the team’s top three scorers and rebounders from a year ago. But while expectations may be sky high, head coach Steve Sparks said preseason practice won’t by any different in than in previous years. “We can’t practice this fall and play games this season based on the success we had last season,” he said. “We’ve got areas that if we’re going to compete again this year we’ve got to improve on.” Preseason practice began across the state Oct. 12, but both Fort Payne teams decided to wait until Monday to tip things off. The reason was twofold. School was out Oct. 12 for Columbus Day, and coaches wanted players to be able to participate in this week’s homecoming activities. Sparks welcomes back four starters in guards Alicia Williams and Tori Edwards, post Conner Jordan and forward Taylor Dean. Reserves Michelle Swopes (center), Nique Edwards (guard) and Diamond Elston (center) also return. Sparks said he is moving two players up from the junior varsity— guards Sara McCutcheon and Amanda Frazer. Sparks said his club will focus on fundamentals during the first few weeks of practice. “Some years you may do more than other years, but really your first couple of weeks you want to do a lot of passing, a lot of dribbling, a lot of shooting, work on defensive technique, work on the fundamentals of basketball, things you’ve got to do to be a competitive basketball team against good teams,” he said Team Contacts |
TENTATIVE 2009-2010 Fort Payne High School Basketball Schedule
Team Links  Alabama Community College Sports You can find up to date information on Gadsden State and Shelton State Women's basketball teams. Live Game BroadcastsAll Fort Payne High School basketball home games will be broadcast live on the web. Broadcasts can be heard anywhere in the world at fortpaynesports.com. Just click on the red flashing button. In addition the games will be archived for one year at the same location. If the radio station in your area is interested in picking up the broadcast. All broadcasts will be available FREE and local stations may pick up sponsors. Please contact Larry Hancock at larryted43@hotmail.com or 256.997.7475 NCAA Clearing HouseAttention 2007 high school graduates! The NCAA has adopted new legislation that will require prospects who intend to enroll at NCAA Division I and Division II institutions to supply ACT or SAT scores to the Clearinghouse directly from the testing agencies. Test scores on an official high school transcript will no longer be usable for NCAA purposes. Read more on this under "News and Views" behind the "General Information" heading of this website. Varsity Girls Basketball 2009-2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albertville
Pell City Tournament