| 1/10/2012 | Fort Payne 55 vs. Scottsboro (5A) 53 Record 11-10 |  | | 1/7/2012 | Fort Payne 37 vs. Clay Chalkville (6A) 53 Record 10-10 | | | 1/6/2012 | Fort Payne 41 vs. Madison County 51 Record 10-9 | | | 1/3/2012 | Fort Payne 41 vs. Cherokee County (4A) 44 Record 10-8 | | | 12/31/2011 | Fort Payne vs. Pleasant Grove (5A) Record 10-7 | | | 12/30/2011 | Fort Payne 52 vs. Childersburg (4A) 36 Record 10-6 | | | 12/29/2011 | Fort Payne 59 vs. Montevallo (4A) 16 Record 9-6 | | | 12/23/2011 | Fort Payne 31 vs. Sparkman (6A) 49 Record 8-6 | | | 12/22/2011 | Fort Payne 43 vs. Piedmont (3A) 41 Record 8-5 | | | 12/21/2011 | Fort Payne 46 vs Pope John Paul II (4A) 29 Record 7-5 | | | 12/16/2011 | Fort Payne 71 vs. Madison County (5A) 64 Record 6-5 | | | 12/15/2011 | Fort Payne 42 vs. Plainview (3A) 38 Record 5-5 | | | 12/12/2011 | Fort Payne 42 vs. Albertville 48 (5A) Record 4-5 | | | 12/9/2011 | Fort Payne 35 vs Arab (5A) 58 Record 4-4 | | | 12/6/2011 | Fort Payne 36 vs. Grissom (6A) 32 Record 4-3 | | | 12/2/2011 | Fort Payne 54 vs. Clay Chalkville (6A) 61 2OT Record 3-3 | | | 11/29/2011 | Fort Payne 55 vs. Scottsboro (5A) 47 Record 3-2 | | | 11/23/2011 | Fort Payne 25 vs. Gadsden City (6A) 48 Record 2-2 | | | 11/21/2011 | Fort Payne 44 vs. Homewood (6A) 32 Record 2-1 | | | 11/19/2011 | Fort Payne 24 vs. Mountain Brook (6A) 64 Record 1-1 | | | 11/18/2011 | Fort Payne 43 vs. Albertville (5A) 40 Record 1-0 | |
 Fort Payne girls still have shot at title Fort Payne High School's girls basketball team is still in the hunt for a regular-season area championship, but the Lady Wildcats need a win and then some outside to claim the title.
Ninth-ranked Arab will come to Fort Payne for a Class 5A, Area 14 showdown Friday night at 6. The Lady Knights (15-7, 4-0) can clinch the regular-season title with a win or with a win in their final area game at Madison County on Jan. 27.
If Fort Payne (11-11, 3-2) wins Friday and Madison County defeats Arab, the Lady Cats and Lady Knights would share the crown and flip a coin to determine who would play host to the area tournament.
Naturally, Fort Payne coach Steve Sparks wants a victory Friday, but he won't let one game distract his team from the mission it established when it entered the season looking to rebuild after taking a heavy graduation hit last spring.
"It's a big game because it's an area game," he said. "We still have an opportunity to compete to have a chance to host the area tournament, but for the most part, it's important for us to continue to get better.
"It's a chance to play against a good basketball team and improve from the game before."
Fort Payne broke a four-game losing streak Tuesday when senior point guard Nique Edwards sank two free throws with 21.2 seconds left and junior wing Peyton Lacey made a steal in the final seconds as the Lady Cats edged Scottsboro 55-53.
Sparks said his team had continued to make strides during the four game skid - which included a loss to Pleasant Grove on a neutral court and road setbacks at Cherokee County, Madison County and Clay-Chalkville - but he said Tuesday's win was good for his club's confidence.
"Anytime you win a basketball game it's good for the morale of the squad, but again, we're not playing for a one-game season," Sparks said. "What's important for our team is to show up, play hard, improve on Tuesday's game and put together an entire game against a good team."
Arab is coming off 65-36 home win over Scottsboro on Jan. 6.
Key players for the Lady Knights include senior swingman Kylie Moore (5-foot-7), senior post Cassie Hayes (5-11), senior point guard Carleigh Larkin (5-5) and sophomore guard Shelby Beam (5-6).
"They've got several players on the roster that have been around for three or four seasons," Sparks said. "They're just a solid basketball team. They do a good job of handling the basketball, do a good job of defending. They can make inside shots and they've got three guards who shoot consistently around the perimeter."
BOYS: The Fort Payne boys will try for a second-straight win when they face Arab at 7:30 p.m.
The Cats (11-11, 2-3) are coming off a 74-56 victory over Scottsboro on Tuesday. Senior forward Dexter Carter and junior point guard Luke Jennings both scored 15 points and led a group of six Fort Payne players who scored eight or more.
Arab is 3-1 in area play and is coming off a 71-40 home victory over Scottsboro last week. Fort Payne coach Anthony Reid said the Knights have good depth. He said the players who come off the bench are of similar quality to the starters.
"They've got a good basketball team," Reid said. "They've got a very good 3-point shooting team. Their perimeter guys really handle the ball, really shoot the ball. They play fast, they're well coached and they're fundamental.
"We've got to really limit our mistakes ... to give ourselves an opportunity."
The Knights made a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer to down Fort Payne 50-48 at Arab on Dec. 9.
Fort Payne's roster features several seniors, and Reid said if this club is going to make this season a memorable one, it needs to get on a roll soon.
"We've got to get more consistent," he said. "We've been kind of up and down - win two, lose two, play a few good minutes and a few bad minutes.
"Like I told our kids, it's time for us to put a few wins together ... it's time for us to turn a corner. We're running out of time."  Edwards' free throws lift Fort Payne girls Lew Gilliland Times-Journal |
Nique Edwards knew she needed to make the foul shots, knew her team needed to get the win.
"I was just thinking that I had to focus and concentrate because it might be the last chance we had to score," she said. "I had to catch my breath and concentrate and shoot them just like I do in practice."
The senior point guard came through in the clutch, sinking a pair of free throws with 21.2 seconds remaining and lifting Fort Payne to a 55-53 victory over visiting Scottsboro in Class 5A, Area 14 girls high school basketball Tuesday night.
Scottsboro had a couple of chances to tie or take the lead in the final seconds. The visitors missed a shot on the ensuing possession. Fort Payne got the rebound, but Scottsboro responded with a quick steal and called time out with 8.6 seconds to go.
Fort Payne's Peyton Lacey ended the drama when she deflected and then stole the inbounds pass, and the home team dribbled out the clock.
Fort Payne (11-11, 3-2) broke a four-game losing streak and assured itself of finishing no lower than third in the area standings.
"We needed it more than anyone can imagine," Edwards said of the win. "We knew we had to come ready to play. It was a boost for our confidence."
Said Fort Payne coach Steve Sparks, "I was pleased with our effort. I thought we played with more emotion and more desire than we had in the last four basketball games. We always talk with the team about no matter if you're ahead or behind, you always play until the game is over. Tonight was a good example."
Lexi Stover nailed three 3-pointers and paced Fort Payne with 13 points and three rebounds. Edwards made two 3s and closed with 12 points. Kennington Nolan had 10, and Michelle Swopes finished with nine along with three boards.
Lacey collected 10 boards and six steals.
Scottsboro (8-9, 1-4) took a 46-40 lead on a Madison Townson putback with 7:15 remaining.
Fort Payne tied the game at 46-all when Stover scored off a Lacey pass, at 48-all when Swopes made two free throws and at 49-all when Lacey made 1 of 2 foul shots with 3:06 to go.
An Edwards steal and layup gave Fort Payne a 51-49 edge at the 2:52 mark. Jordan Downer responded with a 3 from the right side for Scottsboro, but Nolan nailed a baseline jumper for a 53-52 Fort Payne advantage with 1:52 left.
Towson sank 1 of 2 free throws to tie it at the 1:39 mark.
Fort Payne was coming off consecutive losses to Pleasant Grove, Cherokee County, Madison County and Clay-Chalkville. All were on the road except for Pleasant Grove, which came in the championship game of a holiday tournament at Chelsea.
Sparks said his team was making progress despite the setbacks but agreed with Edwards that Tuesday's win was good for Fort Payne's confidence.
"All of those are quality basketball teams with winning records," Sparks said. "We competed in each of those games. It's tough to compete night in and night out and not win. It's a chore to tell the players we're getting better when we're losing."
Scottsboro led 17-13 after a quarter. Fort Payne led 31-30 at halftime. The visitors entered the fourth quarter with a 44-38 edge.
Fort Payne basketball Lady Wildcats drop 2 Now 10-10 overall; 2-2 in Area 14
Lady Wildcats drop 2 Staff Reports Times-Journal |
Clay-Chalkville pulled away by outscoring Fort Payne 15-3 in the final quarter Saturday and defeated the visiting Lady Wildcats 53-37 in girls high school basketball.
Fort Payne led 17-16 after a quarter and 25-21 at halftime, but Clay-Chalkville outscored the Lady Cats 17-10 in the third period.
It was the second loss in as many days for Fort Payne (10-10), which dropped a 51-41 decision at Madison County on Friday.
"You can't expect to beat good opponents when you're only playing half the game," Fort Payne coach Steven Sparks said. "The first and fourth quarters at Madison County, I thought we played well. I thought Saturday at Clay-Chalkville the first two quarters we played well. So, we're still trying to put together a full game."
Lexi Stover and Michelle Swopes scored eight points apiece for Fort Payne.
Madison County 51,
Fort Payne 41
At Gurley, Hannah Nichols scored 16 points for the Lady Tigers, who sank 17 of 34 shots from the field in the Class 5A, Area 14 matchup.
Fort Payne (2-2 in area) converted 12 of 35 field goals.
Madison County led 14-13, 30-18 and 40-25 at the quarter breaks.
Peyton Lacey scored 11 points for the Lady Cats; Nique Edwards eight.
 Pleasant Grove 52, Fort Payne 49 Rickeya Walker sank a pair of crucial free throws with 10.8 seconds left as Pleasant Grove held off Fort Payne 52-49 to win Chelsea’s Hoops for Hope girls basketball tournament on Saturday.
The Spartans (11-7) led by 10 points late in the third period, but withstood defending tournament champion Fort Payne’s rally in the final period. Walker’s free throws forced the Wildcats to attempt a game-tying 3-pointer, which bounded off the back rim.
“My heart was beating so fast and I was so nervous,” said Walker, who had converted 1-of-2 earlier attempts. “I was thinking ‘Lord, please let me make them.’ I had been in a situation like that before, but I missed them.”
The Spartans, who won their first tournament title since earning the 2006 Jeffco championship, built a 43-33 lead midway through the third period behind Tiarta Smith, who scored 12 of the Spartans 19 points in the quarter.
Fort Payne (10-7) closed the margin to 48-47 on a free throw by Peyton Lacey with 2:37 left. Walker’s driving lay-up with 1:25 remaining and a 5-footer by Fort Payne’s Maryeah McElrath set up Walker’s free throws.
Fort Payne had several chances in the final minute, missing four shots in the lane after the Spartans turned over the ball with 36 seconds left.
Smith led the Spartan with 21 points, including five 3-pointers, while Walker added 10 points.
Fort Payne’s Lexi Stover scored 19 points.  Fort Payne girls preparing for Chelsea tournament Lew Gilliland Times-Journal |
After a five-day break, Fort Payne High School's girls basketball team will return to action Thursday afternoon at 3 when the Lady Wildcats face Montevallo in the Chelsea Hornet Holiday Classic.
The winner of the opening-round matchup will face either Childersburg or John Carroll in a semifinal Friday at 5 p.m. The Fort Payne-Chelsea loser faces the Childersburg-John Carroll loser Friday at 3 p.m.
Chelsea, Cordova, Pleasant Grove and Calera are also in the tournament field.
Fort Payne (8-6) is the defending champion, having beaten Mountain Brook in a semifinal and John Carroll in the final a year ago.
Of course, the group of Lady Cats coach Steve Sparks took to Chelsea a year ago was a veteran team en route to its fourth straight area regular-season and tournament titles as well as its thrid straight berth in the Northeast Regional Tournament at Jacksonville State.
Fort Payne took a heavy graduation hit in the spring, setting the 2011-12 campaign up as a rebuilding year, but the Lady Cats have made progress lately.
They rallied from 11 points down to defeat Madison County in a Class 5A, Area 14 matchup just before the holiday break and went 2-1 and finished second in their own Wills Valley Shootout last week.
Sparks said the goal for this week is to continue moving forward.
"It's opportunity for your team to go and improve on skills we need to improve on," he said. "We have an area game when we get back against Madison County, so we need to use these games to improve and get better and, hopefully, get an area win on the road."
The Fort Payne-Madison County rematch is set for Jan. 6 at Gurley.
Sparks downplayed his team's role of defending tournament champion.
"With this group, our motivation is to improve on the game before," he said. "Hopefully, we're getting better. If we do that each game and make it to the final game, then well discuss competing for the tournament championship, but we really just want to improve individually and improve as team."
Still, he said a second straight title would be a plus for his team heading into January.
"Anytime you make it to the finals of the tournamament and you come away with the win, it's going to give you a boost mentally and emotionally, especially this group this year," he said. "It seems like we're playing better, and anytime you win the tournament that means you've won three games in row. That would be big for this team."
Wildcats rally from 11 points down with 4:00 minutes remaining to get tournament victory Fort Payne used pressure defense to rally from a 39-28 deficit in the fourth period. Piedmont committed 14 of its 25 turnovers in the final 8 minutes.
Lacey went 3 of 3 from 3-point range and closed with 15 points and seven rebounds. Swopes collected 13 points and six boards. She was 9 of 10 from the foul line. Stover and Edwards had five and four steals, respectively.
Breanna Thompson led Piedmont with 15 points.  Tough 2nd half sinks Fort Payne girls A tough second half offensively short-circuited any chance of Fort Payne's girls pulling an upset in the championship game of the Wills Valley Shootout.
The host Lady Wildcats managed just seven points after halftime and fell to Class 6A, seventh-ranked Sparkman 49-31 in the finale of the high school basketball tournament Friday.
Sparkman claimed the Shootout championship for the third straight year, while the Lady Cats (8-6) were runners-up for the sixth straight season. The loss also broke Fort Payne's four-game winning streak.
Sparkman led 26-24 at halftime and outscored Fort Payne 8-1 in the third period. Peyton Lacey made a free throw at the 3:35 mark for the Lady Cats' only point of the quarter.
The Senators opened the fourth period with a 6-0 run, pushing the margin to 40-25.
Lexi Stover tried to rally the Lady Cats. She sank a 3-pointer and, following a Fort Payne steal, added a 3-point play, pulling Fort Payne to within 40-31 with 4:48 left.
Sparkman responded by scoring the final nine points of the night, sealing the win.
"The third quarter, offensively we became a little passive and didn't attack the basket and didn't get many shots," Fort Payne coach Steve Sparks said. "We had some turnovers that lead to some easy baskets for them."
Sparks said Fort Payne wanted to play zone defensively but was forced to make a change once Sparkman built a comfortable advantage. The Lady Senators went into a stall for the final minute of the third quarter and the first minute of the fourth.
"They were content with a nine-point or 10-point lead," Sparks said. "We had to extend the defense, and once we did that they were able to isolate their big, athletic players on our smaller players and get some easy baskets."
Nique Edwards sank three 3s and closed with 11 points for Fort Payne. Stover added eight. Lacey grabbed eight rebounds; Michelle Swopes five.
Fort Payne made 20 percent (7 of 35) of its shots from the field.
Sparkman led 11-8 after a quarter. Alexis Jennings paced the Senators with 23 points.
Despite the loss, Sparks said likes the direction his team is heading.
Since the fall, he's stressed a belief that Fort Payne will be a better team when the playoffs begin in February than it was when the season started. Sparks said the Lady Cats are making progress toward that goal.
"It's more of a team effort on the offensive end of the court," he said. "We've had a couple of different players that were leading scorers.
"I think we're becoming a little better defensively, and our rebounding is getting a little better."
SCORES: Sumter Central edged Piedmont 49-45 in the third-place game. Russellville downed Pell City 52-37 in the fifth-game place, while Gadsden City defeated Pope John Paul II Catholic 61-28 in the seventh-place game.  High school basketball Fort Payne girls cruise in Shootout opener Defense key for Lady Wildcats
-
-
Three in a row
Lexi Stover and her Fort Payne teammates made it three straight wins by downing Pope John Paul II Catholic on Wednesday night in the opening round of the Wills Valley Shootout.
Fort Payne girls cruise in Shootout opener Lew Gilliland Times-Journal |
Fort Payne opened its own Christmas tournament with an easy win.
The Lady Wildcats pressured Pope John Paul II Catholic into 27 turnovers and cruised to a 46-29 victory in first-round action at the Wills Valley Shootout high school basketball tournament Wednesday night.
Fort Payne (7-5) advanced to face Piedmont in a semifinal late Thursday. The championship game is Friday night at 6. The Fort Payne-Piedmont loser will play in the third-place game Friday afternoon at 3.
The Lady Cats have reached the championship game every year since the tournament begin in 2001. They won the first five editions and were runners-up the last five years.
Piedmont downed Pell City 51-42 on Wednesday.
Catholic dropped into the consolation bracket and was slated to face Pell City late Thursday. The winner will play in the fifth-place game Friday at noon, with the loser dropping into the seventh-place game Friday at 9 a.m.
Michelle Swopes paced Fort Payne with 12 points, nine rebounds and five steals. She was 6 of 8 from the foul line.
Peyton Lacey also scored 12 points to go along with six boards. Kennington Nolan chipped in eight points, and Katherine Bain made four steals.
"I thought it was a good game for us," said Fort Payne coach Steve Sparks, whose squad won its third straight. "I thought we played well defensively, and I thought as a team we played solid on the offensive end. We got some people involved ... who this year have been quiet on the offensive end."
Fort Payne began taking command after entering the second quarter with a 10-4 lead.
Nolan nailed a baseline jumper off a Bain assist, triggering a 12-0 run that featured three Lacey baskets, including a pair of layups. Nolan nailed another jumper, this time off a Swopes assist, to give the Lady Cats a 29-10 advantage at halftime.
After using the press to overcome an 11-point deficit in a win over Madison County on Friday, Fort Payne went to it again Wednesday, and again, got good results.
"We didn't press the entire game, but we did find ... some times in the game that we pressed full court," Sparks said. "We may not have gotten a steal [every time]. When you press it's not necessarily about getting steals. It's about making them play faster than they normally play, about getting them out of control."
Fort Payne led by as many as 25 points on several occasions in the second half, the last at 44-19 on a pair of Swopes free throws with 5:49 remaining.
Bethany Johnson had seven points for Catholic.
 2011 Wills Valley Shootout Lew Gilliland Times-Journal |
Fort Payne's girls won the first five editions of the Wills Valley Shootout before settling for second place in the high school basketball competition each of the last five years.
And while breaking the string of runner-up finishes and reclaiming the championship trophy would be nice, head coach Steve Sparks said that's not his team's main objective this week.
"We'd like to use this tournament as a chance to improve," he said. "This is an opportunity for our team to get better and play competition we don't usually play in the regular season. To win two games and get to the championship game would be an emotional boost."
The 11th edition of the Shootout tips off Wednesday at Fort Payne. The annaul Christmas week tournament features eight teams in both the boys and girls divisions.
The girls field includes a pair of traditionally strong Class 6A squads in two-time defending champion Sparkman and Gadsden City. Sumter Central, a new school that was a consolidation of Sumter County and Livingston, also looks formidable. Sumter County went 25-8 last year and made the 3A Final Four, while Livingston reached the 4A Central Regional final. Sumter Central is a 4A school.
Three schools - Pope John Paul II Catholic, Russellville and Sparkman - will join Fort Payne with teams in both divisions.
"Anytime you've got Gadsden City, Sparkman, some of the traditional 6A powerhouses, it's a good tournament," said Sparks, whose team will face Catholic in the opening round Wednesday night at 7. "This year's tournament, as an overall field, I think it's a very balanced tournament."
Fort Payne (6-5) has won two striaght after rallying from 11 points down in the second half to defeat Madison County in area play Friday.
Sparks thinks Sparkman is the favorite to make it three straight titles. The Senators are ranked No. 7 in 6A.
"They're a young team but very talented," he said.
 High school basketball Lady Wildcats get statement win
Rally from 11-point deficit in 2nd half
Lew Gilliland
Fort Payne senior point guard Nique Edwards looks to make a pass as Madison County's Brandie Monroe defends Friday night. Edwards and her teammates rallied from an 11-point deficit to pick up the Class 5A, Area 14 win.
Lady Wildcats get statement win Lew Gilliland Times-Journal |
Fort Payne sent a message to the rest of Class 5A, Area 14 on Friday night.
The Lady Wildcats let it be known they intend to participate in the race for the league's regular-season title. Trailing visiting Madison County by 11 points in the third quarter, Fort Payne used pressure defense and some clutch work at the foul line to rally for a 71-64 victory in girls high school basketball.
"Area games at home are always important if you want to compete for a regular-season area championship," Fort Payne coach Steve Sparks said. "You have to win on your home floor and get one or two on the road."
Madison County led 43-32 after Brandie Monroe and Sara Beth Hooker sank back-to-back 3-pointers with 1:48 left in the third quarter.
The margin was 44-34 when Madison County's Kendra Jolley made a free throw at the 1:24 mark, but at that point, the Lady Cats began to take charge.
Fort Payne (6-5, 2-1) forced three turnovers, and another Madison County possession ended with an offensive foul as the Lady Cats trimmed the margin to 44-39.
Dena Pierce made a free throw for the Lady Tigers, but Lexie Stover responded by drilling a pair for Fort Payne, and teammate Maryeah McElrath made another to pull the Lady Cats within 45-42 with 14.8 seconds left in the quarter.
"I just knew we had the athletic ability to do it, and we had to prove to Coach Sparks we had the ability to do it and prove it to everyone else," Fort Payne senior post Michelle Swopes said of the comeback.
Swopes paced Fort Payne with 22 points, seven rebounds, five steals and two blocks.
She made two free throws 45 seconds into the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to 45-44.
Hannah Nichols, an second-team all-state pick last year, tried to restore order for the Lady Tigers. The junior guard drilled a 3, scored on a putback and added another bucket on a base-line drive, pushing the Madison County advantage to 52-46.
But Fort Payne wouldn't go away.
Swopes sank two foul shots, and Peyton Lacey made a transition layup off an assist from Nique Edwards. Fort Payne forced another turnover, and Lacey drained two more free throws after being fouled trying for a putback, tying the game at 52-all with 4:39 left.
Nichols, who averaged 20.2 points and 10.7 rebounds a year ago, was called for her fifth foul on the play.
"Defensively, we played the first half to prevent No. 5 [Nichols] from running away with the game," Sparks said. "In the second half, as she came out of the game, we would apply pressure. When she came back in the game, we went back to focusing on No. 5. When she fouled out ... that gave us an opportunity to execute our press full court."
If defense was the most important factor in Fort Payne's rally, free-throw shooting was second. The Lady Cats sank 26 of 37 foul shots in the second half.
"In the past we've pretty much been a pretty good free-throw shooting team," Swopes said. "In the last few games we haven't been, and [Sparks] has been having us work on it in practice."
The teams traded leads before a Kennington Nolan jumper put Fort Payne in front to stay at 57-56. That bucket started a 10-0 run that Swopes closed with another basket for a 65-56 Fort Payne advantage with 2:06 left.
Madison County twice cut the deficit to seven points but would get no closer.
Nolan closed with 17 points and five boards. Edwards, a senior point guard, overcame first-half foul trouble to finish with 10 points, five steals and four assists.
Lacey collected five boards. McElrath, a sophomore guard who was promoted from the junior varsity for Friday's game, added three steals and drew praise from Sparks for her work on the press. Stover dished out three assists.
Madison County led 16-15 after a quarter and 29-21 at halftime. Nichols paced the Lady Tigers with 18 points.
Lady Wildcats pull out close win Lew Gilliland Times-Journal |
RAINSVILLE - After allowing a couple of close games to slip away recently, Fort Payne finally pulled one out Thursday night.
The Lady Wildcats made 6 of 6 free throws down the stretch and survived a final Plainview rally in the closing seconds en route to a 42-38 victory over the Lady Bears in girls high school basketball.
Kennington Nolan broke a 34-all tie when she made a pair of free throws, and a Michelle Swopes layup pushed the margin to 38-34 with 1:26 remaining.
Plainview missed the front end of a one-and-bonus opportunity, and Peyton Lacey made two more foul shots for the Lady Cats (5-5).
The Lady Bears, however, didn't quit.
Destiny Lowden's 3-pointer cut the margin to 40-37 with 10.1 seconds left. Fort Payne's inbounds pass was too long, and the Lady Bears came up with the steal and drew a foul with 4.5 ticks left.
Savannah Willingham made the first foul shot but hit only the backboard while attempting to miss the second, giving possession back to Fort Payne. Katherine Bain then drained two more foul shots to seal the victory.
Fort Payne dropped close games at home to Clay-Chalkville on Dec. 2 and at Albertville on Tuesday. The Clay-Chalkville game went to double overtime, and the Lady Cats entered the fourth quarter with a lead at Albertville.
Fort Payne coach Steve Sparks was pleased his team executed well enough to pull out Thursday's game.
"I thought we stepped it up defensively and made a couple of free throws and got some turnovers and made a shot late," he said. "Hopefully this is a step in the right direction for us."
Swopes finished with 18 points, five rebounds and three steals for Fort Payne. Bain added 10 points, and Lacey contributed 10 rebounds and four assists.
Nique Edwards also had our assists; Lexi Stover three.
Plainview led 11-10 after a quarter, but Fort Payne rallied for leads 22-19 at halftime and 30-27 after three periods.
"I thought we played well defensively," Sparks said, " but we're still struggling on the offensive end. That's still a part of the basketball game that we've got to improve on. It's not easy to become a good offensive team. You've got to continually work on it every single game, every single day."
Lowden finished with 12 points for Plainview (4-5). Montana Clark added nine points, nine rebounds and three assists.
Madison Johnson had seven boards. Abigail Hampton collected five assists and five steals. Taylor Haynes made three steals.
 Fort Payne allows win to slip away Fort Payne allowed a win to slip away in the final eight minutes Tuesday night.
Albertville started the fourth period with a 9-0 run to wipe out a 33-30 deficit and went on to a 48-42 victory over visiting Fort Payne in girls high school basketball.
The Lady Aggies (5-5) pushed their lead to 48-37 on an Alana Bentley bucket with 57 seconds remaining.
Brittany Copeland sank 9 of 10 free throws and led the Lady Aggies with 17 points.
Nique Edwards paced Fort Payne (4-5) with 15 points. The Lady Cats led 15-9 after a quarter and 25-21 at halftime.
Katherine Bain made four 3-pointers and added 12 points.  High school basketball Fort Payne girls facing difficult test Lady Wildcats will travel to Arab on Friday
Madison Townson and her Fort Payne teammates are off to a 4-3 start that included a victory over Grissom on Tuesday night.
BuyPosted: Thursday, December 8, 2011 5:45 pm | Updated: 5:53 pm, Thu Dec 8, 2011.
Fort Payne girls facing difficult test Lew Gilliland Times-Journal |
The Fort Payne High School girls basketball team has fared well in area play the last four years, winning league regular-season and tournament championships each year.
However, with the Lady Wildcats rebuilding after losing five seniors to graduation last spring, continuing that run of success figures to be a challenge in 2011-12.
Fort Payne (4-3) will take what could be one of its toughest league tests of the season Friday night at 6 when the Lady Cats travel to fifth-ranked Arab (6-1) in Class 5A, Area 14.
Both teams advanced to the Northeast Regional Tournament at Jacksonville State last February, but unlike the Lady Cats, the Lady Knights have a majority of their roster back from that competition.
"Arab has a veteran basketball team," Fort Payne coach Steve Sparks said. "They've got good post players, they have good guards and they've got a lot of experience."
Both teams are 1-0 in area play. Fort Payne owns at win at Scottsboro, while Arab picked up a victory at home against Madison County, so Friday's winner takes an early lead in the race for the league title.
The regular-season champion earns the right to play host to the area tournament.
"Any preseason goal that a coach or team sets usually includes hosting the area tournament," Sparks said. "To host the area tournament you've basically got to win all the area games."
Arab opened the season with a 59-56 loss to 6A Huntsville. Besides Madison County, the Lady Knights have defeated Priceville, Mortimer Jordan, Albertville, Boaz and Guntersville.
Key players include 5-foot-6 point guard Shelby Beam, 5-5 guard Carleigh Larkin, 5-11 post Cassie Hayes and 5-7 post Kylie Moore. Beam is a sophomore. Larkin, Hayes and Moore are seniors.
"We've got to play solid defense, and we've got to be able to execute offensively, minimize their offensive boards and cut down on turnovers," Sparks said. "We need to improve in all aspects of the game."
Regardless of what happens, Sparks said the game won't tell the story of his team's season.
"We're working to improve every single game," he said. "We're going to be a better basketball team in February than we are in December, and that's what we've got to focus on."
BOYS: The boys game will follow at 7:30. Fort Payne (4-3) is 1-0 in area play with a win at Scottsboro. Arab (3-6) lost its area opener to Madison County.
 Lady Wildcats win despite poor showing
Busy inside
Senior post Michelle Swopes finished with 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks for Fort Payne on Tuesday night.
Posted: Wednesday, December 7, 2011 6:21 pm | Updated: 6:25 pm, Wed Dec 7, 2011.
Lady Wildcats win despite poor showing Lew Gilliland Times-Journal |
Fort Payne coach Steve Sparks has stressed getting better every game to his new-look squad.
That didn't happen Tuesday despite the Lady Wildcats managing to pick up a win.
Senior post Michelle Swopes led the way with 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks as Fort Payne held off visiting Grissom 36-32 in girls high school basketball.
Fort Payne (4-3) led 10-8, 23-16 and 29-22 at the quarter breaks.
Sparks was encouraged by Fort Payne's Class 5A, Area 14, win at Scottsboro on Nov. 29 and also found some positives in a double overtime loss to 6A Clay-Chalkville on Friday, but he wasn't happy with Tuesday's performance.
"We didn't play as well tonight as we did Friday vs. Clay-Chalkville or the previous game vs. Scottsboro," said Sparks, whose team lost five seniors to graduation last spring. "That's not what we need to do to become a better basketball team.
"We played flat offensively and didn't play aggressively on defense and still had more turnovers than we need to have to be successful in a big game.
"We didn't play with a lot of emotion because we were missing our shots. You need to pick up your defense when you're having a bad night [offensively]."
Kennington Nolan and Peyton Lacey both had six points and eight rebounds for the Lady Cats. Nolan made four steals, and Lexi Stover collected three. Nique Edwards dished out three assists.
Fort Payne made only 26.5 percent (13 of 49) of its shots from the field, including 0 of 17 from 3-point range.
"We had a lot of good looks at the basket but they weren't going in," Sparks said. "Shooting is a skill that you have to continuously work on at practice, after practice, before practice."
Crystal Carrasquillo had 11 points for Grissom.
 Fort Payne girls fall in 2 OTs Lew Gilliland Times-Journal |
It wasn't a win and Fort Payne coach Steve Sparks didn't treat it like one, but he did find some positives in a near-miss for his Lady Wildcats.
The Class 5A Lady Cats, in rebuilding mode after losing five seniors to graduation last spring, took an undefeated Clay-Chalkville squad to double overtime before the 6A Lady Cougars finally pulled away for a 61-54 victory in girls high school basketball Friday at Fort Payne.
"You're not pleased as a coach when you lose ... but I thought, overall, our performance wasn't bad," Sparks said. "We competed. We didn't win the game, but what I really liked is our team is beginning to form a little bit of character."
Both teams had chances to win in regulation and in the first overtime.
Clay (8-0) took 44-41 lead on a bucket by Larian Scott with 51 seconds left in regulation, but Fort Payne senior point guard Nique Edwards nailed a 3-pointer to tie it with 16 seconds remaining.
Both teams got a possession before time expired, and both missed a 3.
The first overtime played out in similar fashion. A 3-point by Kristian Hudson gave Clay a 48-46 edge with 28.6 seconds to go, but a Michelle Swopes putback tied it at the 15-second mark.
A lane violation on a one-and-bonus opportunity cost the Lady Cougars a chance to move back in front, and Fort Payne (3-3) missed another 3 at the buzzer.
Fort Payne took a 50-48 advantage in the second overtime when Swopes scored off an Edwards assist, but Hudson's 3-pointer sparked an 11-0 run that left the Lady Cougars with a 59-50 lead with 39 seconds remaining.
The Lady Cats hurt themselves with two turnovers early in the run. Another possession ended with a missed 3, and another ended when they failed to convert the front end of a one-and-bonus opportunity.
"There's several aspects of the game that ... if you do just one of them better, you win the basketball game," said Sparks, who cited defensive rebounding, playing defense without fouling and converting contested shots under the basket.
Edwards nailed five 3s and closed with 23 points, five assists and three steals. Swopes had 13 points and 10 boards. Teammate Peyton Lacey collected 14 rebounds and four assists.
Turnovers hurt Fort Payne, which had six in the two overtimes and 28 overall. Clay has 18 overall but only one in the two OTs.
Scott paced Clay with 21 points.
Fort Payne led 5-4 after a quarter and 21-16 at halftime.
Female Athlete of the Week; Edwards happy to be home Nique Edwards said coming back to Fort Payne just felt right.
After spending the 2010-11 academic year at Hoover, Edwards returned to Fort Payne High School for her senior year and has helped the new-look Lady Wildcats basketball team to a 3-2 start.
"I've definitely always felt comfortable with Coach [Steve] Sparks and the team," said Edwards, Times-Journal's female Athlete of the Week. "I knew this is where I belonged playing. It's just awesome to be back here because it's where I need to be."
The 5-foot-4 point guard made her presence felt from the start, knocking four four 3-pointers and scoring 16 points in a 43-40 win over Albertville to open the season Nov. 18.
She made 5 of 9 shots from the field and scored 14 points in a 44-34 victory over Homewood on Nov. 21, and scored 14 again Tuesday as Fort Payne prevailed 55-47 in its Class 5A, Area 14 opener at Scottsboro.
"I think our team has definitely started off well," Edwards said. "I think we're all really pleased with how we've played. We don't have a lot of experience at all."
Edwards, who went to the Final Four with Fort Payne as a freshman in 2009 and to regionals as a sophomore in 2010, is one of just three players on the roster, along with Michelle Swopes and Peyton Lacey, with extensive varsity experience.
Spark said Edwards' return was a plus for his club.
"I have several players capable of running the point position other than Nique, but they're going to be inexperienced and young," he said. "It's going to be a boost to have someone who has held that position before on the varsity level and played in big games at point guard.
"Nique is a competitor. She is a savvy player who understands the philosophy of the game."
Edwards said the Lady Cats are capable making significant improvement as the season progresses. She said work ethic will be a key if Fort Payne is going to reach its goals.
"By the end of this season I think we'll be a completely different team than what we started out with," she said. "We'll have to master our offenses and be patient. We'll have to outwork other teams, come to practice and go 100 percent. Sometimes hard work outweighs just pure talent."  Wildcats Win Area Opener Jason Bowen, Southern Newspapers Times-Journal |
SCOTTSBORO - The Scottsboro girls basketball team was in solid position Tuesday night in its quest to snap its losing streak to rival Fort Payne.
But then came the third quarter.
Scottsboro managed just five points in the quarter while committing seven turnovers, all of which led to Fort Payne points. It allowed visiting Fort Payne to take a five-point lead into the final quarter on the way to posting a 55-47 victory over the Wildcats at Hambrick Hall in the Class 5A, Area 14, opener for both teams.
The Wildcats from DeKalb County have now won nine straight against Scottsboro (2-4 overall, 0-1 area), which last beat three-time defending area champion Fort Payne (3-2, 1-0) during the 2007-08 season.
The loss, and particularly the fourth quarter, left Scottsboro coach Robin Kirkland frustrated.
"Their pressure hurt us in the third quarter," she said. "We did not do a good job of handling it. We had some turnovers and that got them up. It's hard to inch you're way back in. That's the whole thing, they got a lead and we're able to pull (the ball out and run clock) on us."
Consecutive 3-pointers from Katherine Bain and Madison Townson gave Fort Payne an 18-16 lead after one quarter, but Scottsboro held scoreless for the final 2:42 of the second quarter and tied the game at 24-all at halftime following Makenzie Edmondson's outback with 42.8 seconds remaining in the half.
But the third quarter was a struggle for the Wildcats. They went scoreless for nearly four minutes, salvaging things somewhat cutting Fort Payne's eight-point lead to 35-30 just prior to the start of fourth quarter.
"You can't score six points in a varsity girls game and win. We couldn't buy a basket," Kirkland said.
Fort Payne went into four corners mode in the final quarter, which forced Scottsboro into a very aggressive defense and often led to Fort Payne getting free for layups on cuts to the basket.
After two Kelsey Ikard free throws pulled Scottsboro within 38-30 with 5:40 remaining, Fort Payne got baskets from Nique Edwards, Peyton Lacey and Michelle Swopes to stretch Fort Payne's lead to 47-34 with 2:57 to play.
Scottsboro made one last push. Katie Kirkland sank three free throws and then a 3-pointer, and Emily Glover's outback got the Wildcats within six before the Wildcats closed it out by making 6-of-8 free throws inside the final minute.
Mark Ellen Sandlin led Scottsboro with 15 points while Katie Kirkland had 14. Edwards had 14 points and Bain added 11 to lead Fort Payne.
 Edwards, Swopes lead Fort Payne girls to win The Fort Payne girls did Monday night what head coach Steve Sparks said they need to do each time out this season - get a little better.
Nique Edwards and Michelle Swopes both scored in double figures as Fort Payne handed Homewood a 44-34 setback in the second round of a high school basketball tournament at Hewitt-Trussville.
Fort Payne, which fell to Mountain Brook in a tournament opener Saturday, improved to 1-1 in the competition, which was scheduled to conclude late Tuesday with the Lady Cats (2-1) facing Gadsden City.
Edwards, a senior point guard, made 5 of 9 shots from the field and closed with a team-high 14 points. Swopes, a senior post, contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Fort Payne led 11-5, 27-13 and 39-22 at the quarter breaks.
"I thought we played a little better," Sparks said. "We made a few more shots, made a few less turnovers. I thought we rebounded well.
"Overall, I thought we played better than we did in the previous two games. With this group, that's what we want to do every game - improve on the game before."
Fort Payne is rebuilding after losing five seniors to graduation in the spring. That group led the Lady Cats to more than 100 wins the last four years.
Kennington Nolan added nine rebounds for Fort Payne, and Peyton Lacey made four steals. Mixed results for new-look Lady Wildcats It was a weekend of mixed results for the new-look Fort Payne High School girls basketball team.
The Lady Wildcats struggled in the first round of a tournament at Hewitt-Trussville on Saturday, falling to Mountain Brook 64-24.
Fort Payne was scheduled to take on Grissom in the second round late Monday. The competition concludes Tuesday.
The Lady Cats opened the season with a 43-40, home win over Albertville on Friday. It was the season opener for a Fort Payne team adjusting to life without five seniors who led the Lady Cats to a combined record of 105-26 the last four years.
Kennington Nolan and Madison Townson had four points apiece against Mountain Brook.
Miki Pinson had 10 points for the Lady Spartans, who forced 21 Fort Payne turnovers.
"We played Mountain Brook last year and it was a struggle. We beat them, but it wasn't easy," Fort Payne coach Steve Sparks said. "They had their full roster back from last year. They're a quality basketball team."
Sparks added that his team didn't shoot well, committed too many turnovers and struggled defensively.
Mountain Brook led 15-3, 37-13 and 58-19 at the quarter breaks.
FRIDAY: Fort Payne outscored Albertville 14-5 in the third period and claimed a 29-23 lead.
Senior point guard Nique Edwards, who has rejoined the team after spending last year at Hoover, nailed four 3-pointers and scored 16 points for Fort Payne. Michelle Swopes added 11 along with five rebounds, while Peyton Lacey grabbed seven boards.
"I thought the second half we played better than we did the first half," Sparks said. "Starting the game we were nervous, missed a lot of easy baskets and had some turnovers.
"A couple of times in the second half we got the lead up to seven or eight but failed to put the game away, but we were glad to get the win."
The Lady Aggies led 7-6 after a quarter. Katie Allen had 12 points for Albertville (0-2). "2011 Season Wrap Up"A week later, Sparks says loss to Erwin still hurts
'KNOT IN YOUR STOMACH'
Setback ended memorable year for Lady Wildcats
week later, Fort Payne High School girls basketball coach Steve Sparks still wasn't quite over his team's loss to Erwin in a Class 5A Northeast Regional Tournament semifinal at Jacksonville State.
The No. 4-ranked Lady Wildcats led most of the way in the Feb. 23 matchup, only to see the game slip away in the final minutes. No. 1 Erwin pulled out a 46-43 victory and went on to defeat No. 6 Ramsay 47-45 in overtime Friday to win the regional championship and advance to this week's state tournament in Birmingham.
Meanwhile, Sparks and his club were left to ponder what could have been.
"We competed every second of the game," Sparks said of the semifinal. "They executed the game plan to perfection. They played with desire. They didn't get shook up.
"I hate it for the kids that we didn't win. A week later you still have a sick knot in your stomach thinking about the game."
The loss ended another strong season for the Lady Cats, who closed 28-5, won their fourth straight area regular-season and tournament championships and their third straight sub-region playoff.
Fort Payne won two regular-season tournaments and its five losses came by a combined 22 points.
Sparks was pleased with the season and said he wasn't going to let a three-point loss at regionals cloud his view.
"As far as wins ... you always as a coach strive to hit 20; they surpassed that," Sparks said. "Our goal was to win the area; they accomplished that. Of course, you always have the big picture of winning a state championship, but you've got to make it to regionals to do that and we made it to regionals."
This was a transition year of sorts for Fort Payne despite the squad's veteran roster.
After playing more up-tempo in the past, the Lady Cats focused on the half-court this season. Sparks made the change because he felt Fort Payne had good size but wouldn't be as quick as it had been in recent seasons.
"Starting back in the fall we talked about what we needed to do as a team to be successful and that was play half-court defense and half-court offense," Sparks said. "I really felt like with our size and our quickness it was not in our best interest to press. I felt like we would be better off playing mostly zone. Offensively, I felt like we would be better in the half-court simply because we didn't have the number of 3-pointer shooters that we've had in the past and we would be stronger on the inside than we would be on the perimeter.
"Looking back over the course of the 32, 33 games, I feel like the team adapted as good as I ever thought they would. Defensively, we kept our opponents in the 40s on average and we didn't win a lot of games by big margins, which in the past is what we struggled with, winning close games. This year we won more close games than we lost.
"Again, they adapted well. They played within the guidelines of what I wanted them to do."
The Erwin loss marked the final game in a Fort Payne uniform for five Fort Payne seniors - guard Taylor Dean, post Diamond Elston, swingman Conner Jordan, guard Sara McCutcheon and point guard Alicia Williams.
As a group, they helped Fort Payne go unbeaten in area play the last four years, made three straight regional appearances and advance to the state tournament in 2009.
"It's tough to replace good kids and good players," Sparks said. "They played through our middle school up to our high school. It just seems like they've been involved in the program since they were small children. They came to our youth camp, most of them. They helped with the youth camp. They love the game of basketball. It's always special when you have a group ... that has a passion for the game."
What that group preparing to graduate this spring, Sparks said the rebuilding starts now.
"We've got a quote in the locker room: ‘Tradition never graduates,'" he said.
"We've got a tradition established of being competitive in every game we play and that's due to dedication and hard work. That's what we're going to start with this spring. We've got a lot of new faces, a lot of young players coming up. We've got a few players coming back. It's not going to be easy, but I'm excited about the challenge. I hope the ones returning are excited about the challenge also and are ready to be role models for the younger kids The History of Fort Payne Basketball Books Can be purchased for $20.00. You may pick yours up from the main office or call 256.845.0535/256.845.0791
One day does not lessen our pride
Published February 20, 2010
Friday just wasn’t their day. That, though, doesn’t mean this wasn’t their month or their season. In fact, this was their season. It was a special season. It was special for the Fort Payne High School girls basketball team. And, it was special for a community that got to share in the triumphs.
There is no question this version of the Fort Payne Lady Wildcats is so very special.
Sadly, an amazing season came to end Friday at Jacksonville State University in the regional final. Sometimes the best of hopes are dashed. Every now and then, no matter the effort, things just don’t go your way. Friday was one of those days.
While the dribbling and shooting have stopped, the memories will continue to play. The legacy of this group will grow. The expectations for the program will increase. Our pride will swell. And, most importantly, the example laid out by this group of young ladies will be ever lasting and will serve as motivation for young girls with aspiration of success throughout Fort Payne.
It wasn’t too long ago that girls were discouraged from athletics. In fact, few opportunities existed for girls on the field of play. They were forced to fight just to be able to join in the games. The concept seems foreign to us now, especially when we watch players like Tori Edwards, Katherine Bain, Emma Lands, Nique Edwards, Alicia Williams, Sara McCutcheon, Conner Jordan, Madison Dobbs, Kennington Nolan, Kadeshia Williams, Taylor Dean, Peyton Lacey, Diamond Elston and Michelle Swopes hit the basketball court.
Rest assured, though, the journey for young girls continues.
Members of Fort Payne’s team, and their coaching staff, may not often see the important role they play. Honestly, we couldn’t expect them, too. Their focus was rightfully consumed with success on the court. But, it is exactly that focus, that single-minded determination to succeed that so many of us are transferred from this generation of female athletes in Fort Payne to the next.
Directions to Fort Payne High School |
|
Recent Activity
Discuss
Cat Tracks
