CHAPMAN GIRLS TOURNEY: Ward era at Catholic opens with win over Brew Tech; PIke Road tops PCA; MA beats JAG

Catholic’s Hannah Smith races to the goal for a bucket in the Knights’ win on Tuesday. (Ryan Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

Catholic opened the Courtney Ward era with an impressive victory, pulling away from a tight contest with Brew Tech by scoring 22 fourth-quarter points on the way to a 67-42 victory in the opening round of the Coach Larry Chapman Foundation Tip-Off Classic at Montgomery Academy on Monday.

Ward, hired in May to replace the retiring Jill Clark, transformed teams into contenders at Sidney Lanier and Pike Road before spemding the last five years as the boys’ basketball coach at Park Crossing.  

“We’re just trying to get comfortable and used to, first of all, me coming back to girls (basketball) and (the players) just learning our system,” Ward said. “At this point, we still have a couple of girls in flag (football), so we’re just trying to see what we can do right now and get developed as a team.”

Catholic (1-0) was locked in a tight battle with the Rams throughout the third quarter, then caught fire in the fourth quarter and pulled away.

“I honestly thought we did way better than I expected,” said Catholic senior Hannah Smith, a Troy commitment. “We were hitting the 3s -- we did bad on free throws -- but we were hitting the 3s, making the right passes and making the right plays.”

Smith was just happy to play another opponent after rugged preseason practices under Ward.

“It’s very, very different,” Smith said. “She’s tough and aggressive on us. Since she came from boys (basketball), she puts that (mentality) on us so we have to really work hard in practice.”

One thing didn’t change in the coaching transition as Smith faced constant attention from the Brew Tech defense.

“That’s something we’ve already discussed,” Ward said. “Since Day One, I’ve told her we’re not practicing on the level that she’s been practicing on. We’re practicing and playing games so she can get ready for the next level. That’s going to come with knowing people are going to be at you, but then again you’ve got to make your teammates better.”

Smith spent a lot of time passing the ball to teammates, but managed to score 20 points and dominate the boards in the paint.

“Today was just another regular game, but when it comes to the tougher teams, I know my teammates will step up and make the plays, make the layups, make the 3s,” Smith said. “I know they have my back.”

Jordan Robinson led the Knights with 23 points. Kierstyn Green hit a trio of 3-pointers and finished with nine.

“I thought we played well,” Ward said. “This is our first game. We’ve just been practicing but I’m at the point right now where I’m just tired of practicing, especially against each other. I’m just ready to see what we’re like and what we need to improve on.”

Tariya Respicio led Brew Tech with 15 points.

Catholic will face Stanhope Elmore in the second round on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m., while Brew Tech will play Lee-Scott Academy, also at 11:30 a.m.

Pike Road 61, Prattville Christian 39

Camille Moorer led a balanced attack with 20 points to lead Pike Road to a 61-39 win over the Panthers in the opening round of the Coach Larry Chapman Foundation Tip-Off Classic on Monday at Montgomery Academy.

Pike Road will face Montgomery Academy in the second round on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.

Haiden Scott added 10 points for the Patriots, followed by Leah Lawson and Sharae Martin with nine points each.

Baylee Rogers hit five 3-pointers in an attempt to keep PCA (2-4) in the game, finishing with 20 points and five rebounds. Leah Cate Wilson added seven points and eight rebounds. The Panthers will return to action in the tournament against JAG on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.

Montgomery Academy 44, JAG 32

Kaci Armistead and Bailey Davis each scored 13 points as the Montgomery Academy girls jumped out to a 12-3 lead in the first quarter and cruised to an opening round win over JAG in the Coach Larry Chapman Foundation Tip-Off Classic.

“Not everything’s going to be perfect, because it’s our first game of the season,” Armistead said, “but we’ve really been putting in the work in the offseason so it was cool to finally see how that translated to the court. I thought we had a pretty good outing.”

Garland Thomas added 12 points for MA (1-0), who had a 25-8 lead at the half before the Jaguars finally started scoring in the second half.

Kierra Williams led JAG with 16 points, followed by Destiny Woodard with eight.

Montgomery Academy plays Pike Road on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m., while JAG plays Prattville Christian at 2:30 p.m.

COACH LARRY CHAPMAN FOUNDATION GIRLS TIP-OFF TOURNAMENT

at Montgomery Academy

GIRLS

Monday’s results

Game 1 -- Stanhope Elmore 73, Lee-Scott Academy 30

Game 2 -- Pike Road 61, Prattville Christian 39

Game 3 -- Catholic 67. Brewbaker Tech 42

Game 4 -- Montgomery Academy 44, JAG 32

Tuesday’s schedule

Game 5 -- Stanhope Elmore vs. Catholic -- 11:30 a.m.

Game 6 -- Lee-Scott Academy vs. Brew Tech -- 11:30 a.m.

Game 7 -- Pike Road vs. Montgomery Academy -- 2:30 p.m.

Game 8 -- Prattville Christian vs. JAG -- 2:30 p.m.

Wednesday’s schedule

Game 9 -- Loser Game 6 vs. Loser Game 8 -- 9 a.m.

Game 10 -- Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 8 -- 9 a.m.

Game 11 -- Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 5 -- noon

Game 12 -- Championship Game, Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 7 -- 1:30 p.m.