Bob Jones High School Lady Patriots Basketball

Madison's Harris tabbed by C-USA

UAB Star wins Freshman, Sixth Player awards
It apparently doesn't matter if Jala Harris starts or comes off the bench. Either way, she's the best freshman in Conference USA. The UAB guard backed up her last year's Miss Basketball award at Bob Jones High with two league honors on Sunday: Freshman and Sixth Player of the Year. Harris is the first player in C-USA history to win the two awards in the same season. "I pretty much came in as a freshman and continued from where I left off in high school," said Harris, a second-team, all-conference selection. "I came to UAB because I knew I was going to have an opportunity to play." The 5-foot-6 Harris has taken that chance and run with it. She's averaging a team-high 16.4 points per game this year - including a freshman conference-record 40 points against Marshall - and also leads the Blazers in assists at 3.2 per game. Harris started 11 games early in the season, but she began coming off the bench once league play got under way in January. Her scoring average in C-USA games increased to 18.3 per game, even though she started just once in 16 contests. "It's not that it feels any different starting or coming off the bench," said Harris, who still leads the team in minutes with 32.6 per game. "It's just that I give the team a spark." It's helped UAB of late. The Blazers went through a rough stretch in late January - losing three games by a total of six points, two in overtime - and wound up dropping eight of nine into early February, but they closed the regular season with three straight victories to even their record at 14-14. Sixth-seeded UAB will begin conference tournament play today against host Tulsa, the 11th seed. "Right now we're playing some of our best ball of the year," Harris said. "I think we're going to be tough to handle." On the court, Harris' transition from high school to the college game proved to be a smooth one. She said roles were established early and everyone on the roster understood what they were supposed to do. "The biggest adjustment?" she asked. "Probably the losing." Harris was a five-year starter at Bob Jones, which won back-to-back state titles in her junior and senior seasons. She was unable to watch the Lady Patriots come up short against Hoover in their quest for a three-peat last week at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center - "I had class on one day and we had a game on the other day," she said - but did get to visit her former teammates at the hotel. "I watched everything on the Internet," Harris said. "They gave it a good shot."
By Bill Bryant, Times Sports Editor, bill.bryant@htimes.com

Girls state title run stopped

BIRMINGHAM - Bob Jones’ reign as the queens of basketball in Alabama came to an end with a disappointing offensive performance in a 39-19 loss to top-ranked Hoover Saturday in the Class 6A state championship game at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center. The 19-point offensive total for the Lady Patriots, who won the last two Class 6A state titles, set a mark for fewest points in a championship game. “We knew that this game would come down to defense,” said Hoover head coach Donnie Quinn. “The defense made all the difference in the world. The win was Hoover’s second of the season against Bob Jones and avenged a loss to the Lady Patriots in last year’s Class 6A state championship game. The Lady Bucs finished the year with a 32-1 mark with the lone loss coming to Stockton (Calif.) St. Mary’s, the top-ranked team in the nation. “It was a gritty, grind-it-out type of game, the kind of game we’ve been winning all year,” said Bob Jones head coach Tim Miller. “I think it just finally caught up with us. We just couldn’t put it in the hole.” Bob Jones, which replaced its entire starting lineup after winning Class 6A titles the past two seasons, was led by Makena Randall’s eight points. She also added 13 rebounds. Bob Jones scored just two points in the first quarter, taking an early 2-0 lead when Tiarra Pritchett scored the game’s first bucket 35 seconds into the game. But Bob Jones didn’t score again until Randall made a layup with 3:32 remaining in the first half. By then, Hoover had opened up a 16-4 advantage. The Lady Patriots were able to trim the margin to 16-9 at the half with a pair of buckets by Pritchett and a free throw by Randle. Eight of Hoover’s points in the quarter came off Bob Jones turnovers. “It was ugly,” Miller said. “If you had told me we’d be down seven at halftime, I’d have come over and kissed you.” But almost as important as the Lady Bucs’ defense was its effort at the free throw line. Meghan Dunn overcame a tough day from the field with a 14-for-14 performance at the free throw line. Dunn, the tournament’s most valuable player, finished with 18 points. Tyrese Tanner added eight points. Hoover pushed its lead to 10 points in the third quarter when Shannon Steinert’s 3-pointer with 1:32 remaining put the Bucs in front 24-14. Bob Jones closed to within seven points in the final quarter, but never got any closer as Hoover stretched the lead to a game-high 20 points in the closing seconds. Bob Jones’ offensive production was the lowest total for a girls’ title game since Arab scored 24 in a loss to Ramsay in the 2006 Class 5A championship game. The Lady Patriots finished the year with a 33-3 mark, including two losses to Hoover and one to rival Sparkman.
By Todd Thompson, Madison Record,(Updated: Friday, March 5, 2010 10:35 AM CST)

Local trio to suit for the state

Josh Langford of Lee, Kendal Jennings of Sparkman and Mekena Randle of Bob Jones, all forwards who also play guard, are among the players selected to play in annual Alabama-Mississippi Classic all-star games to be played March 19 at the Pelham Civic Complex. Coaches for Alabama's boys are Kelly Cheatham of Ramsey and Rodney Wesley of Green County. Girls coaches are Reggie Ware of Midfield and Herbert Blackmon of J.F. Shields. The girls game is set for 5 p.m. with the boys following at 7. The teams are selected by the Alabama High School Athletic Directors & Coaches Association's Basketball All-Star Committee. Also selected to the boys team are R.C. Hatch center Brandon Battle, Green County guard Damien Carr, Pinson Valley forward Coty Clarke, Ramsey guard Ralph Floyd, Brewbaker Tech guard K.T. Harrell, Green County forward Neiko Hunter, Anniston forward Quintarius Hutchinson and Muscle Shoals guard Ralston Turner. Joining Randle on the girls team is Hoover guard Meghan Dunn, Brooks forward Miranda Liles, Sumter County guard Katia May, LeFlore center Shanece McKinney, Russellville forward Erin Reynolds, Ramsey center Destiny Samuels, Fairfield guard Jazmine Saxton, Bessemer City center Tiffany Stephens, Woodland guard Courtney Strain, Hoover forward Tyrese Tanner and Midfield guard Brittany Young. Alabama's boys hold a 10-9 series lead while the state's girls have an 11-8 advantage.

When Hoover-Bob Jones meet, somebody has to be Goliath

Nobody wants to be Goliath. "Bob Jones is the defending state champion,'' said Hoover High School girls' coach Donnie Quinn. "They're the one going for a 'three-peat.' We haven't beaten them when it matters. We're the ones who have the most to prove.'' Which makes Bob Jones coach Tim Miller laugh. "Yeah, OK,'' Miller said. "We've way over-achieved this year. Those girls from the two-time defending state championship? They're gone. We're just a scrappy little bunch with no one over 5-foot-9.'' It's laughable to see these two giants of girls' basketball trying to fit into the role of little David. Hoover is 31-1, ranked No. 18 in the country by USA Today, and has won 31 games by an average of 34 points per game while holding opponents to 30 points or less 15 times this season. Bob Jones is 33-2, the two-time defending state champion, coached by a guy who has been in the Final 48 of the state tournament seven times since 2001, reached the championship game five times, and won three titles. Oh, and did I mention that these two teams faced each other last year in the Girls' Class 6A State Championship at the BJCC Arena? Or that they meet again in the title game today at 5 p.m.? And that both coaches think the other one has the advantage? "Ever since Bob Jones knocked us out of this game last year, I haven't had to say anything to this team,'' Quinn said. "Everyone says you're just glad to be here, and you are. But when you get beat in the last game, you walk out with a different perspective. You just want it so bad.'' The two teams did play in the regular season, with Hoover winning by six at Bob Jones. The rematch, which was to take place at Hoover, was cancelled due to snow. "We hated that,'' Miller said. "We wanted to see where we were by seeing how we matched up against them a second time. You hate to have to find out now, in the state championship. "We know they're a great team. Looking at them today (Friday, in a typical 77-44 victory over Jeff Davis), they looked like a small Division I team out there. We can't match up with them at all.'' Not that Bob Jones looked shabby in using a 12-2 run to close out the second quarter and successfully keep a double-digit lead all the way to the end for a 51-41 win over Davidson. "I don't know what Bob Jones will do,'' Quinn said. "I have a sense of what I think he (Miller) will do, and we have to practice for that. I know he relishes the idea of beating me. I (relish the idea of beating Miller), too." Physically, Bob Jones looks to be no match for Hoover. And a few years ago, a political scientist named Ivan Arreguin-Toft researched every war fought in the past two hundred years between strong and weak opponents, and found that the Goliaths - the side that was deemed obviously more powerful than the other - won 71.5 percent of the cases. Miller knows his team can't compete straight up. But Arreguin-Toft, realizing that in the Biblical story David did not fight Goliath by conventional means but went out with a slingshot and five stones, found that when the underdogs chose an unconventional strategy, the underdogs winning percentage rose from 28.5 percent to 63.6. Hoover looks unbeatable. But Bob Jones has history on its side. So how does this game play out? Will they go at it like two Goliaths? Or will one try to be a David? Whatever happens, this game could be one for the ages. Either Bob Jones wins its third consecutive title, which hasn't happened since Butler did it from 1997-99; or Hoover avenges last year's loss and, with the talent in the Bucs' program, could begin a three-year run of its own. "This has a chance to be something special,'' Miller said. "For both teams.''

Reign is de-railed

Two-time defending champ Bob Jones
girls fall 39-19 in 6A final

BIRMINGHAM - Tim Miller stood five feet from his huddled team in heavy thought at the close of the third quarter Saturday night, kicking out his right foot and gazing briefly into the stands at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center. What was the Bob Jones High girls coach thinking? What might have been, that's what. His Lady Patriots, ranked second in Class 6A, were still within 10 points of top-ranked and heavily favored Hoover in the state championship game. But it could have been five. Or even three. "We sure had some good chances," Miller said. The powerful Lady Bucs don't allow second ones, though. They don't allow many points, either. Bob Jones didn't even break 20 in a 39-19 loss, which officially ended its two-year championship run. The point total was the lowest in a girls title game, with the previous low of 24 being established in 1984 (Red Level against Courtland in the 1A final) and tied in 2006 (by Arab against Ramsay in the 5A final). "We just didn't score," Lady Patriots point guard Tiarra Pritchett said. "We had shots, but they just wouldn't fall." Indeed, Bob Jones (33-3)hit just 18.4 percent. But it limited Hoover (32-1) to 22.2 percent from the floor. The Lady Bucs' Meghan Dunn wound up the lone player on either side in double-figure scoring, finishing with 18 points. "It was a gritty, grind-it-out game, the kind we've been winning all year," Miller said. "I think it just finally caught up with us as far as going against some good skill players. We just couldn't put it in the hole tonight." In the first quarter, the Lady Patriots couldn't even get the ball to the basket. After scoring the game's first points, they turned the ball over on six straight possessions. Hoover, meanwhile, went on a 13-0 run to close the period. Bob Jones wound up going a total of 11:53 - from 7:25 in the first quarter to 3:32 in the second - without scoring. "It was ugly," Miller said. The Lady Patriots kept it that way with their defense. And that kept them in the game. They got a basket here and a basket there, and by halftime they trailed 16-9. "If you had told me we'd be down seven at halftime, I'd have come over and kissed you," Miller said. "Especially after that first quarter." The deficit stayed right around there for most of the third quarter, but a 3-pointer by Shannon Steinert gave Hoover a 24-14 lead going into the final eight minutes. Given its offensive output to that point, the order was too tall. "From the jump we knew Hoover had blown teams out," said senior Mekena Randle, who led Bob Jones with eight points and 13 rebounds. "We had played them before (losing 41-35), so it was just a matter of going out there and playing. There were layups and free throws I know I could have hit, but it just didn't work out. "Knowing you could have done something and you didn't, it's hard." Miller, however, found no fault with his players' effort. The Lady Patriots reached their third straight final - with five new starters, no less. "Well, I'm proud of our girls, I can tell you that," Miller said. "I didn't quite think we'd be here, but we were. They played hard again tonight. "I think we overachieved this year, obviously."
Sunday, February 28, 2010 By Bill Bryant, Times Sports Editor, bill.bryant@htimes.com

LADYPATS ALIVE

BIRMINGHAM - The Bob Jones High girls fell back on the "R" word Friday. As in returning to the Class 6A state final, not as in rebuilding despite losing all starters from last year's team that won the school's second straight championship. The second-ranked Lady Patriots earned a berth in the title game by shaking off a sluggish start to subdue No. 3 Davidson 51-41 in a semifinal at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center. Bob Jones fell in a 13-2 hole at the beginning of the game, but a 13-0 run to end the quarter gave it a two-point lead it wouldn't relinquish. Junior guard Rikeyah McKinnon said the turnaround was fueled by "frustration and motivation.'' 'We just all needed to come together,'' she added. The Lady Patriots (33-2) seek their third straight crown against top-ranked Hoover (31-1) tonight at 5. The Lady Bucs defeated Bob Jones 41-35 in a game earlier this season. "We know that's a challenge for us because of who they have,'' Lady Patriots coach Tim Miller said. "Looking across the board, they've got five girls 6-foot or better. We don't have anybody over 5-9.'' Friday, McKinnon sparked the first-quarter run with a 3-pointer, then made another before senior Mekena Randle scored to put Bob Jones ahead 15-13 entering the second quarter. Sophomores DeAsha Campbell and Joidon Jennings both sank 3-pointers to close the first half to give the Lady Patriots a 29-18 lead at intermission. Bob Jones, which defeated Davidson 59-29 in the season opener, led 38-28 entering the fourth quarter. Davidson (31-4) pulled to within six points at 43-37 on a basket by Aundre Adams with 4:47 left to play, but senior Tiara Pritchett sank two free throws and Randle made a layup after getting a steal to push Bob Jones' lead back to an insurmountable 47-37 with 4:09 remaining. "Everybody stepped up and did what they had to do,'' Randle said. Adams scored 16 points to lead Davidson, which was making its fourth Final 48 appearance in six years. Randle had 19 points and nine rebounds and McKinnon added 11 points for Bob Jones. "I don't know if it was our best effort, but it was a win,'' Miller said. "It's been like that all year. We grind 'em out, we don't blow 'em out.''
Saturday, February 27, 2010, By Mike Easterling,Times Sports Writer mike.easterling@htimes.com

Class 6A Girls: Bob Jones 51, Davidson 41

Bob Jones had Jan. 29 marked on its calendar. That's when the Patriots were supposed to make their way down Interstate 65 for a game against top-ranked Hoover. But Jan. 29 passed without Bob Jones meeting the Bucs on the court. "We hated when that opportunity didn't arise for us when that snow (came) and we couldn't come," coach Tim Miller said. "We hoped we would have the opportunity to see them again. We felt like we would be there. We weren't sure if we would be." Now, after dispatching Davidson 51-41 Friday in the Class 6A girls semifinal, the Patriots are there. Class 6A's No. 2 will play for a three-peat when it faces the Hoover-Jeff Davis winner at 5 Saturday evening. "We would like to play Hoover," Miller said. "We know that's a challenge for us because of the team that they have. They've got five or six girls 6-1 or better and we don't have anybody over 5-9. First, the Patriots had to turn back a Warriors squad that jumped out to a 13-2 lead in the first quarter Friday. Devina Moulds got two baskets for Davidson in that early run and Aundre Adams had two long jumpers. Bob Jones responded by having Tierra Jones guard Moulds. The team also turned to Rikeya McKinnon, who hit a couple of 3-pointers. "We didn't start hard from the jump," McKinnon said. "Somebody needed to step up and hit a shot. We all needed to step up." Mekena Randall did that. She proved too quick for Davidson inside with her drop-step moves and then her drives from up high. Randall led Bob Jones with 19 points and nine rebounds while McKinnon followed with 11. Adams paced Davidson (31-4) with 16 points; Moulds had 10 points and 11 boards. Birmingham News -- Solomon Crenshaw Jr., February 26, 2010 12:45 p.m.

Lady Pats simply win

MADISON - Can't do it, that's what the Bob Jones High girls basketball team heard over and over again. Can't make it back to the Class 6A final four in Birmingham. Can't win a third straight state championship. Can't do it because all five starters are gone from the two-time defending state champs. "The expectations outside this gym were not real good," coach Tim Miller said. By now, of course, the bandwagon is overflowing and revisionist history is being written. By now, the members of those state title teams who told the current players they couldn't do it are now fighting for first-class seats on the bandwagon. "They got ragged a little bit last year by last year's group," Miller said. "They said they're not going to be as successful or not going to win, your coach is going to UAH. "It all kind of weighed on them. They had something to prove." The only place Miller is going is back to Birmingham as the Patriots have a 9 a.m. date with Davidson High on Friday in the state semifinals. "Nobody on this team ever quits," senior Mekena Randle said. "And we all wanted it as bad as each other." Still, back to Birmingham? Back for a shot at a third straight title? "That was never not a goal," senior Tiarra Pritchett said. "That's always been a goal. I know from the beginning, we always said go game by game. That was our main thing." Game by game, Bob Jones has done little this season but win. The Patriots' offense isn't flashy, and there is no star for opponents to obsess about. Mostly, it's defense. Lots and lots of defense. In the Northwest Regional final win over Sparkman, Bob Jones squeaked out a 26-25 win. In the regional semifinal, Hillcrest scored just 23 points. "We have nobody over 5-foot-9 and don't have the best skill, based on previous teams we've had," Miller said. "They work hard at it but they don't have the best skill. They want to defend, they want to win and they compete. "And they do it night in and night out. It's a collective group. They don't care who scores. They don't care how we win. Just win." Defense and hard work are nice but, at the end of the day for a team that replaced all five starters, should anyone be surprised Bob Jones is back in Birmingham? "Yeah, me, for one," Miller said. "I'm very surprised." "A lot of people were surprised," Randle said. "We weren't. We knew from the beginning what we could do. We just had to get out and do it." Now everyone is on Bob Jones' side - even the skeptics of the 2009 state champs. "We had all five of the girls texting me and texting them like crazy (last week)," Miller said. "Wishing them luck, hope you do well, go get them. "All five of them - not just one or two - all five. It means something to them."
Wednesday, February 24, 2010, By Paul Gattis, Times Sports Staff paul.gattis@htimes.com

Bob Jones wins 32nd Game

Either both teams were extremely strong defensively or neither team had awoke yet for the early morning regional game held at Tom Drake Coliseum on the campus of Wallace State College; but with 2:28 left in the quarter, the score stood at 2-0 in favor of the Sparkman Lady Senators. The only score at that point was a basket underneath for Jasmine Jones of Sparkman. Bob Jones was eventually able to get into the scoring column with a 3-pointer by Tiarra Pritchett. The Lady Patriots (32-2) was able to add one more score before the buzzer with another trey, this time by Rikeya McKinnon, for a 6-2 advantage. "This was one of those games where we had a little luck on our side," said Bob Jones head coach Tim Miller. " These two teams are so evenly matched, that it is a coin flip as to who is going to win. That was our ninth game on the season that was decided by three points or less."

Sparkman (25-7) outscored the Lady Patriots slightly in the second quarter to trail 12-9 heading into the locker rooms and both teams got a few more shots to fall offensively in the third quarter, with Sparkman having the edge 12-8 for the first lead change of the game since Bob Jones took the lead back in the first quarter. Sharin Rivers took the honors, as she got the offensive put-back off a missed shot by Alexis Butler. "We had our chance to win, but we just could not get it done," said Sparkman head coach June Seals. "I have to put the blame on myself for that one. We had a great game plan, but could not execute it like we should have." The Lady Senators pushed out to their biggest lead of the game with a shot by Jasmine Jones to start the final stanza, but Bob Jones was able to score six of the final eight points of the game to lay claim to the Northwest Regional title and make a return trip to Birmingham for a shot at another AHSAA state title. Although she tried to down-play her role in the final quarter, McKinnon was responsible for all points score by the Lady Patriots, as she drained two 3-pointers, including the game winner. Bob Jones was led in scoring by Pritchett with 14 points, two rebounds and two assists, McKinnon had nine points (all 3-pointers), two rebounds and a blocked shot, Alisia Mathews followed with two each in points and rebounds, Makena Randle scored nine boards, two steals and one point, Tierra Jones contributed with two steals and a rebound, and Shelby Lambert added two rebounds and an assist. Sparkman was led by Jones with 11 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots for a double-double, DeAsia Henley followed with six points, one rebound and an assist, Ashunte Smith contributed with four points, four boards, two steals and one assist, Rivers added three rebounds, two points and a steal, while Butler finished with two points, five rebounds and an assist. The Northwest All-regional team selections for Class 6A girls were Tiarra Pritchett (MVP), Rikeya McKinnon and Makena Randle for Bob Jones, Jasmine Jones and Sharin Rivers of Sparkman, and Chelsee Black for Bessemer City (Jess Lanier High).

McKinnon proves clutch

Junior's late 3-pointer propels Bob Jones past Sparkman 26-25 in final

HANCEVILLE - Rikeyah McKinnon lost neither her faith nor her 3-point shooting touch. McKinnon made up for several missed shots with the two biggest of her career Friday, sinking two treys in the fourth quarter to account for all of Bob Jones' points in the period as the Lady Patriots punched a return ticket to Birmingham and the Class 6A girls final four. McKinnon's second 3-pointer in the period provided the difference for the two-time defending state champions with 18 seconds to play in a 26-25 victory archrival Sparkman in the Northwest Regional final at Wallace State-Hanceville. She came around a screen to take a pass and didn't hesitate to fire away from the top of the key despite making just one of her previous four 3-point attempts, making the decisive shot in the third one-point game between the two teams this season. "I was wide open,'' she said. "I knew we needed a 3. I hadn't hit throughout the game, but something inside me said 'shoot.' I had faith. Something told me it was going in.'' Bob Jones (32-2) will play Davidson, the South Regional winner, in the state semifinals Friday at 9 a.m. at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center. After the Lady Patriots went ahead, Sparkman's Jasmine Jones had a driving shot roll off the rim. Bob Jones rebounded and was fouled with 9.1 seconds left. The Lady Senators had only two fouls, so with not enough time to put Bob Jones at the free-throw line a steal was necessary. They got it when Ashunte Smith picked off an inbound pass, and her shot in the lane that followed bounced away. Bob Jones rebounded again and ran out the clock.
Saturday, February 20, 2010, By Mike Easterling,Times Sports Writer mike.easterling@htimes.com

Northwest Regional @ Wallace State Community College in Hanceville

Tuesday (2-16) – 9:00 a.m.
Sparkman 64 - Bessemer City 57
Read about the Sparkman win over Hazel Green
Read about the Bessemer City win over Tuscaloosa County

Tuesday (2-16) – 1 p.m.
Bob Jones 51 - Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 23
Game Photos
Read about the Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa win over Minor

Friday (2-19) – 9:00 a.m.
NW Regional Finals
Bob Jones 26 - Sparkman 25
Game Photos

Northwest Regional All-Tournament Team
From Bob Jones High School
Rikeyah McKinnon, Mekena Randle and Tiarra Pritchett was the Tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP)