No. 5 Athens flexes muscle at Northwest Alabama tourney

Published 10:00 am Wednesday, December 28, 2016

ROGERSVILLE — By the time Haleyville players had time to catch their breath Tuesday, Athens had a double-digit lead.

When the teams took a break for halftime, Athens was up 61-15 on its way to a 89-36 victory in the first round of the Keith Davis Memorial Christmas Tournament at Lauderdale County High School.

In a tournament featuring the top ranked teams in Class 3A and 4A, along with the No. 2 team in 2A, Athens flexed its muscle in the opening round as one of the tournament favorites.

“I thought after having that break, we came out and played with a lot of energy, which is the way we have to play,” said Athens head coach Eddie Murphree. “We came out and played real fast. When we did get in the half-court set, they ran it really well. I was proud of their effort tonight.”

Despite not playing in over a week, Athens showed no rust in jumping out to a 26-8 first-quarter lead. The Golden Eagles overwhelmed Haleyville from the start with a full-court press that forced nearly as many turnovers as points.

As a team, Athens forced 16 turnovers while every player that dressed for Athens scored at least one point.

“We’ve got to keep working hard and getting better in practice,” said Murphree. “I like where we are. All these girls get along and care about each other. It’s like one big family.”

As impressive as Athens’ first quarter was, the team hit another gear in the second, scoring 36 points — all while playing everyone on the roster before halftime. AHS was led by Alexis Woods, who poured in 19 points, including 15 in the first half.

Stacia Bedford added 17 for Athens while Alaina Taylor scored 11 points — all in the second quarter. Many of Taylor’s points came from behind the 3-point line, where she made three shots from long distance during Athens’ second quarter burst.

The road gets harder for Athens (14-1), which will play 2A No. 2 Red Bay at 3 p.m. today in the second round of the tournament. Athens, with only the one loss to 6A No. 2 Hazel Green, has already won one tournament this season, the Marx Optical Christmas Tournament at Priceville High School over Thanksgiving break.

“We just try to win them all and I get nervous about them all. But they know about this tournament,” Murphree said of his players. “They know how good it is. They look at the bracket and see who all is in it. They know they better bring it or we will get embarrassed.”