NORTHWEST REGIONAL TOURNAMENT: Hazel Green ends dream season for Athens

Published 3:23 pm Tuesday, February 21, 2017

HANCEVILLE — Any other year, Athens girls basketball team might be playing in the 6A state tournament next week.

Instead, the Golden Eagles had to get past top-ranked Hazel Green and came up just short at the Northwest Regional Tournament Tuesday. Hazel Green, the two-time defending Northwest Regional champions in Class 7A, overwhelmed Athens in the regional final, 60-44.

“We had to change our gameplan two or three times during the game and these girls didn’t get down. They kept fighting,” said Athens head coach Eddie Murphree. “I don’t think they thought we were going to get beat until the final horn. We tried a triangle-and-two, box-and-one, matchup zone, a man-to-man and a diamond press. That’s a credit to them to be able to do that many defenses.”

Athens only lost four times in 35 games this season, but three of those defeats were to Hazel Green. The same things that Athens struggled with in the three previous losses came back to haunt them again at Tom Drake Coliseum Tuesday.

“You have to give Hazel Green credit. They’ve got some good players and they go at your weaknesses,” said Muphree. “The physical play inside gave us trouble. We went after their main two threats, but good teams have multiple players step up. We’ve tried multiple defenses against them all year long. We’ve tried it all.”

On Tuesday, Hazel Green took away Athens’ biggest weapon, Alexis Woods, from the opening tip. With two or three players swarming Woods in the paint, Athens leading scorer was held scoreless in the first half.

“When we lost to them earlier in the season, she really dominated us,” said Hazel Green head coach Tim Miller. “She is the focal point of the offense. We thought if we can slow her down, we can slow them down.”

When the junior forward finally scored with 1:06 left in the third quarter, Hazel Green led by 15 points.

Woods finished the game with seven points while Tionna Moore led Athens with 13 points.

“They are the only team that double and tripled teamed me,” said Woods. “They know how to get you frustrated. They did what they wanted to and they succeeded. But just know that we’ll be back next year.”

The top-ranked team in 6A led by as many as 16 late in the third quarter before Athens made another run to pull within 11 entering the fourth. Caitlin Hose dominated the boards for Hazel Green, grabbing a game-high 17 rebounds to along with her 13 points.

Hazel Green started the game on fire and took an early double-digit lead before Athens pulled within eight points at the end of the first quarter. Boosted by five 3-pointers in the first half, Hazel Green led by as many 12 before Athens went on a 8-0 run to pull within four points just before halftime.

Despite the Trojans shooting 64 percent from the floor in the first half, Athens trailed by just nine entering the third quarter.

“We shot the ball better than we have in the past few games. And it wasn’t just one hitting shots, it was several,” said Tim Miller. “We came and started hitting shots. They came back at us some, but we were a lot more relaxed.”

The loss ends one of the best seasons for Athens in the past decade. The Golden Eagles finished the season with a 31-4 record and a top-five rankings. Alexis Woods and Tionna Moore were named to the All-Tournament team.

Hazel Green will play Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the State Basketball Tournament at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center.