The Alcovy girls varsity basketball team earned its first victory of the season Tuesday night on the road, defeating region member Druid Hills 64-54.
Ayanna Wimbush led the Lady Tigers with 15 points in the win, while Tierra Hodges and Waneisha Morris added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The win evens Alcovy's record in region play to 1-1, with a 1-3 mark overall.
Alcovy coach David Baker said it felt great for the Lady Tigers to get their elusive first win.
“It felt really good,” Baker said. “Anytime you get a win it feels good. I know that our players have worked hard and to see it in action is great. They really trusted each other last night, and it showed. We have our usual starters do well, but our bench and our role players really stepped us as well. It was just a good team effort.”
Baker said that the Lady Tigers’ willingness to share the ball and their defensive effort went a long way in sealing the win.
“We shared the ball better than we have in other games,” he said. “I’m still trying to get them to understand how athletic they are. We’re going to struggle if we don’t play well defensively, so it was great to see our defense step up.”
Baker said the importance of the win was amplified since it was a region victory.
“It was very important to get the win in the region,” Baker said. “Region games are what really count. The region this year is wide open, but very competitive. It matters how hard you play game in and game out. The team that plays the hardest has a very good shot at winning the region. This win did a lot for their confidence.”
The loss dropped Druid Hills to 4-3 overall and 0-1 in region play. The loss was the first for the Lady Red Devils at home.
Tigers win
The Alcovy boys varsity basketball team earned its first victory of the year Tuesday night on the road, downing Druid Hills 75-73 in overtime.
The win moved the Tigers’ record to 1-3 overall, while evening their region record to 1-1.
LaReco Herring led Alcovy with 22 points, five assists and five steals, while Cameron Banks added 21 points in the Tigers’ victory.
“To me, this was by far our most focused game of the season,” Alcovy coach Jabari Levi said. “We definitely came out with some intensity and we matched their intensity for our first road win. I really believe it is going to give them some much-needed confidence.”
Alcovy led 34-11 at the half, but had to hold off a furious Red Devils’ comeback in the second half.
“We have to figure out why there was such a scoring discrepancy in the second half, but I thought overall we played much better than we have,” Levi said. “Our guards have to play well and deal with a lot of pressure. Teams want to press and pressure us because of our size, and we’re learning how to deal with that. They’ve done a much better job of it throughout the season.”
Senior Patrick Nelson also added six points for the Tigers, leading Alcovy defensively with 10 rebounds and four blocks.
Levi said that the win over Druid Hills was especially important because it was over a region rival.
“It’s a huge win for us because it’s a region contest,” he said. “All the games before now are there to help us get ready for region play. We want to set ourselves up well in the region for the end of the season.”
Alcovy returns to action tonight at home against Morrow before facing rival Eastside at home on Saturday.
