KIMBERLY The Clay-Chalkville girls came up a little short on Friday night.
On the road in their Class 6A, Area 12 finale, the Cougars started slow offensively and went on to fall 49-37 to No. 8 Mortimer Jordan. The Blue Devils secure the regular season area crown with a 6-0 sweep of Clay-Chalkville, Pinson Valley and Gardendale.
The Cougars will enter the upcoming league tournament as a 2-seed behind 1-seed Mortimer Jordan. Opening round play will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 9.
On Friday night, Clay-Chalkville got off to a sleepy start that sent them to the second quarter down 10-5. The visitors later went into the final frame down 40-21, as the Blue Devils dribbled the clock empty.
High school basketball action is in full swing. Check below for game-by-game recaps involving local squads.
The Springville boys hit the road on Friday night and came back with a 55-31 area win over Pell City. The Tigers (18-3, 4-1) finished with 15 assists on 22 made field goals as they pulled things out of reach.
Springville started both halves strong with 16 points scored in the first period and 18 points in the third. The visitors led 24-10 at the break and stretched it to 42-17 after three complete.
Jake Goolsby paced the Springville offense with 11 points, followed by Chase Higgins with 10 and Pearson Baldwin with nine. The Tigers have now won 13 straight after falling to Boaz 58-55 two days before Christmas.
By Erik Harris, sports editor
PINSON The Clay-Chalkville girls basketball team opened up Class 6A, Area 12 play with a win on Thursday night in Mike Dutton Gymnasium.
Cheyenne Pearson led the way with 10 points, the Cougars shot 28 free throws and pulled away in the second half for a 49-23 road victory over Pinson Valley.
Defense traveled well for Clay-Chalkville, as the visitors held Pinson to only two first-half field goals, both coming in the second quarter. The Cougars were also a little slow to find their offense, but Kameron Sanders finished the first half with a nice mid-range bucket. She worked around a Pinson Valley defender with a ball-fake, stepped inside the arc and rattled down her team’s fourth basket of the half, which sent them to the locker room with a 17-8 advantage.