Coosa Christian cruised to the Class 1A, Area 11 Tournament girls’ championship game with a dominating 64 – 44 win over Ragland on Monday, Feb. 6 in Gadsden.
The Lady Conquerors fell behind 6-0 early on but responded with a 13 – 0 run in just over four minutes and led 13-8 at the end of the first quarter.
Coosa guard Claire Davidson was instrumental in the Lady Conquerors’ run, and coach Jayme Hollingsworth noted that “it’s always important” for Davidson to get going for the Coosa offense.
“She’s led us in scoring all year,” Hollingsworth said. “Scoring is in her blood. Anytime we can get her going, it’s usually a good thing. Tonight it was a really good thing.”
Coosa extended the lead in the second quarter after establishing a presence in the paint with center Samara Brewster. The Lady Conquerors carried a 31 – 19 lead into the locker room for halftime. Davidson continued her impressive shooting night to start the third quarter, and Coosa started to run away from the Lady Purple Devils. Davidson and Brewster scored all 19 of Coosa’s points in the third quarter, and the Lady Conquerors led 50-27 heading into the fourth quarter.
Davidson led all scorers with 31 points, while Brewster chipped in 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Hollingsworth said Brewster’s rebounding—especially on offense—was crucial for the Lady Conquerors.
“Offensive rebounding is always a part of our game plan,” he said. “We want to take good shots and we want to make shots, but when Samara’s rebounding and getting offensive rebounds and put backs, things are usually going pretty good for us.”
The Lady Conquerors will play for the area championship on Thursday, Feb. 9 and will host a subregional matchup if they win the area title. If they lose, they will travel for the subregional.
“This is a huge step for us,” Hollingsworth said. “This will be the first time our girls have played for an area championship. To host it at home is a phenomenal accomplishment, and we just want to keep going as long as we can.”