Expectations on the rise for Lady Falcons
Mon. February 20, 2012 at 1:00 a.m. | By Andrew Carroll
Central’s Toborsha Holley scored 24 points in the Falcons’ 57-48 victory over Pleasant Grove in the Sub-Regional. The Falcons earned a berth in the Class 5A Central Regional and will play Sylacauga on Wednesday in Montgomery. (Photo by Michelle Lepianka Carter)
TUSCALOOSA | Toborsha Holley stepped into an unfamiliar role in the most important game of the season and helped the Central High School girls basketball team advance to a regional.
Holley, who filled in for injured point guard Angelica Weatherspoon, scored 24 points in Thursday’s 57-48 victory over Pleasant Grove. Central earned a berth in the Class 5A Central Regional. The Lady Falcons will play Sylacauga on Wednesday at Alabama State University in Montgomery.
"It means the program is headed in the right direction," said Michael Rivers, Central’s first-year head coach. "It means more visibility for the program and more visibility for Central High School as a whole. The girls get to play in a college gym, and they get to see how the hard work has paid off.
"Now that we’ve made it here, I don’t want it to end. We’re wanting to make a run, and we’re hoping it’s not a one-time thing. We want this to be the expectation now, to do this year in and year out."
Akron, which went to the 2011 semifinals in Birmingham, plays Winterboro in the Class 1A Central Regional. Holy Spirit plays Keith.
Senior Kaitlyn Taylor and sophomore Rachel Taylor lead a Holy Spirit team that is coached by their father, Roger Taylor. Holy Spirit, which has one loss, was ranked No. 2 in the final Alabama Sports Writers Association poll.
"We’re excited about regionals," Roger Taylor said. "We got here last year. We’re still a young team, and we got nervous last year, but we’re looking forward to an opportunity for redemption playing Keith."
Greensboro, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A, plays Marbury in Montgomery, with Aliceville taking on Leeds.
Eddie Jackson coached Sumter County to the Class 3A semifinals last season. Jackson coaches the Sumter Central Lady Jaguars, made up of players from Livingston and Sumter County. Jackson’s team faces Southside of Selma in the Class 4A Central Regional.
Coach John Cain’s Northridge team includes seniors Sarah Stuart, Faith Lancaster and Tori Morgan. Each has scored more than 1,000 points in her career. Kiana Johnson scored 20 points as Northridge defeated Minor 71-56 to earn a berth in the Class 6A Northwest Regional at Hanceville.
Northridge faces Bob Jones at noon on Tuesday.
The Berry Lady Wildcats get a rematch in Hanceville with R.A. Hubbard, the Class 1A defending champion. Berry advanced to a regional final for the first time in school history last season. Winfield plays Lauderdale County in a Class 3A semifinal game at Hanceville.
The Demopolis girls advanced to the Class 4A South Regional in Mobile. Demopolis plays LeFlore at the University of South Alabama.
Cameron Kiszla contributed to this story.
AHSAA REGIONALS
Here are the pairings for West Alabama girls basketball teams in the AHSAA regionals:
Northwest Regional
At Wallace State, Hanceville
Class 6A
Tuesday
9 a.m. — Bessemer City vs. Buckhorn
Noon — Northridge vs. Bob Jones
Friday
9 a.m. — semifinal winners
Class 1A
Tuesday
3 p.m. — Berry vs. R.A. Hubbard
6 p.m. — Lynn vs. Tharptown
Friday
3:40 p.m. — semifinal winners
Class 3A
Thursday
9 a.m. — Winfield vs. Lauderdale County
Noon — Holly Pond vs. West Morgan
Saturday
12:20 p.m. — semifinal winners
Central Regional
At Alabama State University, Montgomery
Class 1A
Tuesday
3 p.m. — Holy Spirit vs. Keith
6 p.m. — Akron vs. Winterboro
Friday
12:30 p.m. — semifinal winners
Class 5A
Wednesday
9 a.m. — Valley vs. Fairfield
Noon — Central vs. Sylcauga
Friday
4 p.m. — semifinal winners
Class 3A
Thursday
9 a.m. — Greensboro vs. Marbury
Noon — Aliceville vs. Leeds
Saturday
12:30 p.m. — semifinal winners
Class 4A
Thursday
3 p.m. — Dadeville vs. Midfield
6 p.m. — Sumter Central vs. Southside-Selma
Saturday
4 p.m. — semifinal winners
South Regional
At South Alabama, Mobile
Class 5A
Wednesday
3 p.m. — Faith Academy vs. Selma
6 p.m. — Demopolis vs. LeFlore
Saturday
5 p.m. — semifinal winners