The Albertville Aggies from Alabama knocked Morristown West out of the winner’s bracket with a 71-61 victory Saturday afternoon.
Led by Mississippi State University commitment Lani Smallwood with 34 points, a tournament best thus far in the Classic, the Aggies built a big early lead, then watched the Trojans battle back before a second half spurt put away the Morristown squad.
Albertville was up 22-8 after one quarter before West caught fire and went on a 22-10 run in the second frame to cut the gap to 32-30 at intermission. The Aggies then broke from a slender 42-36 lead with 5:30 left in the third to go on a 17-0 run to take a 59-40 lead and go on to a 59-44 advantage at the buzzer.
The Trojans could get no closer than the 10-point final margin.
In addition to the 34 points by Smallwood, Albertville’s Mylie Butler came up one assist short of a triple-double, scoring 13 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and getting nine assists. Graclyn Rodeson also hit double digit scoring with 11 for the Aggies (13-2).
West (5-5) was led by a terrific 28 point show by Jhaniya Mitchell who also had 10 rebounds. Haven Simpson scored 12.
Albertville (71): Mylie Butler 5-12 2-2 13, McBee 2-5 0-0 4, Lani Smallwood 13-24 3-3 34, Graclyn Robeson 4-9 0-0 11, Booker 2-8 2-2 6, Burns 0-0 0-0 0, Hardin 0-0 1-2 1, Brown 1-3 0-0 2, West 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS: 27-62 8-9 71.
Morristown West (61): Jhaniya Mitchell 13-21 2-2 28, Murray 1-10 0-0 2, Bohanon 1-3 1-1 3, Dinkins 2-7 1-2 6, Haven Simpson 5-7 2-3 12, Marshall 0-3 1-1 1, Woods 0-0 0-0 0, Holt 3-4 0-0 7, Simpson 1-3 0-2 2. TOTALS: 26-58 7-12 61.
3-Point Goals: AHS—9 (Smallwood 5, Robeson 3, Butler). MW—2 (Dinkins, Holt).
Score by quarters:
Albertville 22 10 27 12–71
Morr. West 8 22 14 17–61
