Calera falls short of area title

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Jalisa Thomas collected 13 points in the first half to help lead the Calera Lady Eagles to a 22-15 halftime lead Friday.

However her scoring stopped there as the Altamont defense silenced Calera&8217;s charge, stealing the 3A, Area 7 regular season title, 33-31.

The Lady Eagles jumped ahead 11-2 in the opening eight minutes or play, but were out scored in every quarter since, as they were held to 30.7 percent shooting in the game and 15.7 percent in the second half. Altamont took their only lead with the game-winning basket as the clock showed 33 seconds left to play.

Brandi Johnson, who finished with five points in the game, was the leading scorer for the Eagles in the second half with four points, while Keyanna Davis collected only three of her nine total points in the final 16 minutes.

&8220;We did the same stuff in the second half we did in the first, but just had poor execution, and that&8217;s as much my fault as any ones,&8221; said Calera head coach Jim Knowles.

The loss snapped a five game win streak for the Lady Eagles (9-12, 4-2).

Davis led the team on the glass with 12 rebounds.

Altamont&8217;s attack was balanced by Maura McGlaughlin&8217;s nine points and Dani Feldman&8217;s eight points, who both combined for nine in the second half to even out Calera&8217;s offense. Feldman&8217;s basket before halftime gave her 1,000 career points