Calera girls shut down West Blocton

Published 1:28 pm Saturday, January 18, 2014

By TREY HICKMAN/For the Reporter

WEST BLOCTON — Points came very much at a premium for the West Blocton varsity girls against the visiting Calera Eagles Jan. 17.

The Tigers scored only two points through three quarters while Tyesha Haynes had 13 for Calera as the Eagles sauntered to the 34-9 win over their Class 4A Area 7 counterpart.

Haynes did her part in the opening period, putting up six points as Calera (17-4, 4-0 in Area 7) sprinted to an 18-0 lead. The Tigers (3-19, 0-5) finally found the scoring column with Brooklyn Woods’ bucket at the 7:24 mark of the second quarter.

However, Haynes recorded five more points as Calera went on a 7-0 run for the remainder of the first half to carry a 26-2 advantage into the break.

With the Eagles’ lead sitting comfortably at 34-2 after the third quarter, West Blocton won the scoring battle 7-0 in the final period, though more than enough damage had been dealt.

The runaway win gave Calera head coach James Knowles the luxury of being able to sit his starting five for much of the game, which opened the door for other Eagles to gain all-important experience.

“That’s what I told (the non-starters) when they went in,” said Knowles. “I said, look, you have an opportunity to play. This is your time to shine and to do the things that you can do and work on the things that you want to do to get better.

“Some of them did. Some of them took advantage of their opportunities, which is good, which down the road bodes well for us.”

For Calera, Haynes led the way with 13 points and five steals, followed by Tia McCarter with eight points along with five steals of her own. Breonna Caldwell collected six points and six steals in the victory.

Tia Lynch logged three points for West Blocton.