Arab Lady Knights Clinch
Northeast Regional Championship

Head for State Semi-Finals in Birmingham

Front Row L-R; Lindsey Guess, Courtney Gibson, Alli Smalley, Emily Smith, Michaela Bennett, Kathryn Whitlock, McKenzie Collier. Back Row L-R; Coach, Adam Jacobs, Alex King, Jessica Bailey, Head Coach, Steve Flack, Tia Alexander, Jordan Lemons, Anna Meinert, Coach, Kevin Serrett.
Click Photo to Enlarge - Photo By Dwight Hayes

Saturday, Feb. 25, 2006
The Arab Lady Knights made history Saturday morning as they became the first Arab High School basketball team to advance to the state semi-finals after defeating the Scottsboro Lady Wildcats in the Northeast Alabama Regional Championship.  The Lady Knights' next game will be against the Jess Lanier Lady Tigers at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham on March 2nd at 9 a.m.  A win against Jess Lanier would catapult the Lady Knights into the state finals where they would face either Talladega or Ramsey.

Scottsboro managed to keep the score close through the first three quarters but Arab began to pull away in the fourth quarter as Scottsboro began to press and was forced to foul in an attempt to cause turnovers.  With time running out the Lady Wildcats shooting went cold as they missed several free throw and field goal attempts.

Time for celebration as the Arab Lady Knights move to center court
to receive the Class 5A Northeast Regional Championship Plaque
Click Photo to Enlarge                                                        Photo by Dwight Hayes

The Lady Knights took the opening tip-off and scored first with a three point shot but the Lady Wildcats responded with a three point shot of their own and then added two more points to take the only lead that they would see during the game.  Scoring remained close throughout the first quarter and the quarter ended with  12-8 lead.  Scottsboro managed to pull even for a brief time late in the 2nd quarter, but the first half ended with Arab leading 21-19.  The third quarter continued to see Arab increase their lead to 4-6 points several times, only to see Scottsboro fight back to keep the score close.  The third quarter ended with Arab leading 37 to 34.  Arab began to steadily pull away in the fourth quarter, upping their lead to 8 then 9 then 11 points while Scottsboro was unable to close the gap as their shots began to miss their mark.  In the end Arab was able to stretch their lead to 13 as the final seconds ticked away.

Arab is now 27-5 on the season.

Head Coach Steve Flack with Northeast Regional Championship Plaque
Click Photo to Enlarge          Photo by Dwight Hayes

Alli Smalley led the Arab scoring with 30 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 turnovers and 2 steals.  Anna Meinert contributed 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 turnover.  Courtney Gibson scored 9 points, had 4 rebounds and 3 turnover.  Tia Alexander added 3 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assists, 3 turnovers and 3 steals.  Alex King scored 2 points, had 4 rebounds, 5 turnovers and 5 steals.  Leading scorers for Scottsboro were, Heather Nelson with 11 points and Amy Fennell with 10 points.

Overall, Arab shot 43% inside the two point line and 50% from outside the three point line.  From the free throw line Arab shot 55%.  Scottsboro shot 28%, 36.4% and 57% respectively.

Courtney Gibson (L) and Alli Smalley receive All Tournament
Honors during the awards ceremony
Click Photo to Enlarge             Photo by Dwight Hayes

Courtney Gibson and Alli Smalley were named to the All-Tournament Team. Alli Smalley received the Most Valuable Player award.

Alli Smalley receives tournament Most Valuable Player Award
Click Photo to Enlarge             Photo by Dwight Hayes

Click here for a web album of photos from the Regional Final Game.