Tigers fall one game short of Birmingham in subregional

Published 10:45 am Tuesday, February 14, 2023

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By Carey Reeder | Staff Writer

The Chilton County High School varsity girl’s basketball came up one game short of Birmingham falling 56-44 to Briarwood Christian School at home on Feb. 13. Trinity Pulliam posted a near triple-double in the final game of her high school career with 18 points, 15 rebounds and nine blocks.

Briarwood jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and did not look back in a wire-to-wire win.

CCHS finishes the season with a record of 23-9, and an AHSAA Class 6A Area 5 title on its resume.

“This meant a lot, and no one knows how hard this team worked from the beginning of June to the end of the season,” CCHS coach Rickey Pulliam said. “Everything I asked them to do they stepped in and did it … No team is more deserving of their record. Tonight did not go the way we wanted it to go, but there is not a group of girls I would rather coach those girls.”

The Tigers’ Iasia Anderson hit a jumper to cut the lead to 13-8 in the first quarter, but a 3-pointer as time expired from Briarwood gave them the eight-point lead.

Anderson and Ivyonna Varner each knocked down 3-pointers early in the second quarter to cut the lead to three points. Anderson had 15 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. Varner tallied seven points and three rebounds and assists.

However, Briarwood handled the remainder of the quarter, blooming its lead to as many as 13 before holding a 29-20 advantage at halftime.

“We knew they could shoot the three, and get out and run the ball and up the tempo,” Rickey Pulliam said. “We were trying to wear them down with our pressure, but things did not go the way we planned.”

Briarwood kept its foot on the gas in the third and fourth quarters taking its largest lead of the game at 50-30 with six minutes in the game.

“We just could never overcome that lead,” Rickey Pulliam said.

Trinity Pulliam was hindered with foul trouble at certain spots in the game, and Briarwood was able to bring double team pressure to Anderson as well.

The Tigers found its footing offensively the best late in the fourth quarter cutting the lead down to 12 points, but the lead built throughout the game proved to be too much to overcome.

The loss snapped an 11-game winning streak for CCHS, and its first loss in the calendar year.

“It says a lot about their work ethic, and I’m proud of them, they left it all on the floor,” Rickey Pulliam said. “I think they brought the community together and the community support was great. I want to thank everyone in the Clanton community … I think this girl’s team is the best in the history (of the program), and that is a lot to be proud of.”