Mary Hayes Johnson shines as Cherokee County girls basketball beats Handley in AHSAA regional
JACKSONVILLE — Cherokee County girls basketball's furious late comeback against Handley in the AHSAA regional, was enough as they won 49-48.
The game was tied with seven second remaining when Mary Hayes Johnson hit one free throw before Handley couldn't get a clean shot off.
"It didn't register in my head that we had won. It took me a second," Johnson said of the final play.
The Warriors trailed by 11 entering the final quarter, thanks to going two of 12 shooting in the third quarter. They would go 4 of 7 from 3-point range in the final quarter to close the gap.
The Warriors were down three at the half, even after being outrebounded 21-11 by the Tigers. Johnson's 11 first half points were a major reason the Warriors were still in the game, along with shooting 40% from the field.
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The star of the day was Johnson, even before her late heroics, with 25 points but her play on the defensive side of the ball was hard for the Tigers to handle at times. She added six rebounds and four steals.
Outside of the rebounding struggles it was a strong game in the paint for the Warriors with eight blocks and more than 20 points down there, outscoring the Tigers. The Warriors had more steals than turnovers, with 14 steals to eight turnovers.
Maxwell Donaldson covers high school sports and Jacksonville State athletics for the Gadsden Times. Find him on Twitter/X @_Max_Donaldson and contact him at MDonaldson@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Cherokee County girls basketball beats to Handley in AHSAA regional
