Wildcats, Lady Cats advance to area championship

The Enterprise Wildcats and Lady Cats both picked up wins over Prattville in the semifinals of the Class 7A, Area 3 Tournament Tuesday, Feb. 9, and now get set to host the area championship.

The Wildcats (18-6, 7-0) picked up a dominating 63-26 win in the semifinals after taking over in the second quarter. A pumped up Lions team jumped out to an early lead over Enterprise but eventually the Wildcats settled down and took a 12-9 lead into the second quarter.

The second quarter is where Enterprise started to turn up the heat and outscored Prattville 17-7 to take a 29-16 lead into the half.

In the third quarter, the Wildcats put away any Lion hopes of a comeback forcing turnover after turnover and outscoring Prattville 25-3 in the period. Enterprise also outscored Prattville 9-7 in the fourth quarter. The Lions never scored double digits in a single period.

“I thought we played hard. I thought Prattville played hard and it was a hard-fought game,” Wildcat coach Rhett Harrelson said. “We came out and had a really good crowd despite the 20 percent capacity, our students were engaged. The environment, the way we played, I was pleased with everything.”

Enterprise shot 49 percent from the field in the win and held Prattville to just 21 percent shooting, while outrebounding the Lions 32-27. Enterprise also scored 22 points off 26 Prattville turnovers.

Junior Elijah Terry was explosive, especially in the second half, scoring 15 points, grabbing six rebounds and earning two steals on defense in the win. Senior Josh McCray also had a big night with 10 points and five rebounds, while freshman Keion Dunlap scored eight points. Sophomore Jordan Hines added seven points and four rebounds.

Prattville didn’t have a player that scored more than six points.

Wildcat Arena was rocking from the start of the game and the atmosphere that the student section created, despite the Alabama High School Athletic Association restrictions on fan attendance, played a big part in the win, according to Harrelson.

“I think that is a major part of it,” Harrelson said. “The environment matters and I’m glad we are able to have fans, while abiding by the 20 percent rule.

“It’s really fun to see our students and our fans having fun with it. I’m very pleased with our home crowd and student section.”

The Wildcats will host the Area 3 Championship on Saturday, Feb. 13, against the winner of the Dothan vs. Jeff Davis game on Feb. 10. While Enterprise swept both teams during the regular season, Harrelson knows things won’t be easy.

“We haven’t seen a complete Dothan team yet,” Harrelson said. “The first time we played they had been on quarantine and had just one day of practice before; that matters. The last time we played they didn’t have their big 6-foot-9-inch kid (Ja’Mariion Palm) and one of their starting guards was also out. So, we haven’t played a complete, well-rested Dothan team yet.

“Both games against Jeff Davis were close and we ended up winning at the end, too.”

Up for grabs in the championship is home-court advantage in the regional round of the state tournament. If Enterprise wins, the Wildcats will host the first round and if they lose they will have to travel to the Mobile area.

The Lady Cats (13-6, 6-1) also picked up a 34-12 win over the Lady Lions on Tuesday night. The Lady Cats came out swinging and completely shut out the Lady Lions in the first quarter, taking an 11-0 lead into the second period.

Prattville finally scored its first points of the game two minutes into the second quarter but Enterprise still took a 29-5 lead into halftime.

The Lady Cats kept the pressure up in the second half and Prattville didn’t break double digits on the scoreboard until there was less than three minutes remaining.

The Lady Cats grabbed 25 rebounds as a team and also snatched 17 steals on defense.

“I thought we played a pretty good game, especially defensively,” Lady Cat coach George Scott said. “I thought we handled our business and did what we needed to.”

Leading the way was junior NeNe Nelson filling up the stat sheet with 20 points, six rebounds, six steals, one assist and one block.

“That’s who she is as a player, man,” Scott said of Nelson. “She led us in scoring, rebounding, steals and just about every statistical category you could think of she led us in last night.

“That’s just what she does. That girl is a special player.”

Senior Harmony Baker added five points, three steals and two rebounds, while junior Jaida Gosha scored six points and grabbed three rebounds. Senior Riley McCollough also scored four points, dished four assists, grabbed three rebounds and had two steals.

The Lady Cats will host Dothan in the Area 3 Championship either Friday or Saturday night.

“Dothan is a tough team,” Scott said. “They are really good and are well-coached. They have some really good players and they play hard. They play to win, so we have to be prepared.”