Lady Cats earn area victory

The Enterprise Lady Cats picked up a big, 52-40 victory Jan. 20 in Class 7A, Area 3 play on the road against Prattville.

"I thought we continued to play well defensively," EHS girls basketball coach Jeffrey Keller said. "We did a pretty good job of creating turnovers, which we’ve done for the most part all year. I thought we just continued in that. They ran three different defenses at us. The biggest difference was, overnight, we just made shots."

The win was a welcome sight for Keller and the Lady Cats.

"There’ve been so many opportunities all year," he said. "I think as a player…the competitive nature comes out in you like, ‘What have we got to do to get a win?’ I’m seeing (players) go after loose balls with a tenacity, and that’s something we’ve been lacking. I’m seeing people diving all over the place just trying to get loose balls. Things like that make a big difference in particularly close games."

Enterprise led 10-4 after the first quarter, and outscored the Lady Lions 14-11 in the second to take a 24-15 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Prattville outscored Enterprise 13-12 in the third quarter, but the Lady Cats carried a 36-28 advantage into the final frame.

Enterprise scored 14 points in the final frame and allowed 12 to secure the victory.

Essence Alexander led the Lady Cats with 17 points, and Keke Washington followed with 11.

Enterprise has been close to victory in recent area games, and the Lady Cats found a way against Prattville.

"We’ve actually played well against Lee both times. We’ve had opportunities in both games to beat Jeff Davis in the fourth quarter, and this one we pulled out (the win)," Keller said. "The bottom line is nothing beats getting the win. It’s one thing to play well and lose, but to play well and be rewarded for your efforts and your execution, it’s a great feeling for them. I think this game is a reflection of the type of character our (players) have. They kept fighting and getting better. They were rewarded for that tonight. I give them all of the credit."

Prattville defeats Wildcats

A strong start pushed Prattville past the Wildcats 56-47 in an area game.

"The guys played hard," Enterprise boys basketball coach Alonzo Barkley said. "The second half they really turned it up. It was mostly a one-point game late in the game. We just had to foul to try to get back close into the game, and they were able to knock down free throws. That’s where the bigger deficit came from, but we battled."

The Lions scored 18 points in the first quarter to Enterprise's eight.

Both teams scored 11 points in the second quarter, and Prattville had a 29-19 lead at the half.

EHS outscored the Lions 9-4 in the third quarter to cut its deficit to 33-28, but Prattville rebounded with 23 points in the fourth to the Wildcats' 19 to seal the win.

"This is a big loss," Barkley said. "We were hoping to steal a win up here at Prattville and then go to Enterprise, get another win and be up 2-0 on Prattville knowing Lee will probably host our area tournament. The regular season games are great, but we’ve got to keep things in perspective of which games are important when it comes to playoff games. We’ve been on this long streak of losses, and we’re still looking for that first win to try to ignite them."

Sam Purvis led Enterprise with 11 points, and E.J. Scott scored 10. JaJuan Hayes added nine.

There were plenty of Cats Barkley said contributed in the close effort.

"We were led by E.J. Scott," he said. "He played really (well) offensively and defensively. C.J. Felder, our point guard, did really (well). Sam Purvis also played well. A couple of our young guys I moved up also played well. I thought Dallas Howell and Cam Miller played well. The biggest thing is just getting a complete effort from our team."

The loss was a close one, and Enterprise competed well.

"They play so hard and have fallen short," Barkley said. "I think we just struggled to put the ball in the hole, especially in the middle part of the game. We’ve got to really get better at that. We’re going to figure it out and get there. That falls back on me, the coach. We’re going to keep working and stay together."