Wildcats, Lady Cats capture regular season area crown

Both the Enterprise Wildcats and Lady Cats captured the Class 7A, Area 3 regular season championship and No. 1 seed in the upcoming area tournament.

The Wildcats kicked off the week with a 63-36 domination of rival Dothan at home. After a low-scoring first period, with Enterprise leading 8-6, the Wildcats outscored the Wolves 15-5 in the second quarter to take control of the game. Enterprise outscored Dothan 21-11 in the third quarter and 19-14 in the fourth quarter and never trailed in the win.

Enterprise shot 41 percent from the field and held Dothan to just 35 percent shooting, while also outrebounding the Wolves 32-30 and scoring 35 points off 34 Dothan turnovers.

Junior Quentin Hayes had a big night with 20 points and six steals, while senior Jalen Cunningham scored nine points, dished three assists and earned four steals on defense. Jordan Hines added seven points and five rebounds.

The Lady Cats also earned a 38-31 win over Dothan on Jan. 19. Jaida Gosha led the Lady Cats with 15 points, while NeNe Nelson added six points in the win.

The Wildcats closed up area play with a 68-44 win over Prattville on the road on Jan. 22. Enterprise was not interested in allowing the Lions to hang around either, as the Cats jumped out to a 19-3 lead in the first quarter. Enterprise outscored Prattville again 19-5 in the second quarter and took a resounding 38-7 lead into halftime. Prattville played tighter in the second half but never managed to come within 20 points of the Wildcats.

Enterprise dominated the paint against Prattville scoring 40 points to just 10 points in the paint for the Lions.

Junior Elijah Terry made his presence felt with a double-double as he filled up the stat sheet with 21 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. Hayes also added 17 points and four rebounds, while freshman Keion Dunlap scored 12 points and dished out four assists.

“I thought we played well in spurts,” Wildcat coach Rhett Harrelson said. “Some trips down we looked really good and we’re all doing our jobs but we just have to be more consistent about doing that all the time.

“We’ll do it for two or three possessions in a row and then have a let down. Overall, I thought we did what we had to do and take care of business, but we’re still working on getting more consistent and doing our job every play.”

Those wins wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the area for the Wildcats as they also secured an undefeated record in area play, the first time for that accomplishment in at least 30 years for the Cats.

“I think that’s a special accomplishment for sure, to be able to go undefeated in regular season area play is tough to do against really good teams,” Harrelson said. “We’re really proud about that and happy about that but we also understand that the way basketball works we haven’t really accomplished anything yet.

“If you lose in the first round of the area tournament then you’re done. It really starts over which is the awesome thing about basketball and the way playoffs are. You could be 0-6 (in the area) and win the tournament and make the playoffs. We’re excited to be in the position we are by taking care of business and we understand we still have a lot of work left to do.”

The Lady Cats knocked off Prattville 47-28 on Jan. 22 with Riley McCullough having a big night with 14 points, while NeNe Nelson added 10 points in the win.

The Lady Cats then followed up with a 34-29 win over Dothan on Jan. 25 to secure the No. 1 seed in the area tournament. Gosha led the Lady Cats with 17 points in the win. Enterprise shot 70 percent at the free throw line to help earn the win.

“I thought we played pretty well,” Lady Cat coach George Scott said. “I think things are starting to come together for us and we’re having different players step up on offense every night, which is something I’ve been wanting to happen all season.

“We play pretty good defense as a team no matter who is in the game but my thing is I want each player – except my two leading scorers – to have one basket per quarter that you’re on the floor. That’s my goal for the team offensively. If you can give me that when you’re on the floor – as long as you play defense as well – you’re making a positive impact on the game.”

Enterprise will close out the regular season at home against Greenville on Jan. 29 and Carroll on Feb. 2. The Wildcats will host Senior Night against Greenville and the Lady Cats will host their Senior Night against Carroll.