For the first time since 2018, the Homewood girls basketball team is headed to the regional playoffs at Jacksonville State University after defeating Huffman 62-48 in their Feb. 7 contest.
The reward for their subregional victory against Huffman is a sweet-16 matchup on Monday, Feb. 17, at 9 a.m. against the Fort Payne Wildcats, who defeated Oxford in the first round.
In the game against Huffman, junior center Ellis McCool went off for a career-high 34 points in the thrilling victory.
For McCool, this is the most points she has ever scored in a single basketball game.
“It felt really good,” McCool said. “It was definitely the most fun and exciting game for me.”
McCool said she went into the game the same way as any other, with a positive mindset and total focus. She emphasized the preparation the team did ahead of the game, such as watching film of Huffman’s games this season, and that it played a big role in her ability to perform.
McCool’s confidence fully kicked in once her shots started falling consistently in the second half.
“Once shots started falling, that gave me the confidence I needed to play the way I did,” McCool said.
Head coach Gavin King emphasized the superb performance of his center. He noted this wasn’t the first time a player has scored 30+ points in a game this season. Back in December, senior Ava Robinson scored 37 points in a tournament in Georgia. King believes this scoring potential makes the Patriots a threat.
“We don’t go into our games with a certain goal to get one girl a specific amount of points,” King said. “That’s what makes us hard to scout. We play as a team and can have anyone go off for a certain amount of points anytime.”
Looking ahead to the sub-regional game against Fort Payne, King feels optimistic about their chances despite the Wildcats’ strong 25-5 record.
“You don’t get a record like that without having some really good players,” King said. “They are experienced with a lot of seniors. They can make some shots and come out on you and play physically. We’ll get their best game of the season so we’re prepared for what we’ve seen from them. The girls are doing a good job of locking in on the game plan.”
The winner of Monday’s matchup will play either Mountain Brook or Gadsden City in the Elite Eight. A win there means a trip to the Final Four at the BJCC. The last time the team made it to the BJCC was in 2016, where they fell to LeFlore in the championship.
“There’s no limit to how far this group can go in the postseason,” King said. “If we come together and play great in all aspects of the game, I think our chances to go to the BJCC and even win the state championship are pretty high.”
