By Robert Wilson
CLINTON – Parklane Academy junior guard Zoe Alford got her parents to make the hour and a half-long trip from McComb to Mississippi College’s A.E. Wood Coliseum earlier than normal Tuesday morning.
Alford got to the gym around 11:30 a.m., an hour and a half before the scheduled tipoff time of 1 p.m. for the Overall Tournament semifinal game with Jackson Prep.
Alford met Parklane assistant coach Tammy Newlon Gillihan and Gillihan rebounded Alford while she worked for about 40 minutes on shooting in the spacious coliseum.
The pregame workout paid huge dividends.
The 5-foot-7 Alford started off on fire, scoring 13 points in the first 10 minutes of the game, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range, and finished with a game-high 25 points to lead Class 5A state runner-up Parklane to a 58-54 victory over Class 6A state champion Prep Tuesday afternoon before an estimated 1,200 at Wood Coliseum/Mike Jones Court.
Parklane – ranked No. 16 in Mississippi by MaxPreps – improved to 28-5, won for the 15th time out of the last 16 games and meets Class 6A runner-up Madison-Ridgeland Academy, 31-7, Wednesday at 6 p.m. for the Overall championship. MRA – ranked No. 12 in Mississippi by MaxPreps – defeated Class 4A state champion Central Hinds Academy 40-19 in the other semifinal Tuesday afternoon.
Prep – ranked No. 9 in Mississippi by MaxPreps – finished 26-7.
Parklane will be trying to its second Overall girls title in school history and the first since 1993 when Gillihan’s sister, Heather Newlon, was a key player on the team.
Not only did Alford score 25 points (8 of 14 from the field, 6 of 10 from 3-point range and 3 of 4 from the free throw line), she connected on one of the most important shots of the game late in the fourth quarter. Prep, which trailed by as much as nine points in the second half, went on a 7-0 run and senior guard Ann Magee Stradinger – who had an outstanding performance in defeat with 22 points (9 of 17 from field, including 7 of 9 inside the 3-point line) and five assists – hit a 12-foot jumper for a 54-52 Prep lead with 2 minutes, 32 seconds to play. Alford hit her last 3-pointer of game with 1:54 to play to put Parklane back on top for good and a 55-54 lead.
Prep didn’t score again. Alford made a free throw for a 56-54 lead with 23 seconds to play, and Prep missed a 3-pointer from the corner with 10 seconds to play. Parklane grabbed the rebound and freshman guard Lay Jackson made two free throws with 6 seconds to play for the final margin.
“We felt like Prep would put (6-foot-1 junior Meg) Barbour on (Parklane 5-11 freshman) Carlyle (Carruth) and we knew that she was a rim protector and could limit our points in the paint,” said Parklane coach Vicki Rutland who played basketball at Forest Hill High for current Madison St. Joseph coach Tommy Groves, played softball and was a cheerleader at Delta State and has coached basketball, softball and has been an athletic director at Lumberton, West Marion, Northeast Jones, and Lawrence County before coming to Parklane four years ago. “The game before, our objective was to get the ball in the paint as much as possible. So, we wanted to make it clear to Zoe that she would have the green light to shoot from the outside. We put in a couple of new sets to get her the ball and told her to be patient and light it up when she was open. Zoe came early and put up extra shots with Coach Tammy and was feeling good before the game. I thought she shot the ball extremely coming well coming off screens in the half court and in transition. But she has been a shooter for us all year and we were confident that if we let Carlyle handle the ball and moved Zoe and we turned Carlyle loose and told her to go to work. Zoe unselfishly went back to running point guard and didn’t try to force anything. She and Carlyle protected the ball in the stall and led us til the buzzer. It’s a beautiful thing to see everyone working together and playing their roles for the team without question.”
“I’m so proud of this team and how we have kept on going even thought we had some disappointments after losing state,” said Alford, whose career high is 28 points against Columbia Academy this season. “After losing state (to East Rankin Academy), we really wanted to get some revenge and show everyone that we are supposed to be there. I love my team, teammates, and coaches and so for this game I just really wanted to help my team in any way that I could. I very very happy to have worked as hard as I have so in the big moments, it shows.
“I had a little of trouble in the last two games with my shooting, so I knew that I had to get there early and get shots up to help me get used to the goals. Having a little extra time to warmup before the game helped me with my confidence and helped me to settle in.”
In addition to Alford, Carruth had 15 points, 9 in the second half, a team-high 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Anna Sawyer, a 5-11 senior forward and Southern Miss softball commitment, had 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
“We knew we had to make some adjustments because this isn’t our first time playing Prep and we know they adjust well and we had faith in ourselves and God,” said Carruth, one of the top players in the South in the Class of 2028 and the niece of former Parklane, University of Alabama and Green Bay Packers running back Paul Ott Carruth. “We just worked with our game plan and adjusted when needed and did what had to do.”
In addition to Stradinger, senior guard and University of Memphis softball signee Taylor Caton had 12 points for Prep, which shot a sizzling 56.4 percent for the field (22 of 39).
“I’m so proud to be a part of this Parklane team,” Rutland said. “We have worked hard to be here and fought through adversity, learning lessons along the way. We knew today would be a battle because Prep is such a good team and is so well coached. We lost to them a close game (40-37) at the beginning of the season and knew that if we made some adjustments, we had a chance to upset them. Our girls stuck to the game plan and believed in each other. That’s what this time of year is all about and that’s why you play the game. What an awesome experience in such an intense atmosphere, with all our families, fans, student section, and administrators, cheering us on.”
Prep coach Michael McAnally was denied his chance to go for his third Overall girls championship. He led East Rankin to its first Overall title in 2010 and Prep in 2022.
“I was proud of our effort today. We had a lot of good offensive numbers — 56 percent from the field, 37 percent from the 3-point line, and scored 54 points,” said McAnally, who has won 663 games (450 girls and 213 boys), two Overall titles, two Overall runner-up finishes and six state titles in 24 seasons, the last 11 at Prep. “Those numbers are usually good enough for us to win. But Parklane was simply better than us today. It’s a game of made shots and Parklane really shot it well today. We pride ourselves on getting defensive stops and we simply weren’t able to get enough of those today. Parklane, and namely Zoe Alford and Carlyle Carruth, had a lot to do with that. They were spectacular. I hate that it came at our expense but give credit where credit is due. It’s always tough when it ends with a loss but I’m extremely proud of this team and their accomplishments this season. It’s a great privilege to serve as their head coach.”
Now, Parklane goes for its first Overall title in 32 years. Carlyle’s mother, Missy Brewer Carruth, and Sawyer’s mother, Kim Weaver Sawyer, played on the 1993 Overall title team.
“Now we have one more day together in what has been an outstanding season for our team,” Rutland said. “We are here when no one predicted that we would be. We might as well make the most of it. We plan to give it all we’ve got for one last time.”
Said Alford: “My team and I are very excited about this win, but the job isn’t over yet.”
If Alford has another performance like Tuesday, Parklane might go back to McComb with a gold ball.
