Vigor star Jamonica Chambers shows her emotion near the end of the Wolves’ 72-36 loss to Scottsboro Wednesday in the Class 5A state tournament semifinals at Legacy Arena in Birmingham. Chambers had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 8 blocked shots. (Helen Joyce/Call News)
By JIMMY WIGFIELD
BIRMINGHAM — There was little consolation for Vigor coach Andrea Powell and star center Jamonica Chambers after the Wolves reached the state’s final four, only to unravel on the grandest stage of Alabama high school basketball.
No. 2-ranked Scottsboro administered Vigor’s worst defeat this season, 72-36, at the worst time for the Wolves — in the Class 5A state tournament semifinals Wednesday at Legacy Arena.
The loss left Chambers without words and unable to speak afterward and Powell said she could think of only one thing that might have helped.
“I could have put on a jersey,” she said.
The Wildcats (28-5), who lost in last year’s state championship game, forced Vigor into 27 turnovers, mainly off their press, and scored 38 points off them.
“We knew they were going to pressure,” said Powell, whose Wolves saw a 13-game winning streak end to finish 23-11. “We’re a young team but I still figured that even though they were young, they still would be ready for the pressure because we faced pressure all season. I didn’t think it would come to this game and we would fold under the pressure. We are young but I guess the cameras, the lights and everything got to them.”
Chambers, the 6-4 junior center, picked up her third foul late in the first half and finished with 17 points — only four in the second half — and 11 rebounds in a duel with Scottsboro’s smaller center Isabelle Nelson, who had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
“(Chambers) is a good player,” Wildcats coach Brandon Childers said. “She gave us some problems early. We kept pushing and kind of wore her down. I think we finally got it to our speed and wore them down.”
Nelson said she had to have a lot of help to defend against Chambers.
“It was definitely a battle, especially how tall she was and strong,” Nelson said. “But I think our guards did a great job crashing down and helping.”
Powell said Chambers — who made 7 of 14 shots and had 8 blocks — and her teammates had nothing to be ashamed of.
“It hurts,” Powell said. “But I’m proud of the way she played and the way my point guard (Jamonica Miller) played.”
Miller had 8 points, 4 assists and 3 steals but also turned the ball over 13 timers in the face of Scottsboro’s pressure. But while her high school career ended, she expects Vigor to return to the final four.
“I feel like we proved that we’re supposed to be here,” she said. “They’ll come back again and show y’all that they’re supposed to be at the state championship.”
The Wildcats led 33-21 at halftime and the Wildcats’ 15-4 run in the third period extinguished any comeback hopes for Vigor.
Scottsboro dominated all of the meaningful statistical categories, outscoring the Wolves 50-28 in the paint, 38-10 off turnovers, 16-6 off second-chance points, 25-6 off fast-break points and 17-0 off the bench.
The Wolves led for only 11 seconds early in the first period when Chambers scored inside. But Nelson quickly tied it with a layup of her own and Bree Sexton’s layup less than a minute later gave the Wildcats the lead for good.
VIGOR (36)
Miller 4-8 0-1 8, S. Brown 2-6 2-3 6, Davis 1-2 0-0 2, Chambers 7-14 3-4 17, Thomas 1-6 0-0 3, Holcombe 0-1 0-0 0, Paige 0-0 0-0 0, Duncan 0-1 0-0 0, T. Brown 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 15-38 FG, 5-8 FT.
SCOTTSBORO (72)
White 0-0 0-0 0, Sexton 9-19, 5-5 24, Perkins 4-12 0-0 9, Nelson 6-12 0-0 12, Dawson 5-8 0-0 10, Prater 0-1 0-2 0, White 0-5 0-0 0, T. Shelton 3-9 0-0 8, Martin 2-5 0-0 4, A. Shelton 2-2 0-0 5, Austin 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 31-73 FG, 5-7 FT.
3-POINTERS
Vigor: S. Brown 0-1, Thomas 1-1, Holcombe 0-1, Duncan 0-1. TOTALS: 1-4.
Scottsboro: Sexton 1-5, Perkins 1-5, Nelson 0-1, Dawson 0-2, Shelton 2-4, Martin 0-1, A. Shelton 1-1. TOTALS: 5-19.
REBOUNDS
Vigor: Chambers 11, Thomas 4. TOTALS: 26 (9 offensive, 17 defensive).
Scottsboro: Nelson 11, Sexton 5, White 5. TOTALS: 41 (25 offensive, 16 defensive).
POINTS
In paint: Scottsboro 50-28.
Off turnovers: Scottsboro 38-10.
Second chance: Scottsboro 16-6.
Fast break: Scottsboro 25-6.
Bench: Scottsboro 17-0.
Vigor 15 7 4 10 — 36
Scottsboro 21 12 19 20 — 72
