Staff Reports

SAND ROCK – Sand Rock senior shooting guard Katelyn St.Clair and senior forward Zoey Handy made sure they did their parts to help the Lady Wildcats clinch their first Class 2A Northeast Regional appearance since 2020.

St.Clair connected on a pair of 3-pointers and scored 23 points while Handy posted 19 points. Sand Rock’s defense did the rest in a 74-30 victory over visiting LaFayette in sub-regional action Friday evening.

St.Clair also had seven assists, six rebounds and five steals. Handy had four steals. Peyton Johnson and Brylaina Holcomb both finished with seven points.

Jayla Hooks led LaFayette with 11 points. Andereka Williams and Aronique Kyles both collected a pair of 3-pointers and had six points apiece. Tyliah Broughton finished with five points.

Behind its press, eighth-ranked Sand Rock (25-7) was able to build a 23-7 first quarter lead and a 54-18 halftime advantage. The Lady Wildcats led 67-22 after three quarters.

Sand Rock advances to Jacksonville State University’s Pete Mathews Coliseum for the 2A regional semifinals against No. 7 Ider on Friday, Feb. 16.

“I am excited for this hard-working group of eight seniors,” Lady Wildcat coach Lisa Bates said. “They deserve to get to go to JSU, but we are hoping to do more. It has been a few years since we have gotten this far. We are happy to be going, but we are not satisfied. We want more.”