Phil Campbell girls establish area dominance
By Bart Moss / For the FCT
If there was any doubt about how dominant the Phil Campbell girls basketball team might be in their area and in Franklin County, that doubt should be erased after the Bobcats easily vanquished their area competition. Phil Campbell (7-2) has outscored their area competition 197-69 in three games.
“I’m well pleased with our play thus far,” said Bobcat coach Craig Thomas. “The girls have been focused and they’ve hustled every night.”
Red Bay has been perched at the top of the girls basketball hierarchy in Franklin County in their area for well over a decade with only a loss here and there. That role has clearly shifted to the Bobcats, at least for now.
Phil Campbell has already played each area opponent once, winning each one convincingly: Red Bay (62-34), Lamar County (67-25) and Sulligent (68-10). The Bobcats beat county rival Tharptown 65-15.
That leaves only Belgreen and Vina, both of which have yet to face the Bobcats’ relentless full court pressure defense. Phil Campbell will square off with the Bulldogs Friday night at Phil Campbell.
“I’ve been surprised at our margins of victory,” Thomas said. “Those teams will get better as the year goes on, and we will have to progress as a team as well. Our goal is not to get complacent and let our guard down. We have to fix the little things as we go along.”
The Bobcats’ only two losses have come at the hands of 6A Florence High School (67-57) and 5A West Point High School (80-66).
It appears the only local team that might have the firepower to subdue Phil Campbell is five miles down the road in Bear Creek, where the Phillips Bears are dispatching opponents with relative ease as well. The two teams will meet in a regular season matchup just after the Christmas break, Jan. 4.
There is a lot of basketball to played, but the Bobcats are quickly earning the right to be the team to beat – thus placing the target on their backs.
“I remind the girls all the time of the goals we’ve set for the season,” Thomas said. “We have to stay focused on what we want to accomplish as a team. If we lose that focus, that’s when things can go wrong.”
Phil Campbell 57, Hamilton 38
Phil Campbell jumped out to a 25-6 first quarter lead on the Hamilton Aggies last week and held on for a 57-38 win.
Kallie Allen led the Bobcats with 16 points. Abby Davis and Dakota Elliott followed with 12 points and 11 points respectively. Caitlyn Mills and Carley Nix added four points each. Chloe Roberson, Kaci Harris and Megan Bullock scored two points each.
Phil Campbell 67, Lamar County 25
Phil Campbell raced out to a 23-9 first quarter lead and increased that lead to 46-15 by halftime before cruising to a 67-25 win over Lamar County.
Abby Davis led the Bobcats with 20 points, six rebounds and six steals. Davis passed the 1,000 career point mark on a three-point shot in the first quarter of the game.
Allen and Darby Elliott followed with 17 points and 13 points respectively. Dakota Elliott added seven points, and Nix scored six points. Harris and Bullock scored two points each. Cimber Davis and Emily Swinney pitched in one point each.
Phil Campbell 68, Sulligent 10
Phil Campbell had no problems putting away a weak Sulligent team last week, 68-10. The Bobcats almost tripled the Blue Devils’ scoring output for the game in the first quarter.
Phil Campbell scored 26 points in the first quarter and just allowed Sulligent two points. Sulligent only made one field goal in the game. The other eight points came at the free-throw line.
Abby Davis led the Bobcats with 15 points. Mills added 11 points and Darby Elliott 10 points. Allen and Bullock finished with seven points each. Roberson finished with six points. Dakota Elliott and Nix scored four points each. Harris and Swinney contributed two points each.
