Dollar hits record-tying 13 threes in rout
By Staff
Mike Self, FCT Sports Editor
LEIGHTON – Jordan Dollar swears there's nothing special about the gym at Colbert County High School.
Don't believe her.
Dollar scored what was then a career-high 36 points last season when Russellville made the trip to Leighton, but that paled in comparison to what she did Friday night.
The senior forward tied a girls state record by making 13 three-pointers and finished with 47 points as the Lady Golden Tigers rolled to a 77-27 rout of the Lady Indians.
"I really don't know what it is," said Dollar, who went 13-for-19 from beyond the arc and tied the record already shared by Heather Morris of Vestavia Hills (1995-96 season) and Heather Mays of Fyffe (1994-95). "For some reason, I just feel it when I come over here."
Russellville coach James Bostick was coaching Belgreen in 2002 when Kelli Parrish scored 48 points for the Lady Bulldogs against Hatton, but he said he's never seen anything like Dollar's performance on Friday.
"Not when it comes to threes," Bostick said. "I've never seen anybody make three after three after three the way Jordan did tonight. It's rare for a player to be in the zone like that. She was really hot, and her teammates did a good job of finding her when she had open looks.
"Jordan's been with me since I came to Russellville. I'm so proud of her."
Dollar opened the game with back-to-back threes, and Russellville's lead grew to 12-0 on a layup by Victoria Taylor. Dollar then hit three straight treys to push the lead to 21-0 late in the first quarter.
She didn't make another three until 1:20 remained in the first half, and she added her seventh of the night (in seven tries) with five seconds left in the half as Russellville carried a 43-11 lead into the break.
After finally missing from three-point range early in the second half, Dollar made three more treys in the third quarter and was sitting on 38 points as Russellville led 63-21 heading into the fourth quarter.
Two quick threes to open the fourth gave her 12 for the night, and then she missed her next three attempts from downtown. With 5:00 left in the game, Dollar nailed three-pointer No. 13 to tie the record and then headed to the bench.
"I was surprised they didn't come out on me a little more and try to guard me closer," said Dollar, who was practically wide-open on almost all of her attempts. "I kept getting open, and my teammates did a great job of getting me the ball. They wanted to see me score. Without them, there's no way I could have done this."
Dollar would be the sole record-holder if a three-seconds violation hadn't wiped out another three-pointer in the first quarter.
"Oh well," she said afterwards with a smile and a shrug. "Things happen."
Sasha Willingham added 11 points for Russellville, which got a much-needed break from what has been a brutal schedule of late. Seven of the Lady Golden Tigers' 14 games since January 1 had been against opponents ranked in the Top 10 of their respective classification, including two against Class 4A No. 1 Deshler and three total against Class 5A powers Hartselle (No. 2) and Athens (No. 4).
"If there's a tougher schedule out there, I'd hate to see it," Bostick said. "It seems like every game we've played has been against a ranked team. But that will be good for us in the long run."
It wasn't all good news for Russellville on Friday, however. Taylor injured her wrist while crashing to the floor on a layup attempt in the first half, and Bostick said after the game that he feared it might be broken.
Russellville will play its final regular season game Monday at home against Hartselle.
