Gilbert HS vs Fox Creek HS

One of two Region 5-AAA semifinal matchups contested on Tuesday night concluded in commanding fashion as Fox Creek defeated its visitors from Gilbert with the final score being 61-40. The two teams were locked in what would appear to have been a tight contest after the first half. Predators coach Owen Jacobs said his team made a halftime adjustment and put more emphasis on attacking off the rim to put more points on the board in the second half. With the victory over Alvin Wright’s Gilbert team, the Predators will advance to Thursday’s regional championship game with Orangeburg-Wilkinson, who defeated Strom Thurmond in the other Region 5-AAA semifinal. Prep Girls Hoops was on hand at Fox Creek for the big matchup. Here is a look at who caught our attention. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="255750" first="Zykeria" last="Valentine"] – 2022 – Fox Creek High School</strong> – Predators fans will love that they get to see one more season of Valentine prior to her graduation. She established herself early defensively by going after the basketball on defense as well as offensively with an and one opportunity that put Fox Creek on the board first. Valentine is also talented as a rebounder as well as one who will make extra passes. And when she is fouled, she is very likely to sink her free throw opportunities. Valentine led Fox Creek with 15 points, including going seven of 10 from the line. <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-255755" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2021/02/111426FC-D398-45D5-B094-EA18F699E0EC.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="177507" first="Paris" last="Gartmon"] – 2021 – Gilbert High School</strong> – It is the time of the year where a season nears its apex and coaches and fans begin to appreciate the work seniors put into a program over the years. Gartmon is one of those many seniors. If she misses a shot, expect her to gather the rebound only to put it back up and make the shot on her ensuing try. Gartmon is also an effective rebounder, efficient passer and knows how to find her way to the free throw line. Even with the game getting out of reach for Gilbert in the fourth quarter, she still found her way to the stripe. She had 12 points including six at the line in the second half. <strong>Phebe Nevils – 2022 – Fox Creek High School</strong> – Nevils looks to be on another level at Fox Creek. And she too has one more season remaining with the Predators. She brings excellent court awareness to the game, enabling her to see where the ball will be in case the Fox Creek offense makes a mistake. Nevils will put herself in position to receive passes and get to the line, which she did a lot this game. She especially knows how to do work on either glass. Nevils finished the evening with 11 points – and went five out of seven from the free throw line. <strong>Taylor Spencer – 2023 – Gilbert High School</strong> – In a game where there were a litany of fouls called, it can be difficult to stay out of foul trouble with so much being called and lots of physical play being done. But Spencer only had two personals called against her for the game. In addition, Spencer also possesses a 3-point shot, but can be quick to the rim as well. Much of her production came via that 3-point shot. Gilbert made only two threes for the game and both came courtesy of Spencer. For the game, she concluded her evening with nine points. <strong>Karis Bullard – 2022 – Fox Creek High School</strong> – The “B” in her last name can, at this point, be replaced with the letter 3, because that is what she did all game long. The Predators converted six made triples for the game – Bullard had four of those made shots from downtown and had at least one in every quarter except the first. One of those occurred in the third quarter to increase a 34-26 Fox Creek lead to 37-26 – a sign that the second half belonged to the Predators. Bullard is also a great passer and will make a number of plays on defense. She scored 12 points – all from behind the arc. <strong>Ahleria Leaphart – Gilbert High School</strong> – In the first half, Gilbert’s defense kept them in the game and Leaphart was a central part of that defensive effort. Her defense managed to throw the Fox Creek offense off its guard and she added to that defensive play with potent rebounding. Leaphart managed to get her hands on the ball on defense on numerous occasions to create opportunities for her team’s offense and she complimented her efforts with free throw shooting and timely offense. She was successful on five of her eight tries from the line and concluded the game with nine points.