Andalusia ends season in hard-fought South Regional semi-final battle to UMS-Wright

Andalusia quickly trailed by seven and got within one before UMS-Wright pulled away late for a 52-40 win in a 5A girls’ South Regional semi-final at Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery on Thursday, Feb. 13.

The Lady Bulldogs closed the year with a 19-6 record, while UMS moved on to the South Regional title game at 24-8.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour. The bar has been set and bricks have been laid. I hate to see it end, but we’ve accomplished so much this season and went through it all with eight players, one of whom was an eighth grader,” AHS Head Coach Amahni Upshaw said.

Reagan Harvill and Ansleigh Ishee both scored baskets, and Ava Davidson hit a three-pointer as UMS opened the game on a 7-0 run. Destini Hourel then scored the first basket with 5 minutes left in the opening period before Kelsie Horwath connected and made the score 9-4. Back-to-back buckets from Kionni Wright closed the gap to 11-8. Ellie Mostellar pushed the lead back to five, but a three by Wright in the final seconds brought Andalusia within 13-11 at the end of the first period.

Ishee started the second period with two foul shots as Harvill banked a three and grew the margin back to seven at 18-11. Ahlydiah Kelly scored a bucket and trimmed the deficit back to five before Rhea Mostellar went two-for-two at the line. Andalusia then went on a nice run and got within one. Horwath had two free throws and a basket, while Jaidyn Berry found the hoop to make the score 21-20. After a pair of free throws went the other way, Wright kept the game tight at 23-22. Mostellar and Ishee ended the first half with consecutive buckets and gave UMS a 27-22 lead at halftime.

The margin grew to nine in the third period before Horwath scored, and Wright went two-for-two at the line cutting the Andalusia deficit back to five at 31-26. The two teams traded buckets as Berry brought the score to 36-30 at the 2:19 mark. Ava Archey scored a last-second basket to put UMS ahead 38-30 at the end of the third period.

Wright opened the final period with a quick basket. The defense held the opposition scoreless for nearly three minutes as Horwath drained a three and kept Andalusia within striking distance at 38-35. UMS broke its scoreless drought with eight straight points led by four from Ishee and took a 46-35 lead with 3:35 to go in the game. Three combined free throws by Wright and Horwath whittled the gap back to eight. Mostellar scored two foul shots and put the lead back at double digits. Wright made a bucket with 2:01 left that put the score at 48-40. Davidson and Mostellar had two more down the stretch for the final tally.

Wright paced Andalusia with 20 points as Horwath matched her jersey number with 12. Ishee led UMS with 14 points followed by Davidson at 12.

“I know they may not have necessarily counted us out, but they didn’t count us in. We will most definitely be back and better next year. Mark my words: the sky isn’t the limit for this group; it’s just the view,” Upshaw said.