Oxford’s Hugghins hits nine 3-pointers

By Bran StricklandStar Sports Editor
01-18-2008

JACKSONVILLE — Before Thursday’s quarterfinal match-up between Jacksonville and Oxford, Lady Golden Eagles coach Jeremy Harper said his girls would have to play like they had nothing to lose.

Because they had nothing. They were younger, smaller and far less experienced when it came to playing county-tournament games in JSU’s Pete Mathews Coliseum. And Harper’s plan for his girls would have worked, had it not been for one thing. Check that. One person. Andrea Hugghins drained nine 3-pointers en route to her game-high 31 points as Oxford earned a 60-53 victory on Thursday. The victory pits the Lady Jackets (8-12) against top-seeded Ohatchee at 4 p.m. today.

The senior had four 3-pointers in the first quarter, two more in the second and then three more in the third — all before she ever hit a non-3 field goal, of which she only had two.
“That’s what I can do; I can shoot from far out,” Hugghins said. “Tonight it was just open.”
She found herself open a good deal on a drawn-up inbounds play. After inbounding the ball, she ran from out of bounds, off a screen and to the opposite side of the court. After that, it was catch, release and count ’em.

“That play has worked well before,” she said. “But tonight, that’s probably the best it has worked.” Added Harper, “I know we lost her in transition, but even when we got a hand in her face, she’d hit them. She was just unconscious.”

Despite Hugghins’ 3-point clinic, Jacksonville wasn’t sitting by on a stump. The Lady Golden Eagles (9-9) did their best to answer Oxford’s sharp-shooting senior. Jacksonville had seven treys as a team, with four coming from Brittney Nunn. While Jacksonville was getting an all-around effort, it was Hugghins’ shooting — and nearly Hugghins’ shooting alone — that kept the Lady Jackets in the game. As Jacksonville raced out to an 8-0 lead, she brought Oxford back. With the score tied at 16, she had all but four of Oxford’s points.

While the Lady Jackets took over in the second quarter, it was never enough room to relax.
It wasn’t until their first two shots of the final quarter that they enjoyed their biggest lead of the night, at 10 points. “I think we approached the game with the right attitude,” Harper said. “We talked about playing loose, playing a whole game. “We did that, and I think we did it well.”
In addition to Hugghins, Kamiriel Wall added 15 points. No other Oxford player had any more than four points.

For Jacksonville, by contrast, the effort was somewhat more balanced. Eighth-grader Lacey Buchanon, sophomore Taylor Palmer and Nunn each contributed 12 points.
With the win in the books, Oxford turns its attention to the top-seeded Lady Indians. Ohatchee said on Wednesday it would have to improve its game in order to make the finals.
Oxford coach Darrell Cline said as much about his team. In particular, its free throw shooting. The Lady Jackets were a dismal 4-for-18.

“What were we — 3-for-the game?” Cline quipped. “We’re going to have be better than that. If we’re in a tight game (against Ohatchee), free throws could be the difference.
“Look at it tonight, if we’d made a few more of those, this one could have been a 10-12 point game.”

About Bran Strickland
Bran Strickland is the sports editor for The Star.