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By Carey Reeder | Staff Writer

Early rounds of the AHSAA area basketball tournaments kicked off on Feb. 4 and 6 with 11 Chilton County area teams in action.

Billingsley High School’s varsity boy’s team took down Verbena High School 48-41 in the preliminary round of the AHSAA Class 1A Area 7 tournament on Feb. 6. The Bears were led by Mason Truesdale with 29 points on 10-for-17 shooting. Truesdale went 9-for-13 from 3-point range and added five rebounds to his totals.

“It is tough playing a team a third time, and I thought it was going to be a tougher game than the previous two,” Billingsley varsity boy’s coach Lanny Jones said. “We always seem to have that one guy that can pull us through, and Mason was hot for us today.”

Verbena was led by Ethan Hand with 14 points.

“Cannot fault our effort this season,” Verbena varsity boy’s coach Scott Doss said. “We just need to work on our individual skill sets, but as for their effort, they played hard all year.”

Billingsley moves on to play the No. 1 seed and host-school Loachapoka High School in the semifinals with a berth in the subregionals on the line.

Isabella High School’s varsity girl’s team punched their ticket to the subregionals advancing to the final of the AHSAA Class 2A Area 7 tournament with a 57-38 win over Fayetteville High School on Feb. 6. Amelia Fjeldstad had 24 points, and Makayla Logan had 12 points.

“We picked it up in the second period, and outscored them 35-12 through the second and third quarters,” Isabella varsity girl’s coach Jared Day said. “Our defense was great, and when you struggle shooting, you have to pick it up on defense.”

The No. 2 seeded Mustangs will play in the Area 7 championship game at B.B. Comer High School on Feb. 8 at 6 p.m.

Billingsley High School’s varsity girl’s team made their way into the postseason as well, taking down Maplesville High School 40-23 in the semifinals of the AHSAA Class 1A Area 7 tournament on Feb. 6.

The Bears had lost both regular season matchups to Maplesville before the semifinal.

“That was a big win for us, and everything just came together,” Billingsley varsity girl’s coach Angela Jones said. “Our girls needed this for the changing of the mentality here … That win last night really gave us the self-confidence that our girls really needed.”

Billingsley will play in the Class 1A Area 7 championship game on Feb. 9 at Loachapoka High School at 5 p.m.

Thorsby High School’s varsity boy’s team was able to outlast Isabella High School 61-38 in their preliminary round game of the AHSAA Class 2A Area 7 tournament on Feb. 4. The No. 4 seeded Rebels advance to the semifinals to face the No. 1 seed and host-school Central of Coosa County High School where a win sends Thorsby to the subregionals.

Thorsby’s varsity girl’s team fell to Central of Coosa County on Feb. 4 in the preliminary round of the Class 2A Area 7 tournament 65-43. The Rebels won just five games last year and improved to finish 12-18 this season, including winning six of their last 10 games of the season.

“We were still very young with two starting freshmen and a sophomore, but they handled it well, and we all improved as the season went along,” Thorsby varsity girl’s coach Kris Wood said.  “We will get to work this summer and see if we can continue to get better.”

Jemison High School traveled to Sylacauga High School on Feb. 6 to play the No. 1 seed Sylacauga in the AHSAA Class 5A Area 8 tournament. The Panthers could not pull off the upset and fell 77-41 to end their season.

Verbena’s varsity girl’s season came to an end as well on Feb. 6 losing to Notasulga High School 29-15 in the preliminary round of the Class 1A Area 7 tournament.

Maplesville’s varsity boy’s team also fell to Notasulga in their Class 1A Area 7 tournament in the semifinals on Feb. 6, 67-38.

“Defense was our main goal this year, and hopefully, next year our offense will improve finding a couple guys to be more consistent scoring the ball,” Maplesville varsity boy’s coach Undra Rush said. “I am proud of the boys and the way they competed this year.”

The remaining Chilton County area basketball teams will finish their respective area tournaments before Feb. 10.