Auburn High basketball teams' seasons end abruptly in playoffs
After impressive regular seasons, AHS boys and girls basketball received early playoff exits last week.
GIRLS
The Auburn High girls basketball playoff run came to an end after suffering a 58-48 loss to Daphne in the Regional Semifinals last week.
Despite an early playoff exit, the Tigers set the bar high for themselves this season. Finishing at 15-5, they ended their season as the 7A Area 4 Champions for the second straight year. Although the year did not end as planned, head coach Courtney Pritchett said previously he was proud of his team's growth during a supposed “rebuilding year.”
“This is a rebuilding year, and I don't think this group understands what rebuilding means because they are surpassing anything I can think that they would have been able to do, and so I’m excited about where we're going,” Pritchett said in an interview prior to the Daphne game.
Eight seniors graduated from Pritchett’s team last year, so this year’s team took some adjusting for Pritchett.
This year, he will only have two seniors graduating. Kristianna Ware, who averaged three points per game and five boards, and Catherine Pearson, who also put up three points per game.
The young team will have its core contributor returning in junior Auburn University commit Syriah Daniels, who finished the season averaging nearly 22 points a game.
The Tigers are going to be a fun team to watch next season with a new opportunity to showcase their talent. This playoff loss won't hold the team down for long.
“We got invited to Washington, D.C. for a tournament before Christmas," Pritchett said last week. "Just to take your team up and play against the best of the best in the nation and kind of show who we are.”
BOYS
Similarly, the Auburn High boys team also concluded its season after a 51-43 loss to Fairhope in the Regional Semifinals of the playoffs.
The Tigers finished with an impressive 24-5 record, good for first in Area 4 in the regular season. Head coach Chris Brandt completed his fourth year as head coach after serving as an assistant for the team for 23 years.
Brandt has only three seniors graduating this year; however, senior point guard Ja’Keith Carr is the Tigers’ leader in points and assists per game and has tallied over 1,000 points in his career.
Senior point guard Byeongyun Kim, who finished the year with 70 assists, and senior guard Zion Fletcher, who appeared in all 23 games, suited up for the last time as well.
This season showed promise for the Tigers. Auburn High School Sports Network Producer Jack Hudon tweeted that the 23-3 record in the regular season was the best start to their season “since the turn of the century.”
Year after year, Auburn High continues to be contenders for the state title. It is only a matter of time before it is their turn to claim one for itself.
— By Reed Hughes
