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Westminster OM finished off an undefeated run through area play with an area championship win over Cornerstone Schools behind big double-figure scoring performances from Reese Robbins and Olivia Montgomery. (Contributed/Brandon Robbins)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

HOOVER – The Westminster School at Oak Mountain Knights capped off an incredible turnaround and an undefeated run through area play with some hardware as they are now the champions of Class 2A, Area 9.

Westminster OM won the area title with a 49-36 win over the Cornerstone Schools of Alabama Eagles on Saturday, Feb. 1 at Berry Middle School, sealing a 5-0 area record and a home sub-regional game on Friday, Feb. 7 at 6 p.m.

The Knights advanced to the finals at home after winning the regular season area title with a 4-0 record but faced the team that gave them the biggest test during area play in Cornerstone, who dispatched Holy Family Catholic in the semifinals on Friday, Jan. 31.

The two teams once again had a tight battle in the opening minutes. After she took over the last meeting between the two sides, Reese Robbins started out her day with eight of her team’s 10 first-quarter points to give her team the early edge in the matchup.

As a result, Westminster led 10-9 at the end of the first quarter, paving the way for a more successful second quarter where the hosts took control.

Robbins continued her scoring success with five points to get into double figures for the half, but she got some major help from Olivia Montgomery who hit a pair of field goals and repeatedly worked her way to the free throw line to keep the Knights in front.

Westminster outscored the Eagles 15-8 in the second quarter to take a 25-17 lead into the locker room.

That lead only grew in the third quarter as Robbins and Montgomery continued to spearhead the offense. Robbins added eight points to her total in the third, including her first 3-pointer of the game and a trio of free throws, and Montgomery joined Robbins in double figures with six points in the third.

Baskets from Helen Harbert and Cameron Carter helped give the Knights their best offensive quarter of the game with 18 points in the third. That helped counter a stronger offensive showing from Cornerstone in the third and take Westminster’s lead to 43-30 ahead of the fourth.

From there, the Knights used their double-digit lead to keep the Eagles at bay down the stretch and limited the visitors to just six points in the final eight minutes. The combined efforts on both ends of the court sealed the 13-point win to take the area championship.

Robbins led the way with 21 points while Montgomery scored 14 points. In addition, Harbert, Carter and Sally Dixon each had four points, and Sara Jones rounded out the scoring with a fourth-quarter field goal to finish with two points.

Westminster will host its sub-regional matchup on Friday, Feb. 7 at 6 p.m. at Berry Middle School against the loser of Monday, Feb. 3’s Area 12 title game between Susan Moore and Southeastern. The sub-regional winner will then advance to play in the Northeast Regional at Jacksonville State’s Pete Matthews Coliseum.

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