Glewnood Girls repeat as Class AAA Champs

Story by Griffin Pritchard | Publisher

Photos Courtesy of Glenwood Basketball

CENTRAL ALABAMA SCOREBOARD – The Glenwood School Girls Basketball team came into the season wearing a target on their back and a whole bunch of AISA teams collecting their tags and ready to go hunting. Glenwood – last season – won Class AAA so Gators started the new season with one black trophy in hand and poised to claim another. In other words – Dusty Perdue’s basketball team was unphased.

Perdue: “We started the season 14-0 before losing to a public school team in Tennessee at a Christmas Tournament. I realized then, if we could keep improving through the end of the season, we had a shot to be really good.”

In that 14-win run, Glenwood bounced between their Alabama Independent School sistren and the State of Georgia knocking off Chambers in the opener and then (Georgia’s) Westfield School and Terrell Academy over Thanksgiving. The Gators ended the month of November by dragging Evangel Christian (Montgomery) into the deep water – winning 64-14. Evangel wasn’t alone for a long as the Gators grabbed Calvary Christian (Georgia) to open the month of December and tucked them nicely into that same abyss, winning 64-15.

But it was like that through the first part of the year. Glenwood beat Edgewood (eventual AA State Champion) 51-48 and then massacred Autauga 75-19 two days later. Lakeside and Springwood represented wins 13 and 14 before Glenwood took their talents to Tennessee. Cherokee High handed the Gators their first loss of the year, a 47-36 defeat. The Chiefs went on a 16-4 run in the fourth to ice the game.

The Gators knocked off Knox Central in the next game, winning 56-48 but dropped back-to-back decisions against the aforementioned Chiefs (47-46) and Cumberland Gap (57-47).

But referencing back to Perdue’s quote – that tournament was the turning point. Jasmyn Burts (averaging just under 19 points a game for the season) solidified herself as the team’s on-court general.

Perdue: “She did that for us the entire season; regular season and postseason and our young players (three sophomores and a junior) fed off her.”

The Gators ended 2021 on a winning streak that spilled over into the new year only to be stopped by Georgia’s Southland Academy.

It’s important to note that through this point in our story – Glenwood School has not been bested by an AISA school. The Gators – in 2022 – patrolled the AISA Swamp snatching teams at will through the month of January: Lakeside and Lee-Scott, Springwood and Pike Liberal.

Perdue: “I think we started hitting our stride when we beat Lee-Scott at their place by 16. Then we realized that we could go into a hostile environment and play well.”

That was until they went over to LaFayette to face Chambers. The Rebels had one in the chamber, pulling the trigger on Glenwood’s winning streak against the AISA.

Perdue: “We picked that game up to get ready for the postseason. I think that was a kick in the teeth and got our attention to make us have a great run in the playoffs.”

Glenwood went into the region tournament hissing and champing at the bit to get the taste out of their mouth and Monroe was their first victim. The Gators knocked the  Volunteers out of the Elite 8 with a 52-30 win.

Glenwood outlasted Fort Dale in the semifinal, winning 46-42 and secured their spot in the Class AAA Championship game against the departing Tuscaloosa Academy.

TA is in the latter stages of their Farewell AISA Tour as the Knights will start the fall in the greener pastures of the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

Regardless of what happens in August – they weren’t making the transition without taking a trophy with them.  

Perdue: “We got down by 10. Fought back and tied it up. Got down by eight. We fought back and tied it up and my girls just never quit. I didn’t realize we were going to win it until the last few seconds.”

Glenwood School defeated Tuscaloosa Academy 58-56.

Perdue: “Jasmyn took the game over.”

The All-Tournament selection and eventual AISA All-Star went off, scoring 26 points with 6 boards, 4 steals and 4 assists. Anna Grace Griggs and Takayla Davis rattled off double-doubles scoring 12 and grabbing 11 boards each. Davis had a pair of blocks while Griggs finished the season finale with 4 steals.

Purdue: “This was a very special group of young ladies and I’m very proud of their accomplishments on and off the court. This just makes our program stronger. We have been a strong program in the past and will continue to be strong going into the future. We only lose two seniors so we have a strong group coming back.”