Oversized post players and foul trouble aren’t any problem for Taylor Hairston and Alyka Hamm.
While those two elements could prove to be stumbling blocks for other players, Hairston and Hamm showed they can overcome just about any obstacle when it comes to helping the Victory Christian Academy girls basketball team complete a perfect season.
Hairston and Hamm played integral roles in Victory Christian’s wins against Victory Millbrook (Ala.) and Tuscaloosa Christian on Friday and Saturday in the Alabama Christian Education Athletic Association Division I tournament in Oxford, Ala. Hairston, a senior forward, battled in the lane and scored 11 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in the title game, while Hamm kept her composure despite getting three fouls in the firth quarter against Tuscaloosa Christian.
For their accomplishments, Hairston and Hamm are The Dispatch’s Prep Players of the Week.
“Taylor really should be a wing given her height and her size, but, back in the day, she was taller than everybody else, so she was out down low girl and has stayed down there,” said Victory Christian coach Chris Hamm, who also is Alyka’s father. “I know there were multiple games this season when she was in the high teens and in the 20s in rebounding. She does a really good job with positioning herself, and she has real good hands a far as going up and getting the ball away from girls.”
Hamm said the Lady Eagles have thrived on a recipe that they created in junior high school: Hairston rebounds, feeds the ball to Alyka Hamm, the team’s point guard, and sprints the floor to take a pass from Hamm for a layup. Hairston, who had 34 rebounds for the two games, feels rebounding is the strongest area of her game. It’s a natural instinct that has been honed through years of playing with Hamm.
“I like rebounding because I am always looking for her to push it down the court and then I am running full speed to try to score,” said Hairston, who was named the MVP of the tournament.
Picking up three fouls in the first seven minutes of the game put Hamm in a tough spot of having to balance aggressiveness and passiveness. Coach Hamm said there was at least one instance when Alyka could have picked up a fourth foul, but it wasn’t called. He said he took her out for a minute or so and she kept reminding her to be aware of situations and to avoid contact on defense and when she took the ball to the basket.
“I am real proud of her,” Hamm said. “It’s not easy in the heat of the battle when you know you’re not supposed to foul. Sometimes you just can’t help yourself, but she did a good job with it.”
Hamm thought he put his players through every scenario he could think of to prepare them for the weekend, but he never imagined having to have a contingency plan for his daughter being in foul trouble. Freshman Alesha Taylor replaced Hamm at the end of the first quarter before Hamm returned to play nearly all of the second quarter.
“She handled the ball and gave pressure when we needed to in our little trap,” Hamm said. “It was a hands off thing. She even blocked a girl’s shot, but when you go up and they go up and you hear the whistle, you have to wonder. She also had another one when (the Tuscaloosa Christian) girl was dribbling and she did get the ball out in front of her and she poked the ball out of bounds.”
At that point, Alyka Hamm said the Tuscaloosa Christian coach shouted from the sideline, “That was a foul.” She also heard calls from Victory Christian fans urging her not to foul. All of the help from every side created a stressful situation, even though she finished the game with three fouls.
“I just really tried not to put my hands on anybody and play smart,” said Hamm, who was named to the all-tournament team. “When there was a loose ball I would go for it, but I wouldn’t try to bat any of the balls away to make it appear like I was fouling.
“The whole crowd the entire time was yelling, ‘Don’t foul,’ so it was crazy.”
Hamm, who had eight points, two assists, and three steals Saturday, knew she couldn’t be overly aggressive on defense, so she tried to compensate by playing smarter on offense. She said the victory against archrival Tuscaloosa Christian made it even sweeter to go out with senior classmates Hairston, Shelly Coleman, Jessica Sullivan, Maggie Gardner, Baleigh Studdard, and Ashley Haynes as back-to-back champions. Studdard paced Victory Christian with 15 points Saturday to help the Lady Eagles complete a 22-0 season. The title was the team’s second ACEAA title in a row. Studdard also had 10 points Friday. Hamm also had 10 points, four rebounds, and four steals Friday.
“I have always had that fear of them because they are our rival and I have ever played good against them,” said Hamm, who also plays on the school’s volleyball and softball teams. “I thought in this championship game I played the best I could play.”
Hairston said completing a perfect season was even more special because fans and people said the team could win a title again this season after losing only one player to graduation. To get an individual honor for her “blue-collar” play in the paint was something she wished Hamm would receive, but she said it felt great to wrap up her final season.
“It is sinking in right now,” Hairston said. “It was really great for our senior year and the seven seniors to finish the year with a win.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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