Lady Huskies complete upset, advance to regional final
HANCEVILLE — They held their composure for as long as they could.
But when the clock hit triple zeroes, several members of the Hewitt-Trussville High School girls basketball team let out an ear-piercing scream. It was the release of emotion following a 62-47 upset win over Austin in the Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinals on Thursday at Wallace State Community College.
The Lady Huskies held it together for the final eight minutes after a double-digit lead shrunk to just three points. They relied on the steady leadership of senior point guard Morgan Kirk to help them hang on and advance to the program’s first regional final since 2016.
“Morgan, her poise with the ball,” said head coach Tonya Hunter when asked about the key down the stretch. “She’s been playing since the eighth grade. She’s been there.”
Kirk, the team’s lone senior, finished with 13 points and no turnovers in the contest. She played on the regional final team of 2016, but still has a sour taste in her mouth from last year’s loss to Huffman in the regional semifinals.
“We always would talk about what happened last year and we didn’t want to feel that way again,” she said. “Coming in, we had a different mindset, not holding back on anything, not taking people for granted.”
Hewitt-Trussville (19-10) started off a little sluggish in the first half, but the Lady Huskies began a brilliant 10-minute stretch of basketball with a few minutes to play in the second quarter. They scored nine straight points to take a 32-26 lead into the break and parlayed that into a terrific start to the third quarter.
“We talked about how hard they play,” Hunter said of Austin. “When they shoot the ball, they are relentless on the boards and they’re very quick to the glass. We adjusted and got those 50/50 balls, got some putbacks and hustle plays.”
In the third, Erica Jones and April Hooks buried 3-pointers, and Leah Harrison made a layup to extend Hewitt’s lead to 40-29. Harrison finished the game with a team-high 14 points and six rebounds, converting on 4-of-5 field goal attempts.
Another big factor in the contest for Hewitt-Trussville was freshman D’yona Jones, who hit all six of her field goal attempts en route to 12 points.
“It was fun and exciting,” she said. “Coach brought me up (to varsity) last year toward the end, so having that and knowing the crowd, I just let go and had fun.”
After Austin (27-6) cut the deficit to four, D’yona Jones hit a jumper and Harrison converted on a drive to the hoop to give the Lady Huskies a 10-point edge that they would hang on to. Hunter said with both of them on the bench toward the end of the third quarter, she was “just trying to survive” until they got back on the floor.
Sophomore Amiya Payne had just six points in the game, but contributed in a huge way with 11 rebounds and five blocked shots. She said she has been most impressed with the team’s leadership, as players have willingly stepped up and taken on that role.
Hewitt-Trussville returns to Wallace State on Tuesday at 9 a.m., when it will face Spain Park in the regional final. The two teams have played four times already this season, with all four games going the way of the Lady Jags.
“Round 5,” Hunter said. “It’s like a boxing match. We’re going to get punched in the mouth, and we’ll stand up and try again.