Hoover knocks off Lady Huskies in state final
BIRMINGHAM — Hoover High School's girls basketball team finished off a nearly flawless campaign with a 47-33 victory over Hewitt-Trussville in the Class 7A state championship game on Saturday at Legacy Arena.
After surviving an upset bid on Thursday in the semifinals — the Lady Bucs held off McGill-Toolen 57-49 with a go-ahead basket from Reniya Kelly in the final minute — Hoover (34-1) played with much more consistency on Saturday.
“We were much happier with our effort today,” said head coach Krystle Johnson. “We understood the magnitude of this game and we came out and played hard.”
Hoover only lost once all season — to 6A champ Hazel Green — and regularly beat opponents by 30 points or more.
“Coaching at my alma mater makes me want to coach harder,” said Johnson, who has guided Hoover to its second title in three years after she won one as a player in 2001. “I love Hoover and it made me the woman I am today.”
The first half was a slow one for both sides. Hoover jumped out to a 15-8 lead after a quarter of play, but the teams combined for just four field goals in the second quarter. The Lady Bucs held a 23-11 edge at the break, with both teams shooting less than 28 percent from the floor.
“We weren’t playing our best and were still winning,” Johnson said. “If you just turned it up a little bit, we could blow the game open.”
That’s what the Lady Bucs did. Hoover scored six of the first seven points of the third quarter and was never threatened the rest of the way.
“Hoover is an outstanding team,” said Hewitt-Trussville head coach Tonya Hunter. “They know how to win, they’ve been on this stage before.”
Three Lady Bucs eclipsed double figures in the win, led by senior Miya Kimber’s 13 points. Maddox posted 11 points and eight rebounds. Aniya Hubbard scored 10 as well.
Senior point guard Skyla Knight managed nine points despite injuring her leg in the first half. Although she was in pain, there was no question as to whether or not she would play in the second half.
“We all know how important she is to our team,” Johnson said.
Johnson said she was proud of how Kimber stepped up and played a strong game, while Maddox was her normal, reliable self. Melanie Hall, the team’s fourth senior, provided her team with solid minutes as well.
Kimber and Maddox were contributors on Johnson’s first team at Hoover, the 2017 team that won it all.
“We’re going to miss her sarcasm, the laughing moments, we’re going to miss everything about her,” Kimber said. “There’s no other coach like Coach Krystle.”
The disappointing finish signified the end of a spectacular run for the Hewitt-Trussville program. The Lady Huskies reached the state final four for the first time and advanced to the championship game with its thrilling 48-45 win over Auburn.
“Before we went out, we told the kids this is not life or death for us,” said Hunter. “There’s so many teams that would love to be in this game, in this atmosphere with the fans in the stands. We just wanted to go out and execute and we could never get started on the script.”
Morgan Kirk led Hewitt-Trussville (21-11) with 14 points in her final game with the Lady Huskies.
“This season was an outstanding season,” said Kirk, the team’s lone senior.
The Lady Huskies reaped the fruits of their labor this season, but Hewitt-Trussville is aiming to be more than a one-hit wonder at the final four.
“We’re going to go back to work and try to get here again,” Hunter said.