Knockout punch
HANCEVILLE — They got knocked down four times, but got back up each time.
And in the fifth round, the Lady Huskies landed the knockout punch.
The Hewitt-Trussville High School girls basketball program defeated area rival and defending state champion Spain Park 72-56 in the Class 7A Northwest Regional final on Tuesday, advancing to the state final four for the first time in school history.
The two teams met four times throughout the season, with Spain Park winning by margins of 10 (twice), five and seven points. The Lady Huskies reversed their fortunes in the fifth and most important meeting.
“I’m just speechless,” said fifth-year Hewitt-Trussville head coach Tonya Hunter. “They have been told they can’t do anything all year long.”
Hunter said she agonized over how to best prepare her team for the moment. She settled on comparing the game to a boxing match.
“We were going to take each quarter like a boxing match,” Hunter said. “We weren’t going to knock them out in the first quarter, they’re the defending state champs. We were looking at each quarter in two-minute increments.”
Hewitt-Trussville (20-10) got stronger with each round, taking a four-point lead after a quarter and extending it to an 11-point edge, 39-28, at the halftime break. In the third, the Lady Huskies extended the lead to 12 and won by 16.
“We didn’t have a great start,” said Spain Park head coach Mike Chase. “We missed some rotations, and they made some buckets early. We pressed a little bit, had some turnovers and missed some shots we normally make.”
University of Georgia commit Sarah Ashlee Barker attempted to will Spain Park back into the contest in the second half, as the junior led all scorers with 29 points while securing 10 rebounds. Guards Ahrielle Parks and Bailey Bowers — who scored 14 points — played their final game for the Lady Jags.
“Ever since I was a freshman, they accepted me for the type of player I was,” Barker said of the seniors. “We all three kind of came together as leaders that other people would look up to. It sucks to lose, but the worst part is I’ll never get to play with those girls.”
“These four years have been awesome,” Parks said. “I loved being able to come up here to regionals and compete with these girls.”
Chase spoke highly of their contributions to the program over the last four years.
He said, “You appreciate their basketball, but I appreciate more the things they’ve left for the younger guys.”
“It’s been awesome and a blessing, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else,” Bowers said.
Hewitt-Trussville outscored Spain Park 25-10 from the free throw line, as the Lady Huskies converted 86% of their opportunities from the charity stripe.
“We’ve been talking about poise in practice,” said Hewitt-Trussville guard Leah Harrison, who scored 12 points and knocked down 10-of-12 free throw attempts in the game.
She also pulled down 10 rebounds.
“Throughout the four games against them, we couldn’t keep our composure. Because it was a big game, we had to mature, come together and play as a team.”
Following a pause, she added, “and win.”
Hewitt-Trussville focused throughout the contest on exploiting mismatches, something Hunter said the Lady Huskies had been able to do in the previous meetings. The Lady Huskies found that in the paint, where they secured a 30-24 edge in total rebounds. Freshman D’yona Jones played a large role in that, as she scored 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting to go along with five rebounds.
“That was basically the key to the win,” she said, “to get on the boards and block out.”
Amiya Payne led the Lady Huskies with 23 points. Despite the previous four meetings between the teams, she said the team’s belief came from within. Erica Jones also chipped in 12 points for the Lady Huskies. Senior guard Morgan Kirk had nine points and three assists.
Hewitt-Trussville advances to the state semifinals next Thursday at 9 a.m., when it will take on Auburn at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena. Spain Park’s season ends with a 27-7 record.