Lady Huskies earn 3rd red map
The smile could not be wiped off Tonya Hunter’s face following the Class 7A girls state championship on March 2.
On the scoreboard at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena, Hoover High School defeated Hewitt-Trussville 58-56. It was the fourth consecutive state championship for the Lady Bucs, and the third time in the last six years the Lady Huskies have earned the red map trophy as the runners-up.
For Hunter, her smile reflected her joy in realizing the immense progress the Hewitt-Trussville team made from day one to the end of the season.
“If you would’ve saw us this summer, you would’ve said there’s no way [they get to the final],” she said.
Hoover was clearly the better team through three quarters of the state championship, opening up a 43-33 lead.
But something was different in that final quarter.
Hewitt-Trussville refused to let Hoover coast in the fourth quarter. The Lady Huskies came out hot and cut the deficit all the way to 51-50, before Hoover sophomore Khloe Ford’s three-point play made it 54-50 with a couple minutes to play. Hoover held on the rest of the way.
Jordan Hunter pointed to teammates Lauryn Holley and Ryleigh Martin as the reason why the Lady Huskies made that charge. They combined to score 13 of the Lady Huskies’ first 15 points of the final period.
“It took them awhile, and you could tell their eyes were big [at the beginning],” Tonya Hunter said. “I promised them at halftime that the fourth quarter was going to be different, and that it was going to be epic.”
Martin finished with 13 points in the game, with Holley adding nine points.
“To go out there and perform like we did one last time was great, especially from where we came from,” Holley said.
Hoover was a team prepared to weather that storm, though. Kaitlyn Gipson went for 12 points, Layla Cannon added eight, and Ariana Peagler and Kamryn Lee each scored seven.
“Hewitt gave us a fight,” Hoover coach Krystle Johnson said. “Jordan Hunter is one of the best players in the state, and she left it all on the floor.”
Jordan Hunter wrote the final chapter in her Hewitt-Trussville story, posting 24 points in the state final.
“Jordan has left her legacy at Hewitt-Trussville High School. She’s left her footprint,” Tonya Hunter said.
People are often prisoners of the moment, but there was a sincerity in Tonya Hunter’s assessment that this year’s team is one of her favorites that she has coached.
“This team will be talked about for a long time,” she said.