It’s easy to make plays with teammates who can get open.

Ask Natalie Barton, who finished with 8 assists in a Class 3A semifinal matchup against Sylvania.

“My teammates do a really good job of getting open, and then it’s easy to find them,” the Saint James star said. “I trust them to hit the shots and it’s fun to play with them.”

With four players scoring in double figures to pull off the Trojans’ biggest win so far, Class 3A No. 2 Saint James powered past Sylvania in the Class 3A state semifinals for a 63-44 win on Tuesday.

Saint James will face No. 1 Lauderdale County in the Class 3A state finals on Friday at 12:30 p.m.

“I’m really proud of the girls, they’ve so far had a great season,” Saint James coach Katie Barton said. “This has been our goal to get back to the state finals, and they’ve done it. It wasn’t necessarily our prettiest first half or second half, but we got the job done and I’m just super proud of all 13 of my girls.”

After Saint James bolted out to leads of 10-0 and 16-3 in the first quarter, Sylvania battled back to put the Trojans in unfamiliar territory as the Rams took a 23-22 lead following a 3-point basket from Avery Jenkins.

Still, Saint James closed out on an 11-0 run and outscored Sylvania 30-21 in the semifinal battle.

“I think we were playing a little bit complacent there down that stretch, for about, I don’t know, six to eight minutes, it seemed like. We couldn’t get a flow in our offense,” the Saint James coach said. “It was almost as if we were trying to do the right thing instead of reacting and playing the way that we typically play.

“Once they settled down in the locker room, and we made a few defensive adjustments there in the second half, and they got a little bit better flow, offensively got downhill well, so I was proud of them for that.”

Four players scored in double figures for Saint James, with Lilly Morgan leading the offense with 17 points and 6 assists while Jordyn McRae had a double-double worth 14 points and 13 rebounds while adding 4 assists in the win.

Sylvania’s Meridith Jackson totaled 15 points and Jaidyn Graham added 12 in a talented senior group’s final game with the Rams.

First-year Sylvania coach Alaina Welden praised her group for its accomplished on and off the basketball court in a special season.

“Even though we had a lot that won’t be with us next year, and that hurts, they were able to take those younger girls under their wings and prepare us for the future,” she said. “They did really big things this year because we got in a hole, and they came out of it midseason and they’ve been moving full force ahead. I’m very proud of this group.”

Star of the game: McRae’s double-double helped power the Trojans on both sides of the ball.

Stat sheet: Saint James — Natalie Barton filled up the stat sheet with 12 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds and 3 steals in the win. Kaitlin Mitchell also scored in double figures with 10 points and 5 rebounds, while Sydney Johnston had 7 points and 3 rebounds in the win. Lily Stanford and Kaden Fair logged 3 rebounds each. Sylvania — Molly Weaver logged 9 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds for the Rams, leading the team in assists. Sarah Graham led the Rams with 6 rebounds and five players combined for 6 steals led by Avery Jenkins’ 2 steals; she also added 6 points and 5 rebounds for Sylvania.

By the numbers: Saint James shot 26-for-55 from the field, knocking down 13 field goals in the first and second halves. The Trojans outrebounded Sylvania 41-29 and totaled 12 steals in the semifinal win, outscoring their opponent 42-10 in the paint. Sylvania outscored Saint James 13-11 on second-chance points and totaled 13 assists as a team. The Rams went 11-for-34 from 3-point range, with Meridith Jackson and Jaidyn Ashley knocking down 5 baskets each from beyond the arc.

Did you know? Saint James is chasing the program’s first state championship.

They said it: “I know this team will go out, and everyone will remember our faith because this is the most Jesus-loving team I’ve ever seen. I told Coach Wedlen someone had asked me before the game, what do you think? I said I’m at peace, I’ve got a good feeling about it and I said we’ve got something bigger here carrying us, an audience of one, it was on our backs.” — Sylvania senior Molly Weaver on this year’s group and its faith.

“This is the time of the year when you want to play the best team. They’re number one and we’re number two, and we’re excited about stepping out on the court with them. We know, or I do at least, of what their background is, and the type of basketball that they play at Lauderdale County, so we’re excited for Saint James to come up from Montgomery, Alabama and step on the floor and play basketball with a bunch of basketball players. Our job when we step on that court on Friday, the girls kind of touched on it, is to be us, and play our brand of basketball, and to play together and use each other and hopefully, to let the spirit of these girls shine out on court. They represent us well, so that’s what we’re going to do on Friday.” — Saint James coach Katie Barton on playing No. 1 Lauderdale County.

“They built a program, and that’s what I was just trying to tell them in the locker room there are third-grade girls in our school that are looking up to them. I said one day, those girls are going to be your age, and they’re going to say, do you remember that team in 2025, you remember them? They went all the way to the final four and they played until the last week possible in the state of Alabama basketball, and that’s a big deal.” — Sylvania coach Alaina Welden on her senior class.