Sunrise. Sunset.

As routine as the glowing ball of fire in the sky, the Hoover girls’ basketball team has advanced to yet another regional final.

The top-ranked Bucs never trailed and never flinched in surging to a 50-20 victory over James Clemens in Friday’s Class 7A Northwest Regional semifinal at Wallace State’s Tom Drake Coliseum in Hanceville.

Hoover (32-2) left little doubt as to the outcome in the opening period, starting off with a 4-0 lead before powering ahead to a 15-4 advantage entering the second quarter. The Bucs allowed the first points of the period, but six different players scored during a 12-0 run that saw the lead grow to as many as 22 points.

James Clemens matched its lone made field goal in the first quarter with a layup from Deyon Smith at the halftime buzzer, cutting the Hoover lead down to 27-7 entering the break.

The Jets got the scoring started in the second half with a Gabby Stigger layup in the opening minute, but Hoover responded with a 10-0 run powered by Reniya Kelly and Layla Etchinson. James Clemens managed to equal its first-half scoring total in the third period, Kimory Porter draining a 3-pointer and Smith adding a layup, but trailed 40-14 heading into the final period.

Hoover put the finishing touches on the blowout win in the fourth period, allowing only two made 3-pointers from Zaria Holden and Alexa Moore. The Bucs and held the Jets to single-digit scoring in every quarter.

Star of the Game: Kelly. The senior guard finished with a game-high 16 points, on 8-of-16 shooting, and added eight rebounds, two assists and three steals.

“Honestly, we need to focus on one game at a time and don’t get too ahead of ourselves. Not really rushing through the season because it’s bittersweet being my last year,” she said.

Did you know? Hoover advances to a ninth straight regional final (27th overall) and seeks its first three-peat after winning titles in 2001, 2010, 2012-2013, 2017, 2019 and 2021-2022.

Stat sheet: Hoover – The Bucs finished shooting 32.3 percent overall – only 13.3 percent on 3-pointers – and were 6-for-12 on free-throw attempts. Hoover held a plus-24 edge in rebounding and grabbed 14 steals off 24 turnovers. Etchinson finished with 11 points, three rebounds and four steals, and Alanah Pooler and Kristen McMillan scored seven points each and combined for 12 rebounds. Jamiya Hill and Alicia Reyes combined for six points and 11 rebounds. James Clemens – The Jets were held to 19.4 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from beyond the arc. Alexa Moore led James Clemens with seven points and four rebounds, and Zaria Holden and Deyon Smith had four points each while combining for seven rebounds and three assists. Smith also had three steals

Coachspeak: “It’s a blessing to be back here, in our program, especially the last 5-6 years. They don’t know what it’s like to not get to this point and sometimes we have to fight that. Today, personally, I don’t think we played our best game. We won, but too many mistakes. When you win and don’t play your best game, they leave with a little bit more hunger.” – Hoover coach Krystle Johnson

“We’ve only ever been us, we’ve only believed in ourselves. It’s always me and the girls and they know that. Once we believe in the process, we can go anywhere. For my second year, trusting me enough to get on the same page and lead says a lot for us. Our future is pretty bright.” – James Clemens coach Monica Maxwell

She said it: “We’re going to play hard every game like it’s our last game because it could be.” – Etchinson (with a bit of media coaching from Johnson)

What’s next? Hoover advances to the Northwest Regional final, where they’ll face Bob Jones on Tuesday at Wallace State’s Tom Drake Coliseum.