Mars Hill Bible sprinted to an early lead and was never threatened in the 70-50 win over Geneva County during AHSA Class 2A girls state semifinal action at the BJCC Legacy Arena on Monday.

Second-ranked Mars Hill Bible (25-5) and sixth-ranked Geneva County (27-7) were tied 4-all when Mars Hill scored the next 11 points, triggered by a strong defense and fastbreak offense along with key shooting.

“What’s special about our team is that any one of them can score at any time,” said Mars Hill Bible coach Flori Sweatt. “We’ve go a lot of threats out there and we’re going to use that.”

Emma Kate Wright was the early scoring leader, netting two baskets and adding a pair of free throws during the 11-0 run. Geneva County cut the margin to 17-9 late in the quarter, but never got closer.

Wright did most of her damage in the first half, scoring 20 of her game-high 22 points. The big arena, big event didn’t faze the Mars Hill shooters, making 17-of-33 shots and 10-of-12 free throws in the first half.

“At Wallace (Hanceville), when we played for the regional, it was the same,” Wright said of the facility. “We kind of got used to it.”

The biggest lead for Mars Hill Bible was 26 points, coming after a basket by seventh-grader Belle Hill with 7:13 left in the third quarter.

It’s the first trip to championship game for Mars Hill Bible since winning the 2005 Class 2A title over Samson.

Star of the Game: Emma Kate Wright scored 22 points, 20 coming in the first half, making 8-of-15 shots and 2-of-4 from 3-point range and converting all four free throws. She added three assists and two steals.

Stat sheet: Mars Hill Bible – Belle Hill 19 points, 5-of-14 shooting, 9-of-12 free throws, 14 rebounds, 4 steals; Kadence Rolston 12 points, 6-of-9 shooting, seven rebounds, three steals.

Geneva County – Jordyn Alston 20 points, 7-of-16 shooting, 6-of-10 free throws, 14 rebounds, six blocked shots, 2 steals; Charlianna Boutwell 17 points, 5-of-19 shooting, three rebounds, four assists.

By the numbers: Mars Hill Bible – Shot 25-of-56 (44.6 percent) field goals, 2-of-10 3-poionters, 50 rebounds, 15 assists, five blocked shots, 13 steals.

Geneva County – Shot 17-of-58 (29.3 percent) field goals, 5-of-22 3-pointers, 11-of-25 free throws, 35 rebounds, eight assists, 10 blocked shots, eight steals.

They said it: “I feel like the big difference was that they were pushing the ball up and down the floor a lot quicker than I anticipated. They had more size on us, so we’re going to have to box out and get rebounds.” – Geneva County coach Lacy Holmes

Next up: Mars Hill Bible plays the Cold Springs/Lanett winner for the Class 2A girls championship on Friday at 9 a.m.