Prattville Christian’s Hannah Jones took a hard fall to the court near the end of a blowout title game victory but the pain of a busted lip and a little blood was nothing compared to the jubilation of a third straight championship.

The third-ranked Panthers fought off a fierce rally early in the third period and cruised to a 76-59 victory over Priceville in today’s Class 4A title game at Birmingham’s BJCC Legacy Arena.

Prattville Christian (34-3) adds more hardware to its trophy case by winning a third straight girls basketball championship.

“I want everyone to understand how hard these ladies have worked,” Prattville Christian coach Jason Roberson said. “Sometimes people might assume because we’re a private school that we bring players in and that’s not how we do it at PCA. Every single player on our team has been working since middle school and we’ve done it the right way.”

CoCo Thomas got things started for the Panthers, scoring in the first 20 seconds, and Avery Rogers pushed the lead to 5-0 less than 30 seconds later on her first of five 3-pointers in the game. Leslie Hames cut into the deficit with her own 3-pointer on the ensuing possession but Prattville Christian hit a 13-0 run — holding the Bulldogs scoreless for 5:13 — before allowing Priceville to close out on a 9-0 run with Ashlyn Johnson knocking down a jumper at the buzzer.

Thomas, along with Hannah Jones, were omnipresent in the paint and single-handedly combined to outrebound the entire Priceville team.

“They meant 52 points and 31 rebounds, unbelievable,” Roberson said. “They’ve carried us for a while, production-wise, and as seniors, they were not going to be denied. Unbelievable. They’re athletic, obviously. They got good size, obviously. But these ladies work hard. They give unbelievable effort and are so fun to be around. They are great young people who have been raised so well and they’re good student-athletes.”

The Bulldogs kept pace with Prattville Christian early in the second period, scoring on 3-pointers from Lillyan Bloodworth and (Leslie) and Lauren Hames, but the Panthers surged ahead to a 10-point lead with an 8-2 run – taking a 36-29 lead into the halftime break as Priceville’s Gracin Prater drained a 3-pointer with six seconds left in the frame.

Prattville Christian pushed its lead back to double digits on the first possession of the second half, Rogers knocking back her fourth 3-pointer of the game, but the Bulldogs trimmed the advantage down to four points during a 6-0 run in the first two minutes of the third frame.

The Panthers took control on a game-clinching 19-2 run, including 16 straight points, and built as much as a 21-point lead until Prater hit a 3-pointer with six seconds remaining in the period.

“So proud of these ladies and how hard they’ve worked for the last seven years to get to the point where we are now,” Roberson said.

Thomas ignited the back-breaking run on a made free throw, kick-started the 16-point scoring streak with a pair of free throws a minute later — Rogers capping her scoring with a fifth 3-pointer and Ally Blankenship adding her own trey during the run — and closed out the run herself with six straight points.

“This one was different, it was new,” Roberson said. “The last two were in 3A and we wanted to embrace the opportunity of playing in a higher classification in 4A. This is our first 4A state championship. That sounds pretty good.”

Priceville (23-10) never threatened in the fourth period and only came as close as 16 points in the waning minutes. Despite the lopsided loss, the Bulldogs’ path to the title game was a journey – including a win over a 20-win team and three straight victories over ranked opponents — which not many expected less than a month ago after losing their area title game.

“I’m still smiling ear-to-ear, what a ride,” Priceville coach Terrie Nelson said. “It was great to be here and look in the stands to see so many people that are loving this team and these girls. I can’t get off the high. I know we just lost. I’m upset, it hurts, but I’m so proud of these girls.”

Star of the Game: Thomas. The senior produced one of two double-doubles for the Panthers, scoring a game-high 29 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, and was named Class 4A tournament MVP. She also had three assists, four steals and a block.

“I feel like it was just the place. We were all ready to come to basketball and expected to work hard and get back to where we are,” she said.

Stat sheet: Prattville Christian – Hannah Jones finished with 23 points and a game-high 18 rebounds, adding two blocks and two steals, and Rogers had 17 points, four boards, four assists and four steals. Kayden Carr contributed four points, three rebounds, five assists and two steals, followed by Ally Blankenship with three points, three assists and two steals. Priceville – Prater scored a team-high 14 points, adding seven rebounds, three assists and five steals, and Lauren and Leslie Hames finished with 10 points and two steals each and combined for three boards and three assists.

By the numbers: The Panthers finished shooting 53.2 percent from the field and 46.7 percent on 3-pointers — 19-for-33 at the charity stripe – and earned a plus-14 edge in rebounding and a plus-18 advantage on inside scoring. Priceville was 32.7 percent overall, 31.8 percent from beyond the arc and an impressive 16-for-19 on free-throw attempts.

They said it: “It’s a great feeling to move up to 4A and we wanted to make a statement this year. CoCo (Thomas) and I came with that mindset to play in this game.” — Jones

“Before the game, coach Rob(erson) told us that we were going to take what the other team gives us. If that means one-on-one in the post, then we’re going to take that. That means I’m shooting 10 threes, then that’s also what it means. I shoot when I’m open, believe and have confidence in myself, and make the right play for my teammates.” — Rogers

“I guess we have a championship mindset. I don’t know what else to say. We put in the work and that applied later in the season.” — Jones on winning volleyball and basketball titles (Rogers and Thomas also on volleyball team)