Coach Brandon Childers’ young Scottsboro girls basketball team started the AHSAA Class 5A state semifinal game Wednesday night a little skittish. The Wildcats, with two ninth-graders, a sophomore and two juniors in the starting lineup, trailed 7-1 to open the first quarter against No. 5 Gulf Shores.

“I believe we were nervous to start the game,” Scottsboro forward Bree Sexton said. “We were able to calm down after we hit some shots.”

The No. 8 Wildcats soothed their nerves enough to rally late in the opening period and roll the rest of the way to beat Gulf Shores 54-34 and earn a spot in the state title game on Saturday against No. 1 Jasper.

“We finally got some shots to fall in the second half,” Childers said. “We turned them over 15 times in the second half and that was key.”

Freshman Isabelle Nelson hit a free throw with 3:09 to play in the opening quarter to knot the game at 7 and sophomore Mia Martin hit back-to-back layups to give the Wildcats the lead and then a 2-point cushion that gave Scottsboro the lead for good with 2:12 left in the period.

Scottsboro (26-6) outscored Gulf Shores 17-2 in the third quarter and downed the Dolphins, 54-34, to advance to the Class 5A girl’s state championship game against Jasper.

The Dolphins’ quick start came from a couple of buckets from Keyona Royal, but the 6-foot-1 junior picked up her second foul and had to sit down. The Dolphins (29-6) had three players in foul trouble with seniors Maya Griffin and Tristyn Baggett fouling out early in the final period.

“The foul trouble made it hard for us,” Gulf Shores coach Brian Sexton said. “We had to play some kids that didn’t play much in the season. Tristyn Baggett is our leader on defense.  When she got in foul trouble, it really hurt us.”

The Wildcats, who don’t have a single senior on the team, were led by Caroline Dawson’s 17 points. Sexton and Nelson added 11 points each.

Gulf Shores was led by Alyssa Thompson with 11 points. Maggie Myers added 10 for the Dolphins. Royal added 8 points and claimed 10 rebounds.

Star of the game: Caroline Dawson, who was 7-of-13 from the field including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists.

Stat of the game: Gulf Shores made 7 percent of its shots in the third quarter and was 0-for-9 on 3-point attempts. The Dolphins committed 24 turnovers to 10 for Scottsboro.

Did you know? Scottsboro coach Brandon Childers and Jasper coach Blake Laney are best friends. The two are scheduled to go on a cruise in March. First, the two will meet in the state championship game. Both coaches have led their teams to the title game in their teams’ first appearance in Birmingham.

Coachspeak: “I am disappointed for my guys. We are a family at Gulf Shores. I am proud of everything that we have accomplished. My seniors have set the bar for our program.” – Gulf Shores coach Sexton

“It is all surreal. It is hard to believe that a team from our area has made the state championship game for three straight years (Arab finished second in 2023 and Guntersville won it all in 2022). Our girls have continued to get better each game.” – Scottsboro coach Childers.

Up next: Scottsboro takes on top-ranked Jasper, 30-4 and winners of 23 straight, in the Class 5A girl’s championship game on Saturday at 9 a.m.