Hoover girls basketball coach Krystle Johnson had to challenge her team at the half of Saturday’s Class 7A state championship game.

After scoring 18 of the first 19 points, the Bucs scored one of the next 22 and trailed Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 22-20 at the break.

“After a 1-point second quarter, you can imagine what it was like in our lockerroom,” Johnson said. “I basically challenged them. I felt like they (Hillcrest) wanted it more than us in the second quarter but never underestimate the heart of a champion.”

Hoover found its offense again in the second half, outscoring top-ranked Hillcrest 17-7 in the third quarter and holding the Patriots off for a 51-44 victory at Birmingham’s Legacy Arena to win a fifth consecutive state championship.

“They are all special because every team faces some type of adversity,” Johnson said of the state titles. “Last year, they said (former Miss Basketball) Reniya (Kelly) was gone. Y’all can’t win. We did. This year, Khloe (Ford) got hurt. They said y’all can’t win. We still did. They are all special and all emotional. We put them through a lot so they can reap rewards like this.”

Hoover (32-4) has now won seven of the last nine Class 7A state titles overall. Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa, which beat the Bucs 64-60 during the regular season, is still in search of its first.

The Patriots finished 33-3.

“I’m really proud of this group,” Hillcrest coach Nick Browder said. “They hit us in the mouth early and got us off schedule a bit. I told these girls they had every reason to call it right there, but they fought back and were leading at the half. They had a no quit attitude and the will to continue to compete. Life can be summed up in this game. You can’t quit but that doesn’t necessarily mean bad things aren’t going to continue to happen. You have to keep playing.”

After the wild swing of spurts in the first half, Hoover took control for good in the third quarter. The Bucs trailed 26-24 before ripping off a 10-2 run to take the lead for good. Layla Cannon’s layup gave Hoover a 34-28 lead with 1:18 left in the period. They led 37-29 at the break.

“I think everyone stepped up,” MVP Kaitlyn Gipson said. “When I had two fouls, my teammates stepped up and did their job. When I got back in, I did my job, and we came out with the win.”

The Patriots closed to within five on four occasions in the final quarter, the last three times on Jaidan Davis-Hines’ layups. Hoover responded each time with a basket or free throws and held on for the win.

“Kaitlyn made some plays in the late, some tough, contested shots,” Browder said. “The second quarter we were able to make stops. In the second half, whenever we got a couple of buckets, they continued to make buckets as well. We just couldn’t get a few stops in a row.”

Star of the Game: Gipson led the way for Hoover with 17 points and 4 rebounds. She was just 4-of-11 from the field but 9-of-12 from the free throw line.

Stat sheet: Hoover – Aaliyah Blanchard had 12 points and 5 rebounds. Kristen Winston had 8 points and 5 steals. Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa – Blakely Nixon had 17 points and 8 rebounds. Jareah Branch had 11 points.

By the numbers: Hoover finished 16-of-35 from the field overall and 16-of-21 from the foul line. The Bucs had advantages in points in the paint (22-18) and fastbreak points (11-0). Hillcrest was 16-of-55 and 3-of-17 from 3. The Patriots were 9-of-13 from the foul line. They outrebounded Hoover 36-24 and had an 18-2 advantage in second-chance points and an 11-0 edge in bench points.

Did you know? Since the AHSAA went to seven classifications prior to the 2015 season, only two teams besides Hoover have won the championship. Jeff Davis won in 2015 and 2016. Spain Park won in 2018 and 2020.

They said it:

“We try to make our program like a college program where on any given night if someone goes down, someone else can step up. I think we might be doing something right because that’s five in a row. These girls are superstars in their own right. They might not be names you know, but they are champions.” – Johnson.

“We knew they weren’t tougher than us even though they were playing like they were.” – Blanchard on Hoover responding to Hillcrest’s first-half run.

“I have no regrets. Everyone left everything they had on the court. It just didn’t go our way. That’s all we can ask.” – Branch.

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