Hewitt-Trussville’s Jordan Hunter dribbled away from a double team, bounced the ball between her legs to change direction and fired a pass to teammate Ryleigh Martin.

Martin immediately dribbled away from her defender and drew the attention of the Prattville defense before passing the ball back to Hunter.

Hunter and Martin did it over and over, as the Huskies held the ball for more than two minutes in a glorified game of keep-away late in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s Class 7A state semifinal at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena.

The keep-away strategy, and the deft ball-handling skills of Martin and Hunter, helped the Huskies earn a 51-40 victory and advance to Saturday’s championship game against three-time defending 7A champ Hoover.

RELATED: Hoover defeats Auburn in 2024 Class 7A girls semifinal

“I was telling them to hurry up and foul, but we had a few with four fouls so they couldn’t foul,” Prattville coach Erica Dubois said. “We live and we learn. Maybe they didn’t hear me, but I was screaming pretty loud.”

Clinging to a 46-40 lead, Hunter went to the line for two free throws with 3:04 to go. She missed both, but teammate Ashlyn Howard secured the rebound after the second miss.

Hewitt-Trussville then held the ball for more than two minutes, as Hunter and Martin directed an old-fashioned four-corners set.

“It’s good to have another ball-handler for sure,” said Hunter, a senior and daughter of Hewitt-Trussville coach Tonya Hunter.

Key stat: Hewitt-Trussville overcame a sluggish first half with a strong defensive effort, holding Prattville to 12-for-45 shooting and 0-for-9 from 3-point range.

“Our defense always travels,” Hewitt coach Tonya Hunter said. “It’s been in every gym for us. This is a defensive-minded team and a defensive-minded coach. We take pride in our defense.”

Stat sheet: Jordan Hunter finished with 22 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Olivia Burton added 10 points and 6 rebounds for the Huskies, and Howard had six points and nine rebounds. … U’llyriah Lewis led Prattville with 21 points, and Jayla West-Young added nine points and five rebounds.

History lesson: Prattville made its second straight trip to the state semifinals, the first time that’s happened in school history.

Coachspeak: “I’ve had some talented teams before, but what they do is remarkable. What they do for each other is remarkable. Their light shined today.” — Tonya Hunter, praising her team.

She said it: “I’m just glad we have Jordan. Thank the Lord.” — Martin

What’s next? Hewitt plays Hoover in Saturday’s championship game. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.

“All year long, we haven’t talked about making it to the state championship game,” Tonya Hunter said. “We just talked about us. No matter who is on the other side, we’re going to do our best.”

Did you know?: Hewitt and Hoover have not played this season. The last time they met was December 2022, when Hoover earned a 57-47 victory.