Hoover used a strong first half run then held off a surging Bob Jones in advancing to its fifth straight state tournament final four with a 48-35 win during Tuesday’s Northwest Regional Class 7A girls championship.

Two-time defending champion Hoover led 9-5 after a basket by Bob Jones’ Jaliyah Smith with 1:36 left in the first quarter, then pounded the Patriots with a 12-0 run on the way to a 25-10 halftime lead.

“We have a standard that we want to play to,” said Hoover coach Krystle Johnson. “We played all right, but in the second half we had a drop-off. We’ve got some stuff to work on.”

Ariana Peagler’s 3-pointer to open the third quarter gave the Bucs their biggest lead at 28-10 with a 34-21 advantage heading into the final quarter.

Bob Jones closed the gap to 36-29 on Alana Obianozie’s 8-footer in the lane with 4:55 remaining in the game.

Zamyra Goode, Bob Jones’s leading scorer, fouled out with 3:57 left on a breakaway by Layla Etchison, who made 1-of-2 free throws for a 39-31 Hoover lead.

Hoover converted 5-of-6 free throws in the final 2:26 to preserve the win.

Star of the Game: One of the leading candidates for the state’s Miss Basketball, NW Class 7A tournament MVP Reniya Kelly of Hoover had 18 points on 4-of-13 shooting (3-of-8 3-pointers), 7-of-8 free throws and four rebounds.

Stat sheet: Hoover – Layla Etchison 12 points, 3-of-7 shooting, 5-of-6 free throws, seven rebounds and four assists.

Bob Jones – Zamyra Goode 11 points, Janiyah Bone nine points, 4-of-12 shooting.

By the numbers: Hoover – 13-of-36 shooting (36.1 percent), 5-of-17 3-pointers (29.4 percent), 28-19 rebounding advantage with 13-6 on offensive rebounds, 14 second chance points.

Bob Jones – 13-of-32 shooting (40.6 percent), 2-of-14 3-pointers, 20 points in the paint.

They said it: “It was really a competitive game. It meant something, but it’s just another game to me.” – Hoover’s Reniya Kelly

“The way we responded in the second half shows how we didn’t give up.” – Bob Jones coach Jazmine Powers Carr.

Next up: Hoover advances to the state semifinals at Birmingham’s BJCC on March 2 against Prattville.