By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
TRUSSVILLE — Thursday night was one that Tonya Hunter and the entire Trussville community will remember forever. With a 56-42 win over Mortimer Jordan, Coach Hunter earned her 400th win as a head basketball coach.
“It means so much that it’s hard to put it into words,” she said. “When I hear ‘400 wins’ I don’t think about the wins or losses. I think about the kids that have been in our locker room and practices for 18 years. Every kid I have coached has left a mark on me. I think about all the kids. To do it here at Hewitt Trussville with this team is amazing.”
The game started out as a bit of a dog fight as Hewitt won the first quarter 16-15 with April Hooks hitting back-to-back three pointers to close out the quarter. Avore Benson matched Hooks’ six points with six of her own as both players led the Huskies in scoring for the first period.
In the second quarter, the defenses took control with Hewitt only allowing Mortimer Jordan to score eight points while only putting up seven of their own. Hooks hit another three during the quarter and Jordan Hunter hit one of her own. The score was knotted at 23 heading into the half.
The third quarter would provide more offense than the previous one with both teams putting up 14 points to send us into the final stanza with a 37-37 score. Hooks hit her fourth three of the game to go with Ashlyn Howard’s four points, leading the Huskies.
At this point, the dog fight would end as the Hewitt Trussville Lady Huskies dominated the Blue Devils in a 19-5 quarter, giving Coach Hunter her 400th win with a final of 56-42. Lilly Gray lit it up in the fourth with eight of the 19 points.
On the night, Hooks led the Huskies with 12 points, all three-pointers, followed by Jordan Hunter with 10 points. Yes, Jordan Hunter is the daughter of Head Coach Tonya Hunter.
When asked what it meant to have her daughter on the team for a win this big, Hunter said, “I didn’t think of it really, but it’s like a fairy tale. I’m passionate about this game and it’s not about basketball. It’s about life. For my daughter and my husband to be on that bench with us means the world. They’ve had to sacrifice to get us here. I want to tell them thank you for allowing me to pour into other kids.”
Speaking on her team’s performance on the night, Coach Hunter said, “Most people would say we are having a rough year. We are not having a rough year. We composed a schedule in the spring to challenge us. So these are building blocks. We built a block in the second half. We did some things that we needed to do for our program to finish our last home game of the year. We had some things we needed to check off of the list. And we did it against a really good team. I’m so proud of them.”
The Lady Huskies head into the Christmas break with a 9-3 record.