By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
BIRMINGHAM – Saturday night, the Hewitt-Trussville Huskies looked to make put their stamp on history and deny the Hoover Lady Bucs their fourth straight 7A state championship. Despite a great fourth quarter from the Lady Huskies, the Bucs would edge them out by two points, 58-56.
“That’s a nice trophy,” said Hewitt head coach Tonya Hunter. “I have always wanted one of them. It isn’t the one we wanted, but it’s nice to get this one with this team.” And what a special team it was.
The Lady Huskies dug an early hole that they could not get out of. They had some streaks during the game that looked like they would lead to a comeback, but Hoover had an answer each time.
The Huskies scored just six points in the first quarter, four of them coming from senior Jordan Hunter. Hoover cut through the Husky defense often in the first, leading to a 17-point quarter that would sort of set the tone for the early part of the game.
Hewitt would find traction in the second quarter, even outscoring Hoover 14-11 and going into the halftime break trailing by just eight points, 28-20.
Hoover would answer with a good start to the third quarter before Hunter would get a key block at around the 3:50 mark and the Huskies would go on a 6-0 run to cut the Hoover lead to a game-low one point. Hoover would outscore Hewitt in the third 15-13 and the teams would head into the final period of the game with the Lady Bucs holding onto a 43-33.
The Huskies would explode on offense in the fourth quarter, but Hoover would hold serve and use the early offensive woes for Hewitt to secure the win. Ryleigh Martin and Lauryn Holley helped Hunter in the quarter, hitting key three-pointers for the Huskies. Hunter hit two threes in the final 15 seconds but, despite outscoring the Bucs 23-15 in the period, it would be two points short of the ultimate goal.
The Hoover Bucs dynasty would continue with a fourth state title in a row. They have also won six of the last eight 7A championships.
The Huskies finish their “season in pink” with a 28-6 record and a second-place finish in Alabama’s largest classification.
“This was the first time I had to coach a team this young and inexperienced. I was a little relaxed on them. The freshmen don’t really know, but I didn’t run them as much and I even gave them days off,” said Coach Hunter. “But, after practice was over, these girls kept practicing. I came in to check the gym on one of our off days and these girls are up there hitting each other with pads. I had to tell them to go home and rest and get off of their feet. That is the kind of group this is. I have had some really good teams, but this one, I’m sorry to the other teams, this one will be talked about for a long time.”
Ryleigh Martin, who was second in scoring on the night with 13 points despite being just a freshman, looks to take over the departing Jordan Hunter’s spot, but she does not believe it is a one-person job. “It’s not just me filling her shoes. It is all of us. I just look at it as multiple people filling that role. Even though, we are really going to miss Jordan.”
Lauryn Holley, who finished the game with nine points for the Huskies, spoke of playing in the all-pink uniforms and what the “season in pink” means to her. “It is really special. Especially for what it stands for. It was special to play for Coach Hunter and her friend. To go out there and perform like we did, it felt really good.”
“Miss Shana was the feistiest person I’ve ever known in my life,” said Jordan Hunter. “Her daughter actually played in the final four. She will be my roommate next year at Auburn. It was really nice to do something for her. For me, basketball is how we connected. So it was great to be able to play for someone other than ourselves.”
This will surely go down as a season to remember for Tonya Hunter and this group of girls that she had the pleasure of coaching.