CLASS 3A GIRLS FINAL: Trinity repeats as state champions

The Trinity Wildcats earned their second-straight state title, defeating Plainview in the finals Friday at the BJCC Legacy Arena. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

BIRMINGHAM -- Immediately after beating Clements in the 3A semifinals on Tuesday, Trinity coach Blake Smith and his players moved to the seats in the Legacy Arena and scouted Plainview, the Wildcats’ opponent in the 3A finals.

Sawyer Kate Hulgan hit five 3-pointers in the first quarter of the semifinals alone, so Trinity’s ace defender, Maddie Smith, drew the assignment for defending Hulgan. Lauren Jimmerson went 7 of 12 from the floor, so Trinity guard Francie Morris was assigned to Jimmerson.

The move paid off as the Plainview duo were held scoreless from the 3-point arc and to just seven points combined in the finals, allowing the Wildcats to repeat as Class 3A state champions with a 48-40 win over the Bears on Friday afternoon.

 “It’s really unbelievable,” Maddie Smith said. “I’ve been growing up around Trinity basketball since I was little and they haven’t made it this far, ever. It’s just God’s grace. He’s been so good to us.”

Trinity, which finished at 26-6, had earned just one trip to the finals (1995) and two appearances in the state semifinals (2000 and 2014) under the current regional format before the Wildcats beat Clements in the 2023 finals and muzzled the Bears in the 2024 finals.

“It feels great,” Trinity junior Mya Moskowitz said. “We knew we had a target on our backs at the beginning of the season and that there may be people ready for us, hunting for us every game since. We just kept that in the back of our heads. We just have to grind out every game so it feels really good.”

What made Trinity a championship team was the play of Smith, Morris and Moskowitz on both ends of the floor, both as defenders and as players who can create their own shot.

“Coach Smith does a great job,” Plainview coach Luke Griggs said. “We’ve seen a lot of faceguards on our gunners. When you’ve got two girls (Hulgan and Jimmerson) shooting at a high rate and a high volume, you’ve got to stop them, of course. We figured it was coming, but they did a great job. They were very athletic and it was extremely hard to get away from.”

It was Maddie Smith’s 3-pointer with 2:31 remaining in the third quarter that gave Trinity its largest lead at 40-17, capping a 13-0 run over an eight-minute span that started late in the first half and held the Bears without a basket for 8:07.  

“You always have in your mind what you think everybody can do,” Blake Smith said. “Then you get out there and you say, ‘that girl’s maybe better than we thought.’ These two (Maddie Smith and Morris) are elite defenders and we had them on what we thought were the two best players and they were holding them at bay for the most part, but the other girls were getting freed up and they were better players than we realized so we had to make a few adjustments.”

The Wildcats endured a seven-minute scoreless stretch of their own that included seven missed shots and five turnovers before Moskowitz put back her own miss for a 42-28 lead with 3:11 remaining. The only thing that had kept the Wildcats in front was their defense.

When Kami Sanders hit a free throw, Gracie Rowel launched a 25-foot bomb and Sanders hit from underneath, suddenly the lead went to eight points with 2:36 remaining.

The Wildcats continue to work the clock, passing the ball among the guards while looking for a suitable shot. With 90 seconds remaining, Morris found Moskowitz on the wing. The junior calmly hit a 3-pointer to finish off the Bears.

Moskowitz was 1 of 5 with two turnovers during the second-half drought but Blake Smith never had a second thought about whether she should give up working the clock and bury the Bears with a long-range jumper.

“I don’t tell Mya no,” he said. “Mya doesn’t get told no. She did that last year. That girl can shoot the basketball. I might re-do some things. I probably handled that (stretch) a little wrong. But if they’re open, we want them to take it, especially if you’re turning it over.”

After the game, Griggs was replaying the second half in his mind as well.

“We knew they had some really good guards, so we didn’t know if we could run and trap,” Griggs said, “and it kind of got away from us. About halfway through the third quarter, we said the heck with it, we were going to play like we’ve been playing all year, we don’t care how good their guards are. I think we were more comfortable doing that. Maybe if we had done that from the start, it would have come out differently.”

Rowel led Plainview (31-7) with 19 points, hitting 5 of 9 3-point attempts. The rest of the team went 0 for 14 from behind the arc.  

“We were down by 20 and I really didn’t want it to end like that,” Rowel said, “so I tried everything I could to get us closer and into the game. It helped on defense. It got everybody together and going. We lost by eight, but it’s better than 20.”

Maddie Smith led Trinity with 15 points, three rebounds, two assists and four steals. Morris had 13 points, six rebounds and six assists, while Moskowitz had 11 points and seven rebounds. Lilly Smith had a team-high eight rebounds along with four points.