AISA GIRLS SEMIS: Lowndes makes fourth-straight finals with win over Clarke Prep; Hooper falters
Lowndes Academy’s Sarah Beth Murchison works out of a trap during the Lady Rebels’ win over Clarke Prep on Thursday in the Class AA semifinals at Garrett Coliseum. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
There was a stretch in the second quarter when Lowndes Academy coach Matt Marshall found his team locked in a tight battle with Clarke Prep in the AISA Class AA semifinals at Garrett Coliseum. The Rebels were missing close shots, weren’t converting on long-range shots and were 0 for 6 from the free throw line.
“It’s like we were snakebit,” Marshall said, “but you’ve got to stay the course. Hollering at them for missing shots isn’t going to do any good.”
Late in the third quarter, Lowndes generated points on three consecutive possessions to build a seven-point lead going into the fourth quarter on the way to a 43-35 victory over the Gators on Thursday morning.
Lowndes (17-3) advances to the championship game for the fourth consecutive year after falling in the finals last year. The Rebels will play Southern for the Class AA state championship on Friday at noon at Garrett Coliseum.
“The one thing (we’ve got) are kids that know how to win,” Marshall said. “They win in softball, they win in other sports, and you can’t coach that. When you’ve got winners on the floor, a lot of times they find a way to come through for you.”
It was the message Marshall passed on to Clarke Prep, winners of the state softball championship last May. It’s also a message he can deliver to Southern, which defeated Lowndes for the state volleyball title in October.
Lowndes appeared to have the upper hand in the first half, but couldn’t convert scoring opportunities into points, struggling to stay ahead of the Gators.
“I was worried about their length and them not coming out (from under the goal),” Marshall said. “We tried to run some things to get them to come out and they wouldn’t come out. And I think we played a little timid. The length bothered us. In the first quarter, we shot more 3s than we shot in the entire season. That was the shot they were giving us and we were falling right into it.
“I felt like they wanted to turn the game into a halfcourt game, we didn’t want that to happen and we let it happen. But we still got a lot of shots we wanted. We’ve got to convert. This time of year, you don’t convert those, you should lose.”
The Rebels survived, in part because of a 4-for-4 performance at the free-throw line in the third quarter, helping to build a lead, and then hitting 10 of 15 attempts in the fourth quarter to maintain the lead.
“They did a better job of getting back and not letting us transition as much as we would like to,” Marshall said. “And the difference in the game was we started making free throws.”
Camryn Hess led Lowndes with 11 points, followed by Abby Lovell with nine and Sarah Beth Murchison with eight. Catie Wallace Self added six points before her ejection in the fourth quarter for a flagrant foul. Her status remains uncertain for the championship game.
Drue Flint led Clarke Prep with 13 points, followed by Brooke Brasell with eight.
Hooper’s Henlee Garvin shoots over Escambia defenders in the Class A semifinals at Garrett Coliseum. (Tim Gayle)
Hooper falls to Escambia
The Hooper Academy Colts dug an early hole and never found the offense to mount a comeback, falling in the AISA Class A semifinals to Escambia Academy 44-31 on Thursday at Garrett Coliseum.
Escambia (17-4) will play North River for the Class A state championship on Friday at 3:30 p.m. Hooper ends the season at 14-12.
The Colts managed just eight points in the first half, facing a defense that packed into the paint and dared the Colts to shoot from the perimeter.
“They packed it in the first time we played them (in a 42-39 Hooper win on Dec. 12), but our ‘big’ (Henlee Garvin) had a great game and scored 23 points,” Hooper Academy coach Jase Munroe said. “That benefits us because now they won’t respect our shot as much. It’s no secret our offense goes through Katie Robinson, so we thought that would work in our favor and they’d pack it in (to stop Garvin) and they did. Sometimes, you just don’t shoot it great and tonight Katie had one of those nights where she couldn’t get it to fall.”
No one had much success. Jade Taylor hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 13 points and Jenna Conway added eight, but the Colts had trouble generating any offense against the Cougars.
On the other side of the court, the Hooper defense did a respectable job containing Escambia’s leading scorer, Krislynn Lee, but the freshman still managed 16 points and dictated the tempo early.
“I think we let her get to where she wanted to be, in the paint and going downhill,” Munroe said. “She’s a heck of a player. The extra 10 feet (on a 94-foot court) helped her a ton and you don’t really see that until you get out here. When we played them at our place, she had a good game but we beat them at our place. When she gets that extra 10 feet, it’s so much harder to defend her.”
Escambia forward Kate Davis added 14 points, followed by shooting guard Natalynn Lee with 12 points.
Thursday’s semifinal appearance was only the second in the last decade for Hooper, which also reached the semifinals in 2023.
“It was an up-and-down season,” Munroe said, “but, ultimately, it’s a success. We’re coming in (to the state tournament) as a team that really doesn’t enjoy basketball yet and it’s my first year on the varsity level, so getting to the Final Four is special.”
Munroe also praised his seniors -- Tara Joy Kelliher, Jordan Conway, Addison Stanford and Garvin.
“(Stanford) came out here just to be a part of it and I appreciate that because she led us well and always had energy,” Munroe said. “Kelliher gave us a ton of minutes throughout the season, but wasn’t able to play today because she was sick. Jordan Conway comes off the bench for us, our sixth man. She’s probably truly a starter but she embraced her role off the bench because she enjoyed seeing the game before she played. And Henlee Garvin is the best leader I’ve ever coached. In my six years, that’s the best kid, the best athlete, the best I’ve ever coached. I appreciate all four of them leading.”
Southern Academy 42, Jackson Academy 37
Abby Sluder scored 17 points and Taylor Kyser added 13 to lead the Southern Academy Cougars to a 42-37 win over Jackson in the AISA Class AA semifinals at Garrett Coliseum on Thursday.
Southern Academy scored 19 points in the fourth quarter to fight off a Jackson rally down the stretch.
Lola Carlisle led Jackson with 14 points, followed by Skylar Chancey with 11.
Southern will play for the AA state championship against Lowndes on Friday at noon.