Hoover prevails over Spain Park in all-city final, captures 7A crown
BIRMINGHAM -- A cluster of black jerseys spilled onto the court when the final horn sounded Saturday evening at the BJCC's Legacy Arena. After 36 minutes of heart-stopping action that included five lead changes and buzzer-beating heroics, the Hoover High School girls basketball team could finally exhale.
And it did -- in the form of hugs, smiles, tears and cheers.
In the immediate aftermath of the Lady Bucs' 51-47 overtime victory against crosstown rival Spain Park in the Class 7A state final, there was no shortage of reasons to explain the whirlwind of emotion that engulfed Hoover and its first-year head coach, Krystle Johnson.
Johnson, a former Lady Buc, helped lead Hoover to a state title in 2001. This year's ride, she said, wasn't comparable.
"It's completely different than my first as a player just to be here and see these girls grow throughout the season," Johnson said through tears at the postgame press conference. "When I came back and took this job, it was a different type of pride that I had in getting these girls ready to win a state championship."
Johnson was hired as Hoover's head coach last spring. Since then, she had been preparing her squad for moments like Saturday -- when a game plan goes awry and shots refuse to fall.
Spain Park's Claire Holt exploded for 14 first-half points to give her team a 26-19 lead at the halftime break. Hoover, meanwhile, struggled to generate much offensive rhythm through the first two quarters. The Lady Bucs shot only 27 percent from the field.
"I just told them to start playing our game," Johnson said. "It was the same game plan we had when we played them at Spain Park."
The result of the teams' Feb. 3 meeting was a 66-40 Hoover runaway victory, but Saturday's game followed an entirely different trajectory.
The Lady Bucs trailed for the majority of the contest until state tournament MVP Eboni Williams rolled in a steal-and-score layup with 1:29 remaining in the third quarter. Williams' bucket gave Hoover a 30-29 edge. She finished with a double-double, totaling 10 points and 11 rebounds.
"This is a really great feeling," Williams said after the game, her voice quivering with emotion. "I wanted to play for our seniors and our coaches and our seniors from last year."
Hoover's fortune turned in the second half as it relied on the post play of Williams and Angela Grant. The duo had its way in the paint, as both players were able to muscle down a smaller Spain Park lineup.
Grant accounted for six of Hoover's 12 third-quarter points then banked in a critical second-chance layup in the final minute of regulation, which broke a 39-39 stalemate. She finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
"Angela stepping up today in the state championship game, it couldn't have been done at a better time," Johnson said. "It's unbelievable, but it's expected at the same time."
Grant said her breakout performance was a long time in the making. Post-practice critiques from Johnson, she said, finally paid off.
"That preparation put into this game made feel like I could do this," Grant said. "That's what she's tried to tell me all year, and I finally embraced it."
Hoover led 44-41 with less than 10 seconds remaining in regulation, but Spain Park didn't wilt. The Lady Jags' Sarah Ashlee Barker swished a 3 from the top of the key two seconds shy of the buzzer to send the contest into overtime.
"We were just trying to get an open shot," said Barker, a freshman.
It was the third time in four games that Spain Park required an extra period to decide its final outcome. The Lady Jags slipped past Gadsden City in the Feb. 22 region semifinal, 52-49, and slid by McGill-Toolen in Thursday’s state semifinal, 49-48.
Saturday's extra frame didn't produce the same sweet result. Holt, who recorded a game-high 22 points, fouled out in the game's 33rd minute.
"Having her off the court takes one of their ball handlers away," Johnson said of Holt. "It takes their best shooter away. It also takes one of their best defenders away."
Barrett Herring, Spain Park's stalwart on the boards, fouled out less than 30 seconds after Holt. The Lady Jags were unable to challenge Hoover's post play in Herring's absence, and they were forced to foul.
The Lady Bucs went only 18-of-33 from the charity stripe on the night, but they converted enough shots down the stretch to put the game on ice. Spain Park ran out of magic in the waning minutes, its fate sealed when Ahrielle Parks' 3-point heave bounced off the front of the rim with seven ticks remaining. The Lady Jags were down three, 50-47.
An ensuing free throw at the opposite end from Hoover's Joiya Maddox pushed the Lady Bucs' edge to two possessions.
The horn sounded. The bench cleared. A mob of dark jerseys and bright smiles jumped in euphoria, while the players clad in white dropped their heads in disbelief.
"There are some games that you win by 20 and you yell at them in the locker room, and there’s games that you lose, but you played amazing," Spain Park head coach Mike Chase said. "I told them I couldn’t be any more proud of this team and the way they played. The only thing about it was that after 36 minutes of basketball, we were just four points less."
The four-point difference sealed Hoover's first state title since 2013. Until Saturday, the Lady Bucs hadn't played in a state final since that triumph.
Johnson portrayed the feat as a divine breakthrough, one that resulted from persistence, faith and a collective investment.
"We've prayed all season for this," Johnson said. "Our team is just really rooted in God, and we always lean on Him. This is just huge."