The top-ranked Anniston girls seemingly had Rogers right where they wanted in Thursday’s Class 4A championship game at Bill Harris Arena.
Asia Barclay’s putback tied the game at 33-33. She was fouled on the play and had a chance to give the Bulldogs the lead for the first time with a free throw.
“We tied the game and had an and-1 to put us up,” Anniston coach Eddie Bullock said. “That would have put us where we needed to be.”
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Barclay’s free throw rimmed out.
No. 4 Rogers responded with seven straight points and went on to down the Bulldogs 48-37, giving Blake Prestage’s team its second state title in three years.
“After the start, it was a game runs,” Prestage said. “Luckily, we went on the last run and made some free throws down the stretch.”
Erin Brown’s 3 gave the Pirates (28-8) the lead for good and sparked the 7-0 run that turned the momentum. Rogers led 40-33 following MVP Brooke Jones’ layup with 2:58 left in the game. Another Barclay putback cut the Anniston deficit to 40-35, but Rogers finished on an 8-2 run from the free throw line.
The Pirates were 13-of-16 from the line overall.
“Anniston is a really good team,” Prestage said. “Hats off to them. They are athletic and well coached. We knew we had to play well to win, and we did. This has been a fun group to coach and a special season. I can’t put into words how happy I am for this group.”
Star of the game: Jones was the MVP, but it was Brown’s 3 that put Rogers in front to stay. She finished with 13 points three rebounds and three assists.
Stat sheet: Rogers – Jones had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Madilyn Krieger had 14 points and three assists. Anniston – Allasha Dudley led the way with 15 points but was just 5-of-21 shooting and 2-of-8 from 3. Alisia Pearson had eight points.
By the Numbers: Rogers was 15-of-41 from the field (37 percent), 5-of-18 from 3 (28 percent) and 13-of-16 from the line (81 percent). The Pirates outrebounded Anniston 35-29. Anniston was 14-of-47 from the field (30 percent), 5-of-20 from 3 (25 percent) and 4-of-9 from the foul line. The game was tied four times.
Did you know? The game remained 0-0 until Rogers’ Sheyenne Hankins final scored with 3:11 left in the first period. The quarter ended with the Pirates leading 6-4.
“I looked up halfway through the first quarter and no one had scored,” Prestage said. “It wasn’t sloppy basketball. It was two good defensive teams. They guarded us hard, and they are really athletic. There were no easy shots today. No uncontested shots.”
They said it:
“I’m going to remember a team that really bought in and believed, a team no one expected to get here other than the people in our lockerroom and around our program. We lost two important seniors last year, and we knew they would be tough to replace, but the girls bought in. They were rewarded today.” – Prestage.
“At the beginning, we were focused on defense and getting stops. Our shots weren’t falling, but we were getting good looks.” – Jones.
“We started slow offensively, but I didn’t get frustrated because we were getting good shots.” – Brown.
“We were blessed to be on this platform three years in a row. It didn’t turn out how we wanted, but someone had to win and someone had to lose.” – Bullock.
“In the beginning, they were face guarding me. I knew I had to keep pushing throughout the game and get my teammates involved. In the second half, I thought the got a little tired and I knew that was my time to pick it up.” – Dudley.