Last season, the Huffman High School Lady Vikings settled for the second place red map trophy. Now, they have a chance to settle the score and secure the blue map.
Led by the dynamic duo of Tamiria and Jamiria Jones, fifth-ranked Huffman triumphed over the fourth-ranked Park Crossing Thunderbirds by a score of 63-56 in the Girls 6A State Semifinals on Wednesday at Legacy Arena in Birmingham.
The win set up a championship game rematch on Saturday against the top-ranked Hazel Green Trojans, who rallied back from a double-digit deficit to dispatch Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 52-38.
“We know what the goal is, and honestly, I feel like we are meant to be here," said Huffman Coach Lin Slater about the rematch. "The job is not finished. We know we are destined to be here."
Park Crossing jumped out to an early lead but Huffman answered with three straight three-pointers from the Jones sisters and Breonna Robbins. The Lady Vikings would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game. The Thunderbirds did draw the deficit down to one point in the fourth quarter before the Lady Vikings went on an 8-2 run to close the contest.
“It was a hard-fought game,” said Slater. “Park Crossing went on a run and I had to throw down my play sheet and just coach. Coach the way I know how to coach. I thank God we were able to pull out the win. It was a tough win.”
The Jones twins each finished with 23 points and combined for 13 rebounds and six steals. Robbins contributed 14 points, seven rebounds, and three steals.
Either of the Jones sisters could have been named Player of the Game, but the honor went to Tamiria, who tallied eight assists, including one to her sister on a three-pointer than ignited the late scoring run and ultimately sealed the win.
“I know my sister is one of the best shooters in the state, probably the country if you ask me,” said Tamiria. “I beat my man and her man came to help, so I just kicked it to her. I knew she’d knock it down.”
Three point shooting and turnovers ended up being the deciding factors in the game. According to stats compiled by al.com, Huffman shot just 40 percent from the field but they hit nine of 22 from three-point range; Park Crossing converted 53.3 percent of their shots but were just two of 10 from long range. The Thunderbirds turned the ball over 25 times, which led to 38 Lady Viking points.
Which leads us to the rematch. Last year, the Trojans toppled the Lady Vikings 53-40 for the team's sixth consecutive championship. Huffman shot just 28 percent from the field in that game, including just one of 16 three-point attempts. But that first experience brought the team back for another shot at the school's first girls basketball championship.
“It’s a blessing and it feels great. It’s amazing how hard we worked. Our motivation was being here last season," said Slater. "It’s an amazing opportunity for our school and our program. I know what the ultimate goal is and that’s to get the Blue Map.”
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UPDATE: The Huffman Lady Vikings claimed their second consecutive Red Map after falling to Hazel Green in the championship game.