BIRMINGHAM — Ace Austin scored 33 points to lead top-ranked Spring Garden past defending champion Marion County 62-39 in the Class 1A girls basketball state championship game on Thursday.
Austin, a sophomore, knocked down two 3-pointers and went 11-of-14 from the free throw line en route to capturing MVP honors. She added 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals for the Lady Panthers.
Spring Garden leaned heavily on the 3-point shot, attempting 36 in the game. Austin encourages his shooters to keep firing.
“Coach tells us that good shooters shoot so keep on shooting,” Austin said. “We just had to keep on shooting until we hit some.”
The Lady Panthers made nine 3-pointers in all, with Kayley Kirk knocking down four and finishing with 14 points. Libby Brown added two treys and 9 points.
That outside shooting, coupled with 28 points off 24 Marion County turnovers, powered Spring Garden’s offense.
“Something we continue to talk about, points off turnovers, were a huge part of the game,” coach Ricky Austin said. “We were asking for a lot more in the second half. We say defense isn’t over till the ball is in your hands.”
Spring Garden also pulled away in the third quarter after leading 31-22 at halftime. Austin scored the Lady Panthers’ first six points of the second half as they built a double-digit advantage.
It’s the eighth state championship for Spring Garden under coach Austin. The Lady Panthers finished 36-1 on the season.
Jasmine Wilson scored 13 points to lead Marion County (20-14). Porshia Lipsey added 12.
Austin and the Lady Panthers got tired of hearing about the two-year drought since their last title. They made sure that talk ended with another blue map trophy.
“We’ve been working for the state championship since the beginning of the year,” Austin said. “We heard it all year that it’s been 700-something days since we’ve been to state. We got tired of hearing about it, so we didn’t want to make it even more days.”