BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Payton Burnett could feel Loachapoka's frustration throughout the third quarter when Brantley reversed its slide and started pulling away from the Indians.
With two minutes left, up by 15 points and listening to a quarter's worth of dissension, she knew Brantley had won its second-straight championship.
The third-ranked Bulldogs pulled away for a 43-31 win at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Arena on Friday morning by using a solid inside game and taking the No. 6 Indians out of their game plan.
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| Brantley's Dominique Caldwell and Brantley's Lauren Johnson embrace as they celebrate a championship at the Brantley vs. Loachapoka girls AHSAA 1A State Championship game, Friday, February 28, 2014, at the BJCC in Birmingham, Ala. Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com |
"You could tell they kept getting frustrated. They started yelling at each other about the end of the third quarter," said Burnett, who finished with game-highs of 16 points and 12 rebounds. "With about two minutes left, I knew we were going to win because no one was giving up and we were continuing to play defense.
Yeah, about that defense. The Indians (27-3) shot just 12 of 49 for the game to 14 of 33 for Brantley (27-5).
"At halftime, we told them that we had to get more defensive rebounds or they were going to beat us," said Brantley coach Andrew Kilcrease."We were fresh at the start and they wore us down at the end of the first half."
After a 14-5 start, Brantley struggled to score in the second quarter and nursed a 21-18 lead heading into the half. But the Bulldogs, got back on track in the second half and were never under double-digits after Raven Davis hit a 3-pointer for a 36-24 lead.
"Defense is our key," said Loachapoka coach Anthony Edwards. "If we don't make baskets, we can't press. They would run like a stall and that kept us from going up and down the court. They did a good job of not letting us inside."
And that fed right into Kilcrease's game plan, packing the inside defensively and forcing the Indians to win by hitting outside.
"We had to stop them inside and make them shoot outside," said Kilcrease. "And I also thought our kids did a great job of handling their pressure."
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| Peyton Hill Hoists Trophy |
To view video, click 43-31 Win.
To view pics, click Championship Photos.
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| All Tournament: Payton Burnett and Tournament MVP Amahni Upshaw |
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| 2014 Class 1A State Champions |
