Rubin E. Grant
Two minutes and three seconds.
That’s how much time was remaining on the clock in the AHSAA Class 7A girls basketball state championship game Saturday at the BJCC Legacy Arena when Spain Park senior star Sarah Ashlee Barker became a spectator and a cheerleader.
The crosstown rival and defending champion Bucs were in the midst of a 15-5 run that had trimmed a 16-point Jags’ lead to 40-34 when Barker exited the game after picking up her fifth foul.
The crucial play occurred when Hoover’s Reniya Kelly drove the baseline and went up for a shot. Barker made minimal contact but was whistled for a foul.
“I tried to let her get the layup because that’s better than the ‘and’ one,” Barker said. “Personally, I didn’t think I had fouled her.”
Barker was in tears as she went to the bench and had to be consoled, then she realized she needed to support her teammates.
“It was a lot of emotion,” she said. “Of course, it being my last game and being a senior, you don’t want to come out of a game. But I had to get it together because I had to be a leader off the court. That’s the most important thing to do.
“Throughout the whole year, I’ve been the one that’s had to step up. It was their time to step up and have my back. When it came time, they did it. You can only thank them and thank God that you have teammates and friends like them.”
Spain Park (32-4) managed to hang on, pulling out a 47-44 victory to claim their second title in three years and avenge a 51-47 overtime loss to Hoover in the 2017 championship game.
After Barker fouled her, Kelly made both free throws to pull the Bucs within 40-36, but the Jags never relinquished the lead.
With Spain Park ahead 42-39, freshman forward Haley Russell collected an offensive rebound and made a layup to extend the lead to 44-39 with 1:09 remaining.
Kelly’s three-point play with 43 seconds remaining pulled the Bucs within 44-42, but Russell sank two clutch free throws with 24 seconds remaining, giving the Jags just enough cushion to claim the title.
“Sarah Ashlee had just come out of the game, so right after that I knew I had to step up,” Russell said. “When I got those two free throws, this was my chance and this was my opportunity.”
Barker finished with 11 points but made only 4 of 20 field goal attempts. She also had 15 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals, earning MVP honors. Junior Avery Masdon led the Jags with 12 points.
Kelly led Hoover with 23 points, but she made only 6 of 29 shots from the field, including 2 of 10 3-pointers. She did sink 9 of 11 free throw attempts.
Spain Park basketball coach Mike Chase was relieved his team held on after Barker exited.
“Suddenly our Georgia signee is fouled out and I’m already down a star because my daughter (Camille Chase) had torn her ACL the other night,” Chase said. “Now I’ve got one junior, three freshmen and a sophomore on the court, and the defending 7A champs were pressing down.
We finally got a couple calls, walked down and made some free throws and had just enough to get us over the finish line. Another 30 seconds and I don’t know if the result would’ve been the same.”
Bucs’ Performance
The Bucs (31-3) were done in by poor shooting. They shot only 23.2% from the field (13 of 56) and 59.3 percent from the free-throw line (16 of 27). They made only 2 of 19 3-pointers.
In the first half, Hoover made only 3 of 20 field-goal attempts and were 0 of 10 on 3-pointers, falling into a 22-10 halftime deficit.
“We don’t ever start a season and plan to not win a state championship,” Hoover coach Krystle Johnson said. “Today we did not play our best. The first half was probably the worst we played all season. A lot of credit goes to them for the defense they played.
“The effort we had through the middle of the third quarter and throughout the fourth is how we should’ve played the whole game.”
Even though she had to watch the final two minutes, Barker was ecstatic about the Jags beating Bucs to win the title.
“It’s redemption, basically,” Barker said. “We didn’t get to play Hoover in the state championship (in 2018). Freshman year, we lost to them and this time we beat them. That makes it 10 times better.”
