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The Homewood Lady Patriots captured the school's first state basketball championship, defeating Blount 69-60 in the Class 6A AHSAA State Finals championnship game at Legacy Arena at the BJCC on Saturday.
Behind the efforts of freshman point guard Hannah Barber and freshman forward Ajah Wayne, who were named the tournament's co-Most Valuable Players, the Lady Pats built a 13-point lead and held off a furious fourth-quarter push by Blount.
"It's exciting," said Homewood coach JoVanka Ward. "I am super proud of these young ladies, and I don't use the word young lightly."
Young may have been the watchword at season's beginning, but the Lady Pats played like seasoned vets down the stretch. Nine freshmen, a sophomore and three seniors make up the roster.
"They're not freshmen now," Ward said.
Wayne led the way with 22 points and 11 rebounds and added four steals. Barber added 11 points and eight assists and Tori Webb, also on the all-tourney team, chipped in 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks before fouling out.
The Lady Patriots' offensive strategy early seemed to be push the ball with the fastbreak and if it wasn't there to get the ball inside.
"That's who we are," said Ward. "We say you think you've played fast till you play us."
The Lady Pats led 14-9 at the first-period break but the margin could have been even greater had they not missed several easy looks inside.
Blount's Latayia Diamond knocked down a 3-pointer from the left corner to cut the score to 14-12 just into the second quarter. She hit another from the same spot to give Blount its first lead at 17-16, and then Barber drove the lane but missed a floater and the Lady Leopards took advantage of Barber's deep penetration for a fastbreak bucket and a 19-16 lead with five minutes in the first half.
Barber found Wayne with a crosscourt pass on a break for a layup and Homewood retook the lead 20-19 just before the quarter's media timeout just under four minutes.
After Blount tied it with a free throw, Barber drove the lane and dished it to Lia Roberson for an easy deuce and a 22-20 lead. Roberson added a free throw for a three-point lead with 1:45 before the break. Alexandria Studdard's lay-in pushed it to 27-22.
But the biggest hoop of the half was Homewood's first made trey of the game, a shot from the left corner by Barber at the buzzer to give the Lady Patriots a 30-22 lead at the half.
"That was big," Ward said. "For her to be able to knock one down gave us confidence."
Barber said, "I think it gave us some momentum and kind of put them on their heels."
Coming out of the break, Barber's dribble penetration and passing led to more easy shots inside, and when she found Tori Webb for a layup, the margin was 34-24. The Lady Patriots were able to sustain an eight-to-10-point lead throughout most of the quarter.
Studdard's steal and length-of-the-floor drive pushed it to 44-34 and another steal and drive for a layup by Wayne made it 46-34 with a minute in the quarter.
The Lady Patriots took a 50-39 lead to the final period. Their biggest lead was 13 before Blount managed to cut into it to six when a Cierra Johnson putback capped a 7-0 run.
Homewood missed free throws kept Blount in the game, and the Lady Leopards played with intensity in the final eight minutes that was lacking for the first 24.
Takayla Jones' putback off a missed free throw cut it to 60-57 with 2:30 to play, capping another 7-0 run.
Wayne then calmly knocked in two free throws with 1:12 left for a 62-57 Homewood lead.
Blount added a free throw, but Barber connected with Wayne on a long pass for a layup and then Wayne made a key defensive play on the other end, coming up with a steal and getting fouled with 36.6 left. She made one of those two free throws for a 65-58 lead and Blount had to foul.