BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- “Defense wins championships.” It’s an adage that dates back to the great Paul Bryant, and one that holds true today.
The no. 4 Good Hope Lady Raiders met with no. 1 Plainview in the 4A State Championship on Friday afternoon at Legacy Arena with all the glory on the line. After jumping out to an early lead and trading runs, the Raiders clamped down in the final moments, fended off any comeback efforts and sealed a second 4A State Championship in three years.
In the win, the Raiders held Plainview to just 32.7% shooting from the floor, forced 12 turnovers and outscored the Lady Bears 32-8 in the paint.
“This group of girls, I love them. I do. They battle, they play hard, they play the game the right way and I’m proud of them. Their hard work paid off,” Good Hope head coach Justin Aby said after the win.
The Raiders came well prepared, obvious from the 11-0 run they built just minutes into the game. With Sophie Konrad’s endless scoring motor, ball movement fueled by Ella Gossett and an interior force on both ends in Ella Davis, Good Hope was a well-oiled machine. No. 1-ranked Plainview, despite being punched in the mouth early, showed their worth. Or rather, Bears guard Piper Anderson did. In the face of the Raiders’ onslaught, Anderson took matters into her own hands, draining three straight threes after hitting a layup to will Plainview back into the game. At the end of one, Anderson’s streak made it a 15-14 Good Hope lead.
Finding their legs again, the Raiders picked apart Plainview in the second. Davis and Konrad continued to find their way into the paint for buckets while Good Hope’s defense only allowed two buckets the entire period. Going ito the half, the Raiders led 24-19.
The pace picked up after the break. The third quarter was back-and-forth for a few minutes, but then it seemed like the dam broke for Plainview after Good Hope went up 28-22 on a pair of Marshall free throws. A driving lay through contact from AnnaLee Shrader got the Bears going, who then got two deep threes from Jaxson Bruce and Sawyer Kate Hulgan to fall. Then a layup from Shrader made it a 32-all game. The Raiders’ Davis had none of it, seeming to shift into another gear on both ends. The 5-9 sophomore swatted shots, picked off passes and torched the Bears’ defense with spin moves she’d turn into up-and-under layups. It was an unparalleled heater in a game of mostly defense. When the dust settled, Davis had scored 11 straight to put the Raiders back up 41-32 heading into the final frame.
“It’s just a lot of confidence that my teammates and my coaches have put into me, and I couldn’t have done it without any of my teammates sharing the ball with me,” Davis said humbly about the run.
In the fourth quarter, Good Hope’s defense rode the momentum of the scoring run. Despite playing nearly perfect defense, Plainview got some shots to fall. With just four minutes to go, Marshall dished a beautiful pass to Gossett to put the Raiders up 46-38, but the Bears just wouldn’t go away. They had responses for every Good Hope score to keep it close, but in the end, with the state on the line, it came down to Gossett to seal the game at the charity stripe. She’d hit both shots on two straight trips, sealing a 59-54 win and the State Championship.
“I’ve been here before. I know what the environment is like, how loud it is, and in that moment, everything just goes silent and I know I’ve got to make them. And thats what I did,” Gossett said.
Gossett, a junior, was part of the 23-24 state championship team with the legendary Tetro twins. On the growing fraternity of scrappy Good Hope point giuards, Gossett said “I didn’t go to Good Hope my whole life. I moved here from Cullman High School because I saw how good this program was and I wanted to be better. I knew they would make me better and that’s exactly what they did. They (The Tetros) pushed me every day in practice and, those girls were not easy to guard. Thye were some of the fastest people, and I’m just so grateful for them and how they pushed me. I’ve got to give a lot of credit to them.”
Leading the Raiders was Davis with 18 points and five rebounds. Lucie Adams had a stellar effort as well, recording a double-double with 11 points and 17 rebounds.
