AHSAA Basketball State Finals Updates

WAKA Action 8 News,

Posted: Feb 23, 2015 5:27 PM CST

Updated: Dec 4, 2015 5:24 PM CST

Sports reporter Kirk Nawrotzky (@KirkNawrotzky) and Ben Bolton (@BoltonSports) will be in Birmingham all week to cover our local teams journey’s to the AHSAA basketball state championship. Here are the latest updates, scores, and stats:

Class 1A Girls: Brantley falls to Spring Garden 36-26

Spring Garden’s tenacious defense limited defending Class 1A girls state champion Brantley to 23.4 percent shooting from the field and posted a 36-26 win in the semifinals at the BJCC Monday.

The Panthers (33-2) extended their current winning streak to 25 in a row with Darian Gaines scoring nine points, Madison Sides and Tykeah Rogers notching eight each. Rogers also had a game-high 11 rebounds, and Payton McGinnis had eight boards.

Brantley (27-3), the 1A state champion in 2013 and 2014, had its 18-game winning streak snapped in the loss. Payton Burnett scored 10 points and Saquaya Lane had eight for the Bulldogs of Coach Andrew Kilcrease.

Spring Garden, coached by Ricky Austin, plays Keith in the finals Thursday at 4 p.m.

Class 1A Boys: Sunshine defeats Phillips 61-46

The number one ranked Tigers (28-4) got the win over Phillips (26-6) to put them in the 1A boys championship game on Thursday at 6pm. It is the last season for Sunshine basketball as the school is set to close in May.

Class 1A Girls: Keith defeats Decatur Heritage 52-34

The Lady Bears (26-5) advanced to the AHSAA Class 1A girls’ state basketball finals with a defensive effort. Coach Cecil Williams’ girls limited Decatur Heritage to 14 points in the first half and out-scored the Eagles 20-10 in the fourth quarter to move into the championship game for the second year in a row.

Harriet Winchester scored 20 points and passed out five assists to pace Keith. Zykia Pettway also had 12 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Ambreya Snow and Shatavia Moore added eight points.

Decatur Heritage (23-6) was paced by Bekah Voss and Maddie Vinton had 11 and 10 points, respectively. Chandler Sparkman also had eight rebounds for Coach Paula Armstrong’s Eagles.

The championship game will be on Thursday at 4pm.