Ella Jane Connell scores 39, Prattville Christian girls repeat AHSAA basketball title in OT
BIRMINGHAM — Prattville Christian assistant coach Jim Graham perhaps said it best: no team deserved to lose Friday's Class 3A girls basketball state championship game.
It was an epic that featured a 16-point fourth-quarter comeback, two dueling shooters and needed four extra minutes to decide it. But when all the dust had settled, Prattville Christian stood alone.
Behind a heroic performance from Ella Jane Connell, who scored 39 points in her final high school game, the Panthers (36-1) defeated Susan Moore 72-69 in overtime, winning their second straight state title.
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While the Panthers, ranked No. 1 all season long, were mostly dominant this season nothing about Friday's game came easy.
The Bulldogs (30-5) took a 7-5 lead four minutes into the game, using a swarming full-court defense to force four turnovers before PCA settled down.
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Connell, the 2021 Montgomery Advertiser All-Metro Player of the Year, took over, scoring 15 first-half points. Along with the rebounding prowess of Hannah Jones (12 points, 14 rebounds) and CoCo Thomas (10 rebounds), the Panthers took a 37-25 lead into halftime.
Susan Moore remained in striking distance throughout the third quarter and stepped up its pressure defense after the break. The Bulldogs held Prattville Christian without a field goal for the first six minutes of the fourth quarter.
When Cali Smallwood banked in a running layup with 1:20 to play, what had once been a 16-point lead was completely erased. Smallwood came through again just moments later, driving for another layup that sent the game to overtime at 59-59.
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While Smallwood, who had 27 points, extended the game, Connell finished it. She scored all 13 of Prattville Christian's points in the extra period, 11 of them coming from the free-throw line.
Smallwood took the inbounds pass after Connell's final free throw, ran down the court and threw up a prayer that went unanswered. When it did, the Panthers rushed the court.
Finally, their motto for this season — "leave no doubt" — had been fulfilled.
"That was definitely one of the most stressful games of the whole season," said sophomore Avery Rogers. "Winning that game, it just shows that all of our hard work paid off."
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com, by phone at 334-201-9117 and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Prattville Christian girls basketball repeats as AHSAA 3A champion
