NE Regional: Spring Garden girls fall in OT in anticipated showdown with Pisgah

Feb. 25—JACKSONVILLE — Spring Garden's girls built a 1A basketball power, amassing six state championships. Their first year in 2A came down to an overtime game, No. 1 vs. No. 2.

Kallie Tinker's 3-pointer with 19 seconds left in regulation forced overtime, and second-ranked Pisgah preserved its pursuit of a ninth state title with a 72-65 victory in Thursday's 2A Northeast Regional final in Pete Mathews Coliseum.

The Eagles (23-6) advanced to face the St. Luke's Episcopal-Luverne winner in Wednesday's 2 p.m. state semifinal in Birmingham. Pisgah seeks its fourth state title in as many years, having won the past three in 3A.

The Eagles won five of their eight titles in 3A.

The Alabama High School Athletic Association announced its most recent reclassification and realignment in December of 2019. Among several major changes effective starting with the current school year, Spring Garden bumped up in classification for the first time in school history.

The Panthers finished their first 2A season 32-3 and ranked No. 1 in the final Alabama Sports Writers Association poll, released at regular-season's end.

"I am proud of my bunch," Spring Garden coach Ricky Austin said. "We didn't ask to be moved up to 2A, and I'm sure they didn't ask to be moved down to 2A.

"Our cross hairs were on them all year long, since the reclass come out, and we thought, if we're playing Pisgah at the end of the year, something good's happening to us."

Eighth-grader Ace Austin, harassed full-court all game by Pisgah defensive specialist Bella Bobo, poured in 26 points. Neely Welsh added 16 and Lexi Adkison 13.

It was almost enough to overcome Tinker's 20 points, including five net splashes from the 3-point arc, and Molly Heard's 18 points and 10 rebounds. Pisgah also needed 12 points from Bobo, who made a key 3-point play in overtime, and 10 off the bench from Emma Ellison.

"It was exactly what it was billed to be," Pisgah coach Carey Ellison said. "I'm pretty sure everyone, from the days classifications come out, was thinking this could very well be the game to get to the Final Four.

"I don't know how I feel about the way that it's worked out. I thought our region was pretty loaded. ... I hate it that a team as good as Spring Garden and us had to meet in the regional finals."

In a game that produced 17 lead changes, both teams made championship-caliber plays.

With Spring Garden clinging to a 55-54 lead late in regulation, Adkison's offensive rebound of an Abbey Steward miss helped the Panthers maintain possession and run clock. Pisgah still needed to foul to put the Panthers in the bonus.

Ace Austin drew a five-second violation with 1:35 to play, but Steward set up a driving Heard for a charging call to get the ball back for Spring Garden.

Ace Austin dribbled the ball down to 46.5 seconds before Bobo's foul put Spring Garden in the bonus. Ace Austin missed the front end, but Adkison rebounded the miss.

Bobo had to foul Ace Austin again, and the eighth-grader hit both foul shots to put Spring Garden up 57-54 with 37.2 seconds left.

Ricky Austin called Adkison's rebound on Ace Austin's missed free throw "one of the biggest moments of the game."

"I thought, 'Wow, if we win this game, that's the biggest rebound of her career,'" Ricky Austin said. "She did not have position. She just gutted out a rebound."

It wasn't to be. After a timeout, Pisgah ran Tinker through screens to open her up at the top of the key. As she had all game, she hit the 3-pointer to tie the game.

"We come out of the huddle on the timeout, 'No threes. Absolutely no threes,'" Ricky Austin said. "We started three years ago on how to guard situations like that, how to bump off and help.

"Stew (Steward) got hung up, had to switch off on Molly. Molly rubbed Stew off on a screen. Ace had to leave Tinker to go help on Molly, because Molly was going to take it, with Tinker as the second option, and we didn't get the help on the helper."

Spring Garden had a chance to retake the lead, but Kennedy Barron drew a charging call on glancing contact from driving Welsh, stopping the clock with 4.9 seconds left.

"I saw the time, and I knew I had to get to the basket," Welsh said. "I needed to score that layup. I guess, once I got down there, I just lost the ball and got out of control.

"I just tried to shake it off and go on to the next play."

Heard dribbled to the corner and missed a jumper as regulation time expired, but Pisgah had momentum.

The Eagles used it to score the first six points in overtime, including Bobo's driving bucket and free throw to make it 63-57.

Ace Austin scored on back-to-back possessions to bring Spring Garden within 63-59 and 65-61, but Spring Garden drew no closer.

"It's an honor to be able to play with a team like that and the coach that they have," Carey Ellison said. "I'm just really overjoyed with the effort that we gave and the poise we showed when we had to."

So ends a season that saw Spring Garden lose 3-point shooting ace Kayley Kirk to a season-ending knee injury in the first quarter of the first game.

As for reclassification, Ricky Austin said he never doubted his team had what it took for 2A.

"Our teams that were good enough to win it in 1A, I never thought we weren't good enough to win it in 2A," he said. "I thought we could compete ... .

"It's like the same years we've had in the past when we didn't win, but everything else has been pretty smooth."

Spring Garden returns all but Adkison next season.

"I thought we had a chance to win, that we could win it all," Ace Austin said. "I know they did, too, but we'll be back down here next year."

Sports Writer Joe Medley: 256-235-3576. On Twitter: @jmedley_star.