Anniston girls fall to Rogers in 4A final

Mar. 4—BIRMINGHAM — Anniston has risen and fallen with Allasha Dudley throughout its run to three state-final appearances in as many years.

When the Bulldogs fell, they fell to Rogers.

Dudley scored 15 points after more than two quarters without a field goal Thursday, but Rogers scored 15 of the game's final 19 points and beat Anniston in the Alabama 4A title game for the second time in three years, 48-37, in Birmingham CrossPlex's Bill Harris Arena.

Anniston finished 25-4, falling in the final for the third time in four tries. They won their only state title a year ago, but Rogers' wrapped stifling defense and two titles around it. The Pirates beat Anniston 46-38 in the 2019 final, frustrating Dudley after she scored 36 points against Greensboro in the semifinals.

Dudley was a sophomore in 2019. Now a senior, the reigning 4A player of the year had Sheyenne Hankins doing all she could to push her off the 3-point line. When Dudley drove around a screen, help awaited.

Dudley went 5-for-21 from the field, with all five field goals coming after the 2:38 mark of the third quarter.

"In the beginning, they were face-guarding me, so I knew I just had to keep pushing throughout the game," she said. "My other teammates got us by."

Alisia Person hit two 3-pointers and scored eight first-half points to keep Anniston within 15-15 at halftime, after Rogers had taken a 15-8 lead.

Rogers scored the first nine points of the third quarter, only to see Anniston rally. Reserve A'Kayla Perry hit a 3-pointer from the corner to bring Anniston to within 31-28, and Dudley did Dudley things with a long 3-pointer from the top to tie it 31-31 with 6:34 to play.

It looked like top-ranked Anniston, which put up big fourth quarters against No. 2 Priceville in the Northeast Regional semifinals and Jackson in the state semifinals, was finding its game, along with Dudley.

"They got tired, and I started scoring," Dudley said.

Madi Krieger, who led Rogers with 14 points, hit a jumper to regain the lead for Rogers, but Anniston's Asia Barclay answered with a putback to tie the game again, 33-33. She missed the chance for the and-one free throw that would've given Anniston its first lead.

Erin Brown responded with one of her two 3-pointers to five Rogers a 36-33 lead at 4:07.

Hoping to answer like she'd done so many times in her highly decorated career, Dudley fired up another long three from the top. It missed, and Rogers got another Krieger jumper to make it a five-point game at 3:30.

Anniston had two fouls at the time and work to do to get Rogers in the bonus. Rogers held the ball, and it took more than two minutes to get there, and Rogers made eight of 10 free throws in the final 1:16.

Anniston held Rogers to 28 percent shooting (15-for-41), but Rogers held Anniston to 25 percent (14-for-47) in a game that held scoreless for the first four minutes and 49 seconds.

"Anniston is a really good team, really athletic and well-coached," Rogers coach Jonathan Prestage said. "I knew we'd have to come in and play a really good game to have a chance to win, and we did that.

"These players, they always believe in what we're doing, and they believed the entire game."

Rogers got 13 points apiece from Brown and Jones.

Barclay pulled down 12 rebounds in her final high school game, but Dudley was Anniston's lone double-figure scorer.

"She's been around me since the fourth grade," Anniston coach Eddie Bullock said. "I used to have to run her off the court down there, shooting while we were practicing.

"She's a four-time county champ, two-time county MVP, two-time regional, three years all-state and state MVP. The list goes on and on."

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