Final Four: Power finish sends Anniston's girls back to 4A final

Feb. 26—BIRMINGHAM — Jackson made its runs at defending 4A champion Anniston's girls, but the Bulldogs responded like a team that's been to the Final Four and won.

Senior and reigning 4A player of the year Allasha Dudley scored a game-high 20 points, and Anniston scored the final 14 points en route to a 50-34 victory in the Alabama High School Athletic Association state semifinals.

Anniston (25-3) advanced to Thursday's 9 a.m. 4A title game against Rogers, the team that beat Anniston in the final two years ago. Rogers beat Geneva 55-45 earlier Friday in Birmingham CrossPlex's Bill Harris Arena.

The Bulldogs rebounded to beat Deshler in the final a year ago, securing Anniston's first-ever state title in girls' basketball.

Friday's game marked the eighth Final Four appearance for Anniston's girls, and they'll play in the title game for the third year in a row.

"We all had a vision that we wanted to get back to the state championship and win," said Dudley, set to embark on her final high school game. "We all know that, around this time, we can't let up.

"We want to win another one. It would mean a lot to all of us."

Rogers beat Anniston 46-38 in the 2019 4A final, using a special defense to limit Dudley and hold Anniston to 16-for-60 shooting.

"I've got one more week of restless nights," Anniston coach Eddie Bullock said. "Rogers will keep you awake.

"We're going to prepare, because they're a great team and a great program also. When they beat us a couple of years ago, they played a lot of freshmen, so those girls are juniors."

Anniston overcame 15 points and 18 rebounds from Naomi Jones. Asia Barclay complemented Dudley's performance with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Anniston got off a cold start Friday, going 1-for-13 from the field in the first quarter but escaping tied 5-5 with Jackson.

The Bulldogs started to break loose in a third quarter that featured Dudley's falling-down 12-footer plus a free throw.

"We've always been a second-half team," Bullock said. "Third or fourth quarter, we make adjustments at halftime, and we're able to come back and turn it up."

Jackson quickly rallied after falling behind 36-27 at the break. The Aggies scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter, closing to within 36-34 on Deniyah McMillian's up-and-under move in transition.

It was all Anniston from there. With Jackson focused on Dudley, Tiauna Thomas came through with a shot from just inside the 3-point line. Alisia Person added a 3-pointer from the corner, and the game-ending 14-0 run was underway.

Anniston held Jackson to 3-for-15 shooting in the fourth quarter, including 0-for-12 to end the game.

"We corrected the mistakes we were making," Bullock said. "Jones is an unbelievable player. We were going to try to limit her but not let the other girls score, and we were giving up threes and layups because we were watching the ball.

"I finally told them during a timeout, if we want to play in the championship game, we've got to make adjustments."

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