AHSAA 3A GIRLS FINAL: PCA wins first girls basketball title

Prattville Christian Academy won its first-ever state title in basketball on Friday, defeating Sylvania in the final. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

BIRMINGHAM – With Prattville Christian’s leading scorer held in check by the Sylvania defense, the Panthers needed an offensive spark to bring home the first state championship in girls’ basketball.

The Rams kept Leianna Currie attached to Ella Jane Connell and the Panthers’ leading scorer managed just one basket in the first half and would finish with just six points. 

“It was a phenomenal job,” Prattville Christian coach Jason Roberson said. “I felt she was pretty quick, but she’s quicker and faster than she looked on film. That girl played lights out defensively but we’ve been through that. We’ve faced a lot of teams that put their best defensive player on Ella Jane and try to slow her down. But that’s what makes this team special. You can take one thing away but you can’t take everything away.”

Sophomore forward CoCo Thomas filled the void nicely, dominating with a game-high 25 points while grabbing 10 of her 17 rebounds on the offensive end of the floor to help the Panthers pull out a 62-55 victory in the 3A girls’ finals at Bill Harris Arena on Friday morning.

It was Prattville Christian’s first championship in girls’ basketball -- the boys won a title in the Alabama Independent School Association -- after finishing as a runner-up in 2013 and losing in the 2019 semifinals in its other trips to the state tournament.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Connell said. “It’s better than I thought it was going to be. All the hard work we put in this season, it was worth it. It just feels awesome.”

But it never would have happened without the play of Thomas, who often has her moments on the court but has never stepped to the forefront on such an important stage before Friday.

“I’ve challenged her a good bit,” Roberson said. “She’s a special talent. But I didn’t really have to say much to her this game. She brought it from the very beginning. She had 11 points and eight rebounds at the half which is an unbelievable half. She played even better in the second half.”

Thomas had five of the six PCA baskets in the final period as the Rams turned up the defensive pressure in an attempt to erase an 11-point deficit.

“I think she came with a mindset that she had to help her team,” said fellow sophomore forward Hannah Jones. “She had to come with the mindset that she was going to play hard and me and her were both going to have to score.”

Jones is accustomed to the role and earned most valuable player honors with a triple double, scoring 16 points, pulling down 12 rebounds (all on the defensive end) and blocking 10 shots. But it was Thomas, not Jones or Connell, who was the go-to player when the Rams cut it to six points with 3:31 left.

“I knew I had to do better than last time because I didn’t play too good,” Thomas said. “So I was really determined to do good this game.”

Prattville Christian finished the season 28-6, losing all six games to area rivals -- five to Montgomery Academy and one to Trinity.

Currie led Sylvania (27-7) with 16 points, followed by Kenadie Lee with 11 points and five steals.

“We got in foul trouble early and they got a lead,” Sylvania coach Kyle Finch said. “I was extremely proud of our kids. They fought and fought and fought. We had a little bit of foul trouble early on, but it didn’t affect them too much.” 

Joining Jones on the all-tournament team were Connell, Lee, Currie and Susan Moore’s Hallie Holmes.