GIRLS CLASS 3A CENTRAL FINAL: Red-hot Trinity eliminates STJ to earn State Finals berth

St. James center Ava Card has her shot blocked by Mya Moskowitz in Trinity’s win over the Trojans in Friday’s Class 3A Central regional final. (Tim Gayle)

BIRMINGHAM -- Trinity’s Mya Moskowitz had a different approach for Thursday’s Central Regional championship game with arch rival St. James at Bill Harris Arena.

The sophomore forward knew she likely would see a different defensive scheme from the Trojans in the fourth meeting between the area rivals this season so she decided to give the Trojans a different look. 

 Moskowitz got a pass from Maddie Smith in the paint for a quick basket, then stepped out and drilled a couple of 3-pointers in a 17-2 run to open the game as the red-hot Wildcats defeated the Trojans 64-32 on Thursday, earning the school its third trip to the state tournament since the regional format was adopted in 1994.

“I just had to mentally prepare myself, even more than any other game because this is a game where you lose, you’re done, you’re out,” Moskowitz said. “I knew they knew I was going to try and go into the paint and attack. It was just owning up to I had the ball and could more than just attack and shoot, so I feel I had to mentally prepare myself to be ready for double teams down in the paint and if I catch it on the perimeter, I know I can shoot.”

Trinity (30-2) won its 17th consecutive game since losing to Prattville Christian on Dec. 20 and will face Susan Moore (28-3), the team PCA defeated in the 3A finals a year ago, in the 3A semifinals on Tuesday at noon at Legacy Arena.

The Wildcats made nine of their first 11 shots from the field, shooting a blistering 79.2 percent from the field in the first half.

“They were 19 for 24 in the first half,” St. James coach Katie Barton said. “We just didn’t move the ball the way I expected us to on offense. They were more prepared and more ready than us.

“We opened up the game and were supposed to be in a defensive set and half of us were in one and the other half was in the other. We just went out and didn’t do what we were supposed to do. Congrats to Trinity.”

It all started with Maddie Smith, who grabbed the opening tip, raced to the basket and found Moskowitz open for an easy layup. She got her second assist on Moskowitz’s 3-pointer and hit a 3-pointer of her own four minutes later for a 14-0 lead.

“They’ve been running three to four defenses at us and we knew that was coming,” Trinity coach Blake Smith said. “Maddie did a phenomenal job of taking on what they were doing and giving people time to get in their spaces. And once we spaced it out right, we know Mya can shoot the 3, Mya can score on the perimeter and Mya can attack the basket if we just get her in those spots as rapidly as she needs to get there.”

Moskowitz had 13 points and four rebounds, adding a pair of steals on defense as she teamed with Emma Kate Smith to shut down the Trojans’ leading scorer, Ava Card. 

“She went 3 for 3 from the 3 in the first half and had a good game,” Barton said. “Lilly Smith hit big shots for them. We just didn’t rotate the way I wanted us to on defense, either.”

Maddie Smith also had 13 points, along with three rebounds and seven assists, but gave the credit to her teammates for finding the open spaces in the St. James’ defense to get easy baskets. 

“Honestly, it’s them putting themselves in the right position, which we’ve had to work on a little bit,” she said. “The first time (this season) St. James trapped us, not everyone was in a good spot for me to get it to them for them to score. We talked about it in practice … and they got where they were supposed to go … and they put it in the basket. All the credit to them.”

Francie Morris also had 13 points and six assists, including a 3-pointer that she scooped off the floor and threw toward the basket in one motion to beat the buzzer for a 61-26 lead at the end of the third quarter. It was that kind of day for the Wildcats.

“We were playing so good,” Morris said. “I give my teammates credit, they were amazing. I feel like everything was going in.”

Lilly Smith added 10 points, followed by Anna Moore with eight and Emma Kate Smith with seven. It was an odd adjustment for Smith, Trinity’s lone senior starter who shadowed Card all day, holding her to a 2 for 12 performance and blocking three shots in the process.

“What we need for you to do is guard this girl,” Blake Smith said he told his eldest daughter. “If we get a few shots from you, great, but we need you to cancel this out. Because we know if we can get (Card) canceled out, these girls can win the battle with everyone else.”

KK Hall led St. James (23-10) with 10 points, followed by Card with eight and KK Corley with six.

Moskowitz was chosen as the regional’s most valuable player and was joined on the all-tournament team by Maddie Smith, Morris, Hall, Corley and Card.