Trinity Presbyterian claims 3A girls hoops title

AHSAA Class 3A Girls Basketball Championship

Trinity Presbyterian Uses 3-point Spurt to Rally Past Clements in 3A Finals

By Josh Bean | AHSAA

Birmingham, AL – Trinity Presbyterian held a two-point lead as senior Emma Kate Smith dribbled up the floor with about 2½ minutes to go in Friday’s AHSAA Class 3A girls basketball state championship game against Clements at the BJCC Legacy Arena.

She didn’t hesitate.

Smith’s 25-foot 3-pointer – taken directly in front of Trinity’s bench – swished the net for a five-point lead with 2:25 to play, her third 3-pointer of the second half as the Wildcats (32-2) erased an eight-point deficit at the end of the third quarter to earn a 52-48 victory over Clements.

“The 3-point shot she hit from about 10 feet behind that line was just beautiful,” Trinity coach Blake Smith said.

Ironically, Trinity was just 2-for-12 from the 3-point arc until that trey sparked a strong finish. Smith had two treys and Wildcats junior Mya Moskowitz followed with her only 3-pointer of  the night to stretch the lead.

Clements coach Shane Childress agreed that Smith’s 3-pointer from NBA range proved to the be the game’s pivotal play.  “That was a big one,” he said. “That was huge.”

His daughter Leah Childress, who finished with 15 points, answered with a couple of treys of her own, but the damage had been done.

Trinity (32-2) won its first girls’ basketball state championship, while Clements (28-7) was playing for its first title since 2010.

Smith finished with 14 points. Mya Moskowitz, who earned Class 3A state tournament MVP honors, added 13 points, while Francie Morris scored nine and Lily Smith had eight points and nine rebounds. Maddie Smith handed out six assists and played the entire second half with four fouls.

Leah Childress’ 15 points and seven rebounds led the Colts (29-6). Taylor Farrar added 12 points.

Clements took the lead in the game’s opening two minutes and led by eight, at 37-29, at the end of the third quarter. Trinity then made 7-of-10 shots in the fourth quarter, including three 3-pointers.

Smith’s two 3-pointers in quick succession in the final quarter gave the Wildcats took its first lead since the game’s opening moments at 39-37.

“We know that run is there,” Blake Smith said. “These girls can shoot it. All of a sudden, it just started going in.”

Joining Moskowitz on the Class 3A All-Tournament team Trinity teammates Emma Kate Smith and Francie Morris;  Childress and Farrar of Clements.

Championship games in Classes 3A and 4A continue Friday, and the Class 5A, 6A and 7A championship games close out the 2023 state tourney Saturday at Legacy Arena.

For the first time in the state tournament’s long history, all championship games will be televised live over the Alabama Public Television (APT) Network March 2-4. 

All semifinal and championship games this week are also being live streamed over the NFHS Network’s subscriber-based platform and shown live over the AHSAA TV Network.  The AHSAA Radio Network is also broadcasting all games over its network.

AHSAA 2023 State Basketball Championships

BJCC Legacy Arena, Feb. 27-March 4

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, MARCH 3
CLASS 2A Girls’ Finals
Mars Hill Bible (26-5) 69, Cold Springs (31-3) 47
CLASS 2A Boys’ Finals
Aliceville (25-1) 44, St. Luke’s Episcopal (16-12) 43
CLASS 3A Girls’ Finals
Trinity Presbyterian (32-2) 52, Clements (28-7) 48
CLASS 3A Boys’ Finals
Midfield (25-5) vs. Plainview (30-5), 2:15 p.m.
CLASS 4A Girls’ Finals
Priceville (23-9) vs. Prattville Christian (33-3), 4 p.m.
CLASS 4A Boys’ Finals
Westminster Christian (29-3) vs. Jacksonville (28-6), 5:45 p.m.

SATURDAY, MARCH 4
CLASS 5A Girls’ Finals
Pleasant Grove (27-6) vs. Arab (22-12) winner, 9 a.m.
CLASS 5A Boys’ Finals
Charles Henderson (25-5) vs. Valley (32-0), 10:45 p.m.
CLASS 6A Girls’ Finals
Hazel Green (35-1) vs. Huffman (27-4), 12:30 p.m.
CLASS 6A Boys’ Finals
Buckhorn (28-7) vs. Mountain Brook (26-7), 2:15 p.m.
CLASS 7A Girls’ Finals
Hoover (34-1) vs. Sparkman (26-8), 4 p.m.
CLASS 7A Boys’ Finals
Hoover (30-4) vs. Central-Phenix City (24-9), 5:45 p.m.