Marion County Girls advance to 4th Straight Class 1A Title Game
By Josh Bean | For the AHSAA
BIRMINGHAM – Marion County High School’s Lady Raiders are heading back to the Class 1A state championship game.
The Red Raiders (18-14), coach by Scott Veal, pulled away in the second half and earned a 65-37 victory over Keith in Monday’s Class 1A girls’ state semifinal at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena to open the 104th AHSAA State Championship tournament. Four players scored double digits for the girls’ from Guin.
Marion County led by only four points at halftime but outscored the Bears 23-8 in the third quarter.
“We knew it was on the line – now or never – after halftime,” Marion County’s Jasmine Wilson said. She led Marion County with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Alecia Donaldson added 14 points. Bekah Junkin had 11 points, and Jolie Kate Cox added 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Adasia Atkins and Shania Moore led Keith (18-10), coached by Cecil Williams, with eight points apiece.
The victory sends Marion County to the championship game for the fourth straight season, finishing runner-up in 2023 and 2021 and winning the Class 1A state title in 2022. The 1A championship game is set for Thursday afternoon at Legacy Arena, with tip-off set for 4 p.m.
The Class 1A girls’ and boys’ semifinal games are scheduled for the morning session today and the Class 2A girls’ and boys’ semifinals are set for the afternoon session. All semifinal games are being live streamed over the NFHS Network’s subscriber-based platform and live on the AHSAA TV Network. Check out the cable stations on the network at www.ahsaa.com.
