AHSAA basketball: Prattville Christian girls head to 4A championship with Thomas' 20-19 night
BIRMINGHAM − No. 3 Prattville Christian girls basketball defeated New Hope 52-37 on Tuesday night at Legacy Arena to advance to the AHSAA 4A state championship game.
Both teams shot below 35%, but No. 5 New Hope (23-6) had ample chances at the free-throw line, where it shot 19 of 25.
PCA (33-3) led by as many as 11 points with three minutes left in the second quarter, but New Hope got its deficit to five late in the third quarter.
Despite the massive free throw advantage, PCA neutralized it by dominating on the offensive glass, collecting 19 offensive rebounds for 23 second-chance points.
PCA faces Priceville in the state championship at 4 p.m. Friday.
Coco Thomas scored 20 points with 19 rebounds (10 offensive), and three steals. She and Hannah Jones (10 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks) helped control the game on defense by altering shots.
New Hope made just eight field goals and was 2 of 11 on 3-pointers.
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STATE SCORES:AHSAA basketball: State championship scores, schedule for Alabama high school tournaments
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"Coco Thomas is a warrior," PCA coach Jason Roberson said. "I've been coaching her on varsity for five years. I've witnessed her being a warrior on many occasions. There's times where our players, for whatever reason, were struggling to step up. Every single time, Coco steps up. And she did today too."
Kaylee Yarbrough scored 12 points, Lauren Busbey scored 13 and Jada Bates added 10 points and six rebounds for New Hope.
Jerell Rushin is a recruiting reporter for the Tuscaloosa News and the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jrushin@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @JerellRushin_.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: AHSAA basketball: Prattville Christian into championship behind Coco Thomas
