Pisgah’s Lady Eagles outscored Pike Road 29-14 in the third period Tuesday morning and advanced to the Class 3A state championship game for the third year in a row with a 72-58 come-from-behind win.
The Class 3A girls’ semifinal game opened play Tuesday morning as the 98th AHSAA State Basketball Championships moved into its second day at the BJCC Legacy Arena.
Pike Road (28-5) led 26-24 at the half but Pisgah (30-3) clawed back with its strong finish thanks to some strong shooting from the field and the free-throw line. Chloe Womack had 26 points for Coach Carey Ellison’s Eagles. She was 15-of-16 at the foul line – including 10-for-10 in the second half. Kallie Tinker added 18 points. She had two 3-pointers and was 6-of-8 on free throws. Molly Heard added 10 points, eight rebounds, two assists, steals and two blocked shots.
The Patriots, coached by Courtney Ward, placed five players in double figures with Aaliyah Manora scoring 13, Sakoya Knight and Tamirea Thomas, 12 each, Skye Harris-Butler 11 and Johnsheria Clement 10. Knight had nine rebounds, Thomas has eight and Manora had five assists. Harris-Butler also had four blocked shots.
The victory sends Pisgah into the 3A finals Friday at 12:30 p.m. The Eagles have won seven state titles in the school’s history, including 2018 and 2019. Other titles came in 1981, 1982, 1997, 2003 and 2005.