Trinity Presbyterian’s Maddie Smith could not missed in the first half and Francie Morris was an enforcer in the paint as the top-ranked Wildcats cruised to a 67-43 victory over No. 6 Plainview in Tuesday’s Class 4A state semifinal at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena in Birmingham.
“I have one or two more games left, playing with the best team I could ask for,” Smith said. “It’s really just joy and trying to take in the moment and enjoy playing with all these people I love so much.”
Trinity (29-4) raced out to a 16-0 lead in the opening period as Smith rained down triples with the frequency of a young Steph Curry. She went 4-of-4 from beyond the arc and scored 14 points in the first quarter on a 5-of-6 shooting effort.
“It impacts us all because she is such a great player,” Morris said. “When she plays good, the whole team plays good.”
The Bears were finally able to break their opening 4:45 scoring drought on a layup by Sawyer Hulgan and closed out the first period on a 9-2 run, closing the gap to 9 points on a Lauren Jimmerson 3-pointer with 5 seconds remaining.
Maddie Smith knocked down her fifth triple of the game in the first 30 seconds of the second period and sparked a 9-2 run by the Wildcats, fueled on back-to-back layups from Lilly Smith. Trinity held a 27-11 lead at the 5:21 mark of the quarter, but Taegan Whitmire and Piper Anderson knocked down consecutive 3-pointers to trim the deficit to 10 points with less than 3 minutes left in the first half.
The Bears were held scoreless the last 2 minutes of the half, while Morris went on a 5-0 run to cap the second period and build a 15-point advantage at the halftime break.