BY TIM GAYLE
SPORTS – SPECIAL TO THE EAN
Top Photo: Coach Jason Fisher with Lindsey Brown.
Eight months ago, during summer workouts, Edgewood Academy coach Jason Fisher set goals for his girls’ basketball team.
“The one goal we made in the summer is we wanted to be standing with a state championship trophy at the end of the year,” Fisher said. “We’re one game away.”
The Wildcats (23-6) got to the Class AA finals with a strong second-half performance against South Choctaw Academy in a 46-34 victory in the Alabama Independent School Association AA semifinals on Friday at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl.
Now, only Sparta Academy (23-3) stands in the way of Edgewood as the Wildcats play for a state championship on Monday at noon at the Multiplex. And while it might have been all coach-speak for lofty goals back in the summer, the players certainly believed.
“It feels amazing,” said Edgewood’s sensational sophomore, Lindsey Brown. “I’ve always wanted to be that team that makes history, be that one team that does everything that no one else could ever do. The last time we made a final four was 1990 and now we’re back here again and we punched through tonight. I’m so proud of our girls right now.”
Edgewood kept pace with the Rebels for much of the first half despite Brown getting two quick personal fouls that threatened to ruin the Wildcats’ dreams of advancing.
“It kind of made me change my ideas of what to do defensively and offensively,” Fisher said, “but the performance Jaylyn Strength had last Wednesday night (in the AA quarterfinals against Lowndes), I knew we were going to be OK because she is very confident in handling the basketball.”
Strength took over that role and Fisher was careful to put Brown back in for short stretches the remainder of the first half, never letting her get too tired to commit any sluggish plays on defense that would result in a third personal foul.
“I had to slow down my adrenalin a little,” Brown said. “At the beginning of the game, everything was happy, everything was going so fast, but I wasn’t getting there fast enough and we had to slow it down a bit. But when I go fast, my team goes fast; when I go slow, my team goes slow. It was a good decision by Coach Fisher.”
In the second half, the Wildcats resumed their normal play and pulled away from a one-point lead at the end of the third quarter.
“We decided at halftime to work together and fly around on defense,” Brown said. “I’m just so proud of my team right there. This is the first time in history to go to the championship and we just agreed at halftime to fly around and play for each other.”
Brown finished with 22 points, followed by Kennedy Mensch with nine and Madison Martin with eight.
Claire Taylor led South Choctaw with 10 points, followed by Marlee Williams with nine.
It may have been coach-speak then, but the Wildcats are one win away from making last June’s goal a reality.
“After Christmas, I started believing, hey, we’ve got a shot at this,” Fisher said.
“We’ve worked really hard since October and November,” Brown said. “We just jelled really quick. We’re all best friends with each other and we just love basketball and playing together. It’s amazing.”
