Class 4A Girls final: Trinity races past Good Hope for third straight championship

Three straight state championships, three different MVPs.

It was a point Trinity Presbyterian coach Blake Smith wanted to drive home after his team’s third straight state championship, noting the contributions his trio of stars bring; Mya Moskowitz won MVP in 2023, Maddie Smith in 2024 and now Francie Morris.

“We’ve got three MVPs sitting up here with us,” the coach said. “Glory to God for that.”

The Wildcats bolted out to a dominant start and used a stretch of 34 straight points to roll to a 67-27 win over Good Hope and claim the Class 4A state championship on Friday.

Trinity won the last two in Class 3A before moving up to Class 4A this offseason.

“We started this year recognizing that anytime you’re going for a three-peat, the enemy is not other people, it’s not another team, the enemy is what’s inside of us,” the Trinity coach said. “We can describe that as something called sin, and sin nature is what tears teams apart.

“Teams fall apart from the inside. That’s just what they do, and we have petitioned Jesus over and over again to let this group be a light, to have oneness and love for one another.

Leading 15-6 with 3:57 left in the first quarter, Trinity went on a 34-0 run and held Good Hope scoreless until the third quarter, when Ava McSwain hit a pair of free throws with 6:58 on the clock.

Trinity outscored Good Hope 18-0 in the shutout second quarter.

“We just tried not to focus on looking at the score, our mentality level all game was 0-0,” Moskowitz said. “We just had to play defense and run. I think that played a big role, and everybody had the same mindset and just never took our foot off the gas.”

Morris was named MVP of the game after posting a double-double for 16 points and 10 rebounds, also adding 6 assists and 5 steals in the dominant win.

Moskowitz led the team with 17 points, also adding 8 rebounds, while Maddie Smith had 12 points and 4 assists.

“Like we said, we’ve talked about how the enemy is ourselves,” Maddie Smith said. “I’m just proud of how we stuck out the season and just loved each other and got through it knowing that everyone’s for each other and we’re with each other no matter what.”

In what would be her final game, Ava McSwain logged 15 points and 5 rebounds for Good Hope while going 6-for-12 from the field.

“I’m super proud of my team,” the UAH commit said. “We lost so many key players, four out of five starters, and I’m just super proud. Nobody thought we’d come back here and get back here, and so I’m super proud, and also I just want to say that I just thank God for getting us back here. At the end of the day, I’m not going to let this game beat us up because basketball doesn’t define me, and we’re going to move on.

“It’s going to be okay, and then we’re going to trust God that it’s okay.

Good Hope coach Justin Aby lauded his senior group for getting back to the state championship game, noting the challenge in one of the top teams in the state with a matchup against Trinity in the title game.

“We played a great team,” he said. “Trinity, I think they could compete in any classification up here at the final. They’re well coached, senior-heavy, they’ve got a great squad. Today, I don’t think it was our best performance, but yeah, we fell short, but that’s part of basketball and that’s part of life.”

Stat sheet: Trinity Presbyterian — Ellie Causey scored 9 points and shot 3-for-5 from the field in the win, while Lilly Smith grabbed 5 rebounds and dished out 3 assists. Emory Causey scored 6 points off the bench on a pair of 3-point baskets. Good Hope — Lucie Adams knocked down a pair of 3-point baskets and finished with 6 points and 2 rebounds. Three other Good Hope players logged 2 points each and Sophie Kondrad grabbed 5 rebounds.

By the numbers: Trinity averaged 1.136 points per possession in the win and Good Hope averaged 0.466. Trinity outscored Good Hope 33-2 off turnovers, forcing 21 in the win. Trinity logged 13 steals and Good Hope grabbed 7. Trinity shot 10-for-12 from the free throw line and Good Hope knocked down both of its two attempts, with Ava McSwan hitting both.

Did you know? Trinity’s three seniors who scored in double figures are all signed to play basketball at the college level; Francie Morris at Samford, Mya Moskowitz at Auburn University at Montgomery and Maddie Smith at Hillsdale College.

Did you know 2? The scoring margin for Trinity is the fourth-largest margin of victory in an AHSAA girls’ basketball state championship game.

They said it: “I think it feels great to play my last ever high school game with my teammates and playing with them since ninth grade and just loving each other and having so much joy and just soaking it all in.” — Moskowitz on this year’s group.

“Last year, they were able to bring our school their first state championship ever in any sport. Then for them to be able, after we graduated so many young ladies, for them to bring their teammates back to this spot; just to say that I’m proud of them would be an understatement. It’s one of those things that you all see great basketball players, and I see that as well, but I even see better people out of these two. I’m just extremely proud of them.” — Aby on his senior group.

“At first it was like a challenge because we didn’t know the teams that were in 4A, but then we just have great coaches, and we watched a lot of film while the teams were playing as they were really prepared, and especially for this game, they prepared us very well.” — Morris on the move to Class 4A.