Sports
AHSAA girls basketball playoffs: Arab late free throws beat Brewbaker – Montgomery Advertiser
BIRMINGHAM ― Brewbaker Tech girls basketball lost 52-49 to Arab on Wednesday night at Legacy Arena in the AHSAA Class 5A state semifinals.
Brewbaker (22-9) trailed by five points with less than a minute to play but tied the game with an Erin Martin 3-pointer with 10 seconds left. Arab then found Maggie Chastain in the corner for a 3-point attempt, where she was fouled with 2.2 seconds left.
Chastain made all three free throws, and Brewbaker missed the desperation heave.
Arab faces No. 4 Pleasant Grove in the state championship Saturday at 9 a.m.
Brewbaker led by nine points early, but the change of the tides began in the second quarter, when Arab outscored Brewbaker 13-8.
Arab continued its run in the second half, taking the lead early in the third quarter. Brewbaker tied the game several times but never regained a lead as Arab always regathered itself.
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Brewbaker’s Kennedi McGhee made back-to-back shots to tie the game 38-38 with four minutes left. The teams then traded baskets before Arab eventually took a five-point lead on a Bennett Elrod runner with 37.4 left before Brewbaker’s final rally.
McGhee scored 19 points with eight rebounds and six blocks, while Jillian Baine scored 17 points. Arab’s Sydney Ferguson scored 16 points with six rebounds.
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_.