Hoover's bench celebrates a charge during the Hoover vs. Central Phenix City AHSAA 7A State semifinal girls basketball game on Feb. 27, 2025 at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
The Hoover High School boys and girls basketball teams will attempt to finish off parallel quests of greatness in the 2024-25 season Saturday afternoon, as the Bucs hit the court in the Class 7A state championship games.
The Lady Bucs, winners of four straight state titles, will take on Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa at 4 p.m.
Hoover’s boys, winners of two consecutive championships, faces Florence at 5:45 p.m.
Both games will take place on the same Legacy Arena court Hoover showed out on Thursday.
The Hoover girls blew past Central-Phenix City 77-58, while the boys also defeated Central 94-67.
Hoover’s girls will be facing a Hillcrest team that was ranked No. 1 at the end of the regular season by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Hillcrest has not lost to an in-state team this year and defeated Hoover 64-60 back in mid-January.
“Thankful to have an opportunity to defend our state championship and get a little bit of revenge,” Hoover head coach Krystle Johnson said following the semifinal victory.
Hoover was without a couple key players that day, though, and believes this time around should be different.
“They’re a great team, we’re just ready to have a better showing,” Johnson said. “Watching that film was brutal and this is an opportunity to correct those mistakes.”
Hoover’s boys will look to put the finishing touches on one of the most dominant single seasons in state history. The Bucs come into the game with a record of 34-0, with only two games being decided by single digits.
One of the reasons for that sustained success throughout the year is taking each game as it comes and refusing to look ahead.
“It’s a daily thing we talk about,” Hoover head coach Scott Ware said. “We don’t talk about any games other than the next game in front of us. Today, the most important game was Central. Now, the most important game is on Saturday against Florence.”
Hoover has won 44 straight games dating back to last year, and a senior class that has been featured prominently for each of the last three years will play its final game together against Florence.
“It’s a special group of people,” Ware said. “No matter what happens Saturday, it’s a special group of guys. We’re a family, we’ll be able to pick back up five or 10 years from now. It’ll be bittersweet Saturday when we walk out the door.”
The games will be televised by APT. The tip times of 4 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. are approximate and depend on how the Class 5A and 6A championship games run earlier in the day.
Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets at the door.
