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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover women's basketball player Kristen Winston faced off against Sparkman during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover cheerleaders support women's basketball as they face off against Sparkman during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover women's basketball player Aaliyah Blanchard faced off against Sparkman during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover women's basketball player Nia Brown faced off against Sparkman during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover women's basketball player Jaliyah Manuel faced off against Sparkman during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover women's basketball faced off against Sparkman during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover women's basketball player Aaliyah Blanchard faced off against Sparkman during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover women's basketball player Aaliyah Blanchard faced off against Sparkman during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover women's basketball player Kaitlyn Gipson faced off against Sparkman during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover women's basketball player Layla Cannon faced off against Sparkman during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover women's basketball player Layla Cannon faced off against Sparkman during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover cheerleaders support women's basketball as they face off against Sparkman during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover women's basketball faced off against Sparkman during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover women's basketball player Kristen Winston faced off against Sparkman during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover women's basketball player Jaliyah Manuel faced off against Sparkman during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover women's basketball player Chasity Johnson faced off against Sparkman during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover women's basketball player Kaitlyn Gipson faced off against Sparkman during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover women's basketball pplayer Tatum English faced off against Sparkman during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover women's basketball player Jaliyah Manuel faced off against Sparkman during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover women's basketball player Kristen Winston faced off against Sparkman during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover men's basketball player Seneca Robinson faced off against Albertville during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Hoover men's basketball player Jarett Fairley faced off against Albertville during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Hoover men's basketball player DeWayne Brown faced off against Albertville during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover men's basketball player DeWayne Brown faced off against Albertville during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover men's basketball player Salim London faced off against Albertville during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover men's basketball player Seneca Robinson faced off against Albertville during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Hoover men's basketball player Jackson Sheffield faced off against Albertville during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Hoover men's basketball player Caleb Williams faced off against Albertville during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Hoover men's basketball player Austin Dudley faced off against Albertville during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover men's basketball player Jarett Fairley faced off against Albertville during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover men's basketball player Caleb Williams faced off against Albertville during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Hoover men's basketball player Austin Dudley faced off against Albertville during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Hoover men's basketball player Riley Friey faced off against Albertville during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Hoover men's basketball player Riley Friey faced off against Albertville during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Hoover men's basketball player Michael Glass faced off against Albertville during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover men's basketball player Riley Friey faced off against Albertville during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover men's basketball player Riley Friey faced off against Albertville during the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
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Photo by Sarah Owens
Hoover men's basketball coach Scott Ware speaks to a referee during a game against Albertville at the Northeast Regional tournament at Jacksonville State University on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo by Sarah Owens.
JACKSONVILLE -- When the Hoover High School girls basketball team plays like it did in the first half Monday, the Lady Bucs are going to be hard to deny in their quest for a fifth straight state championship.
Hoover blew past Sparkman 79-47 in the Class 7A Northeast Regional semifinals at Jacksonville State University. The Lady Bucs posted 50 points in a dominant first half and built a 39-point lead to coast to the finish line.
“We were getting our hands on the ball and pushing the ball,” Hoover head coach Krystle Johnson said of the first-half performance. “We had 20 steals [in the game], which is pretty good.”
But, Johnson cautioned, there is still work to do. She lamented the 10 turnovers and lack of communication at times.
“This game is not the goal. That’s why my speech is the same,” she said.
Freshman Kristen Winston, who was the dominant force in the game, finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Kaitlyn Gipson had a strong game as well, going for 18 points and five assists from the point guard spot.
Jaliyah Manuel finished with 13 points, while Aaliyah Blanchard had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, plus five steals.
A team that has missed standout forward Khloe Ford for two months now has shown resilience and adapted to changing circumstances.
“We’ve come so far, there’s no reason to give up now,” Blanchard said. “We need to communicate more and stay together and keep on getting everybody involved.”
Hoover will take on the winner between Vestavia Hills and Albertville on Thursday in the regional final, with a trip to the state final four on the line.
Hoover’s boys team handled business in its regional semifinal as well, beating Albertville 70-36.
Despite having 10 days between their area tournament final and the start of the regional tournament, the Bucs knocked off the rust pretty quickly.
“There were some opportunities that we missed early, mistakes that we typically don’t make,” Hoover head coach Scott Ware.
Despite the relatively slow start, Hoover built a 14-7 lead after a quarter and held a 33-17 lead at the halftime break. A dominant third quarter put the game out of reach.
Salim London was hot from the start, and he finished with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He knocked down six 3-pointers as well.
“I saw two go in and thought, ‘Uh oh.’ So, I decided to keep shooting,” he said.
Albertville’s defense focused plenty on Tennessee signee DeWayne Brown, but the big man still managed 14 points and seven rebounds.
“I was expecting that they would be physical and try to get me off my game. It worked at the beginning of the game, but coach Ware told me to loosen up and play,” Brown said.
Austin Dudley went for 10 points to join London and Brown in double figures. Seneca Robinson handled his usual role of making all the non-scoring plays. He had eight rebounds and four assists in the contest. Jarett Fairley had eight points and four boards.
Hoover will take on the winner between Vestavia Hills and Huntsville in the regional final Thursday afternoon.
“We are battle tested and continue to work every day,” Fairley said. “We continue to work hard every day at practice.”
