BIRMINGHAM – Saint James used tenacious defensive effort to post a 76-56 victory over Mars Hill Bible Tuesday morning in the Class 3A girls’ semifinals as the 106th AHSAA State Basketball Championships opened day 2 a the BJCC Legacy Arena.
The Lady Trojans (32-4) took control early building a 21-11 lead after one quarter and holding a 39-25 lead at halftime. Saint James’ defense was big, but so was their balanced offense.
It had to be, however. Mars Hill Bible’s sensational sophomore forward Belle Hill scored 38 points for the Panthers (28-5) despite the Trojans’ game plan of contesting every pass that came her way.
Hill was 11-of-19 from the field, 14-of-18 at the foul line and cleared 16 points for Mars Hill, coached byCophia Rutherford.
Kaitlyn Mitchell scored 30 points, Natalie Barton had 17, Jordan McRae added 10 points, nine rebounds, three steals, and four assists for Saint James. Barton also had seven steals, Mitchell had four, and Sydney Johnson had three. Morgan Lilly added nine points and a team-high five assists.
Mars Hill also got seven points and 10 rebounds from Mia Humphries.
“We have a team that truly trusts each other,” said Saint James Coach Natalie Barton, whose team won the turnover battle forcing 23 while giving up just eight. They also had 19 assists as a team on offense. “Our players applied a lot of pressure and did an outstanding job of defending the passing lanes.”
Saint James, last year’s Class 3A state runner-up, advances to Friday’s 3A girls’ state finals Friday at 12:30 p.m.
The six-day tournament continues Wednesday with the remining boys’ and girls’ semifinals in Classes 3A and 4A, followed by Classes 5A and 6A on Wednesday. Class 7A plays its semifinals Thursday with the Class 1A girls’ and boys’ finals beginning the Championships at 4 p.m., and 5:45 p.m., respectively, with the remaining title games continuing Friday and Saturday.
All semifinal games are being video livestreamed over the NFHS Network and WOTM.tv. The finals will also be live video streamed over the NFHS Network and shown live on the Alabama Public TV Network. Vince Earley of WOTM.tv is the executive producer for the broadcasts.
The AHSAA Radio Network, managed by Brett Pritchard and Randy Lee, is also broadcasting all 42 games this week over its statewide network. And for the first time in the state tournament’s modern history, schools can have their flagship radio stations produce and broadcast their games back to their own communities. A total of 18 schools and 17 radio stations are taking advantage of the opportunity.
AHSAA 2026 STATE BASKETBALL
CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
AT BJCC Legacy Arena, Birmingham
TUESDAY, MARCH 3
CLASS 3A
3A Girls’ Semifinals
Saint James (32-4) 76, Mars Hill Bible (28-5) 56
Mobile Christian (21-10) vs. Glencoe (22-8), Tuesday, March 3, noon
3A Girls’ State Finals
Friday, March 6, 12:30 p.m.
3A Boys’ Semifinals
Montgomery Academy (26-7) vs. Lauderdale County (25-5), Tuesday, March 3, 10:30 a.m.
Southside-Selma (21-6) vs. Whitesburg Christian (26-5), Tuesday, March 3, 1:30 p.m.
3A Boys’ State Finals
Friday, March 6, 2:15 p.m.
CLASS 2A
4A Girls’ Semifinals
Montgomery Catholic (22-6) vs. Good Hope (28-6), Tuesday, March 3, 3 p.m.
Jackson (21-8) vs. Plainview (33-2), Tuesday, March 3, 6 p.m.
4A Girls’ State Finals
Friday, March 6, 4 p.m.
2A Boys’ Semifinals
Fairfield (24-10) vs. Deshler (24-7), Tuesday, March 3, 4:30 p.m.
Jackson (24-1) vs. Ashville (30-3), Tuesday, March 3, 7:30 p.m.
4A Boys’ State Finals
Friday, March 6, 5:45 p.m.
