The Morgan County girls basketball team (18-9) defeated Callaway on Feb. 15 to win the Region 4-AA title.
The Lady Dogs conquered the Lady Cavs 62-51 on their home floor to secure the region championship.
Morgan County head coach Milfred Franklin led the program to its first region title since the 2016-17 season.
“It means a lot to us because our girls faced many challenges throughout the season, and they’ve persevered with flying colors,” Franklin said. “I told my girls that going through trials during the season builds character. It has developed our young ladies into well-rounded student-athletes and basketball players.”
In the championship game, Jaden Young scored a team-high 18 points with five rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Cydney Burke had a double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Victoria Snow added 11 points in the win.
The Lady Dogs blazed through Region 4-AA play and ended the regular season with a perfect record in the league. They defeated Jackson 60-29 in the semifinal round of the region tournament to reach the title game.
Young scored 17 points with eight rebounds in the win over the Lady Red Devils. Kymora Smith contributed 10 points, with three boards and four assists. Madison Holcomb scored nine points, and Snow added eight.
Franklin likes how he gets contributions from more than a few players.
“We’ve got a very deep bench, and our up-tempo style of play allows us to play more girls,” Franklin said. “We just continuously wear teams down, which is one of the things that helped us in the region tournament this year.”
To win a state championship, Franklin hopes his girls will continue to step up as they have all year.
Morgan County made a deep run in the playoffs last season and upset a 20-win Calvary Day team on the road. The Lady Dogs only lost three players in the offseason, so they’re battle-tested and ready for a fight this year.
Franklin said his team’s challenging non-region schedule helped prepare his players for the postseason.
“All of our games helped us in some form, shape, or fashion,” he said. “Those matchups were against very good teams.”
Morgan County was named the No. 5 seed in the Class AA postseason bracket and hopes to make another deep run in the playoffs. The Lady Dogs want to win a state championship, and Franklin thinks they can win it all.
Morgan County will face No. 28 seed Drew Charter in the first round of the postseason on Wednesday (past press time). Franklin doesn’t want his team to overlook the Lady Eagles, who played in a tough region.
“Drew Charter is a great team, but if we play our game, we are a very tough team to deal with,” Franklin said.