Rams fall just short in state final
BIRMINGHAM – There was no doubt Ramsay left it all on the floor on Saturday afternoon.
After the Ramsay High School girls basketball team fell to Hazel Green, 56-54, in overtime in the Class 6A state championship game at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena, Jaylyn Sherrod had nothing left.
She scored 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting and knocked down four 3-pointers in the game. Three of them gave Ramsay the lead and all of them seemed to be ones that swung the momentum back to the favor of the Lady Rams.
Afterwards, she needed a few moments to gather her emotions.
“Coming into this game, we knew what we had to do,” Sherrod said. “I just felt like I had to step up my game and I just went out there and played my game and left it all on the floor.”
Hazel Green advanced to the Final Four for the fourth consecutive season but won the title for the first time in that span. The Lady Trojans gave coach Tim Miller his first title at Hazel Green, the third school he has won it at. He credited Sherrod for playing “the game of her life.”
“The way she played and the way she fought I’m just thankful to coach a player like her,” said Ramsay coach Ronnie Jackson.
Ramsay’s Ajah Wayne scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, before Georgia signee Caitlin Hose took over. She hit a 3-pointer to cut Ramsay’s lead to two, cut it to one on a turnaround jumper at the free throw line, and gave the Lady Trojans a brief lead at 48-47 with a pair of free throws. With 56 seconds to play, Hose hit another set of free throws to tie the game at 52-52.
Dakiyah Sanders gave Ramsay a 50-48 lead with three minutes to play in the game, followed by Farrah Pearson’s put-back to tie it. Wayne picked up a steal and subsequent layup to give the Lady Rams a 52-50 edge with 1:06 to go.
Following Hose’s tying free throws, both teams were unable to get a shot off on their last possession, sending the game to overtime. In the extra period, Imari Martin’s free throws with 3.9 seconds to go proved the difference.
Ramsay was back in the state final for the first time since 2007, when the Lady Rams capped off a string of four consecutive state titles.
“To get to this point and miss it by two points is heartbreaking,” said Jackson. “If we make it here again, we have that experience now, we haven’t had it in 11 years. I feel good going forward,” said Jackson.
Wayne finished her career with a fourth straight state championship appearance, with the first three coming at Homewood before transferring to Ramsay prior to her senior season. In her final high school game, she scored 15 points and pulled down seven rebounds.
Wayne said that she was initially nervous when she transferred due to the fact Homewood and Ramsay are area rivals. But as the season progressed, the team became “like sisters” and bonded.
Wayne’s postseason experiences undoubtedly helped Ramsay get to the state final, and the Lady Rams will look to build off that. Wayne departs as the only senior on the Ramsay team.
“I’m very confident in my team and I’m just so happy that we created a bond and I just know I can depend on them and I know for sure we’re going to be back next year with a chip on our shoulder,” said Sanders.
Ramsay scored the first five points and jumped out to a 12-5 lead before Hazel Green settled into the game. Sherrod banked in a 3-pointer to begin the scoring and set into motion her great performance.
Hose scored five straight points, as the Lady Trojans settled in. Brooke Hampel’s layup allowed Hazel Green to cut the deficit to 16-14 after a quarter of play. Hampel finished her career with a 15-point showing.
The game came to a grinding halt in the second quarter, as the teams combined for just 14 points. Ramsay went the final five minutes of the period without a point and Hazel Green scored the final 10 points of the frame to take a 24-20 lead into the halftime break.
Ramsay regained its footing in the third quarter, despite Hazel Green lengthening its lead to six points. Sherrod’s jumpstarted a 12-5 Ramsay run to finish up the quarter, with the Lady Rams clinging to a 40-39 edge.