By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
BIRMINGHAM – Spring Garden girls basketball coach Ricky Austin recalls a time when his wife Dana was pregnant with daughter and basketball sensation Ace Austin.
He said he was on the road for a scouting trip and he received a phone call from Dana. She had just been to the doctor and was a little nervous with the report she got.
“She said ‘I didn’t get a good report at the doctor today. The doctor told me Ace’s heart was a little large for her age where she was (in development),’” Ricky recalled. “I did not take that as a negative. I had a fist pump. I know we have a big heart. That’s just always stood out to me, thinking about what’s inside of her. What an unbelievable big heart she’s got. That’s what makes her who she is.”
In her final game as a Lady Panther on Thursday against Brilliant, the University of Alabama signee showed the crowd inside Birmingham’s Legacy Arena how big her heart is.
Ace sank seven 3-pointers and scored a game-high 40 points. She also grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out eight assists and had five steals in the top-ranked Lady Panthers’ 73-44 victory.
The win secured a three-peat for the first time in Spring Garden basketball history and their 10th title in the program’s history.
Following her performance, Ace was named the Class 1A Final Four’s Most Valuable Player.
“We’ve always been the group that didn’t like losing,” Ace said. “This whole season we said we’re not here to be here. This is a business trip. We wanted to make history at our school. It’s really for the community and the name across our chest.”
In which Ace is the heartbeat behind it.
“Ace’s legacy is obviously as a great player. I’ve kind of been holding back, but she’s the best player I’ve seen in the state of Alabama in my 29 years of coaching,” Coach Austin said. “She backed that up for me tonight. It’s been an honor to coach her.
“You can talk about points and you can talk about championships, but all the road trips we took this year, no matter where we were, when we come out of the locker room, little boys and girls lined up wanting her to autograph shoes, autograph hats and autograph basketballs. I think she’s affected a lot of people in this state because of that. To me, that’s an unbelievable legacy that you can affect so many people.”
Ace deflected her talent to those who have surrounded her throughout her high school career.
“It’s been because of all the support I’ve had through the years. These are the best people who have ever been put in my life. They’ve supported me through everything,” she said. “I’m glad they’ve been part of my journey, and I couldn’t ask for a better coach.”
Ace made sure she left her high school career behind on top. She scored eight of her points in the first quarter, in which Spring Garden (35-1) led 16-8. Twelve more points by Ace in the second help push the Lady Panther lead to 38-24 at halftime.
In the third quarter, senior guard/forward Maggie Jarrett began to heat up. She sank three of Spring Garden’s 16 total treys in the game in the second quarter. The Lady Panthers could sense their 3-peat was coming to reality with a 59-33 edge at the end of the third.
Jarrett, an all-tournament team selection, connected on six treys in the game and finished with 18 points and four rebounds.
“What a game Maggie played offensively and defensively,” Coach Austin said. “We changed our defense a little at halftime. The first half we were helping kind of in the wrong way. We kind of changed how we were helping in the second half. I thought Maggie Jarrett did a great job on No. 4 (Hadlee Sanderson). We had to get to a point to where Maggie could handle her. I was afraid she would get Maggie in foul trouble if we hadn’t helped.”
Jarrett said the Lady Panthers’ three-peat “shows how much work we’ve put in from being little kids playing together.”
“During P.E., we played girls versus boys because we always wanted to beat the boys every chance we could get,” she said. “I think just growing up together and having the connection we have, I think that’s truly helped us get this three-peat.”
Senior guard Kristen Lewis sank a pair of 3-pointers and had six points for the Lady Panthers. Senior guard Olivia Law, an all-tournament selection, finished with four points.
Sanderson, Brooke O’Mary, and Laine Johnson each had 11 points for Brilliant (23-12). Macy Moore finished with eight points.
O’Mary and Sanderson were all-tournament selections.
“I just think we knew we wanted to win all the way out. I feel like our job is done,” Law said. “We did what we wanted.”
Speaking of a job that’s done, many have wondered if Thursday’s game was the last for Coach Austin. With three-peat in hand and Ace headed to play in Tuscaloosa next fall, many have speculated it could be his final game coaching at Spring Garden.
And no one could blame him for riding off into the sunset on top.
“If it was time to walk, this would be the perfect time to do it, to walk out with her (Ace) and walk out with this (trophy) and finish on top, but I’m not that guy who feels like I have to finish on top,” Coach Austin said. “It’s a million dollar question. I’ve been asked sometimes 10-15 times a day, and I’ve been as honest as I can be. We’ll just see, but Spring Garden is home. It’s a special place. I’ve just got to sit down and think about a lot of that, think about what I really want to do and what’s best for my family. There’s a lot of involvement besides me. There’s a lot of things that have to go into it.”
