What happened in the 3A Championship?

Preview   Dover and Lamar faced off in the 3A championship. Dover had a dominant season, only losing 1 game during the regular season. Lamar was back in the title game for the third time in four years. Lamar lost in the 2022 and 2023 championship games and they were looking to finally break the losing streak in the big game.    One team might have seemed like more of a favorite over the other, but that may or may not be the matter in this heavyweight matchup.   Recap   Lamar's [player_tooltip player_id='465496' first='Kori' last='Sanders'] got off to a blazing start in the first quarter, knocking down 4 3-pointers. That would end up becoming the gameplan for Lamar: using their outside shooting barrage to put themselves in the lead. However, Dover would respond and lead 15-14 at the end of the period.   Dover continued to push the action offensively, making plays on the interior. Despite that, Lamar would not go away, going on a 9-0 run in three minutes to retake the lead. Lamar had the lead heading into halftime and they would not let go for the entire game.    Both teams made their adjustments and Dover was attempting to take the lead again, but Lamar held them at arm's length for much of the second half. Once Lamar went on a 6-0 run to begin the fourth, the writing was on the wall.    The final score was 65-52, with Lamar winning its third title in school history.   Key Performances from Lamar Players    This state tournament run was very successful for [player_tooltip player_id='465496' first='Kori' last='Sanders']. Not only did she lead her team to a championship victory, but she also eclipsed 2,000 career points the week before. The Harding commit capped off a storied career with an MVP performance in the title game.   I mentioned that Sanders hit 4 triples in the first quarter. She ended up finishing the night shooting 7/9 from beyond the arch, hitting a three in each quarter. Sanders' final stat line was 29 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 5 steals. Once Sanders starts to heat up from beyond the arch, there is no way that the opponent will be able to come back. Dover found that out the hard way.    Her quick release is deadly, especially off the catch. She is also great at working around screens and finding her spots on the floor to get a shot off. When Sanders is not scoring, she is facilitating the offense, getting her teammates involved. Part of that is based on her ability to start the fastbreak as she is a fantastic rebounder.   [player_tooltip player_id='465496' first='Kori' last='Sanders'] will be a great player at the next level. Harding will be getting a great two-way sharpshooter who is tough to stop when she has it going.     Lamar's senior class is strong, with [player_tooltip player_id='1244316' first='Emma' last='Bailey'] being another experienced player. She was playing in her third state championship game and hoping to walk away with a victory, which she finally did.   Bailey had a phenomenal performance against Dover, posting 21 points and 7 rebounds, shooting 7/14 from the field. Bailey was highly effective from beyond the arch. She knocked down 4 triples, being a crucial part of Lamar's outside shooting barrage. When she was not shooting from the perimeter, Bailey was driving inside and initiating contact. She went 3/5 from the free throw line.   [player_tooltip player_id='1244316' first='Emma' last='Bailey'] had a great postseason and her play in the championship showed just how valuable she was to her team in her storied career.    <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/madison-davidson/">[player_tooltip player_id='1049429' first='Madison' last='Davidson']</a>- Davidson did not shoot particularly well, but she did rebound effectively. The post player had 5 points and 7 rebounds, doing my of her work on the offensive end at the free throw line, where she went 3/4. She also snagged 2 offensive rebounds, giving her team extra scoring opportunities.   Macie Davidson- Lamar had a lot of seniors on their championship team, but they also had a fair number of juniors, with Macie Davidson being one of them. She provided a major defensive spark off the bench, blocking 3 shots, which accounted for 75% of her team's blocks on the night. She also made both of her field goals, finishing with 4 points. She did all of this in just 9 minutes of playing time.   Key Performances from Dover Players    Despite the loss, Dover's superstar had a monster outing against Lamar. [player_tooltip player_id='417402' first='Logan' last='Young'] continued to show everyone why she is one of the better two-way players in the state.   Young put up 24 points, 15 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 blocks in the title game. There was not much going wrong for her on offense. She scored 8 field goals with 1 coming from beyond the arch. She was very successful at getting to the free throw line. Young went 7/10 from the stripe.   15 rebounds are outstanding, but what is more impressive is how 8 of them were on the offensive end. Lamar was unable to successfully put a body on her in the post, leading to her incredible performance on the glass. Like she was when she was boxing out, Young was hunting for the ball on the defensive end. She deflected passes, protected the rim, and played hounding on-ball defense.   [player_tooltip player_id='417402' first='Logan' last='Young'] finishes her career with a profound showing. Though her team came up short, she leaves behind a legacy and will look to be the next great player at Arkansas Tech.      [player_tooltip player_id='876339' first='Kenzie' last='McCrotty'] is one of the best shooters in the 3A classification, but the opposition knew that. Though the junior struggled offensively, it did not stop her from finding other ways to make an impact.   An early lesson that I think most people learn when first playing basketball is that scoring is not everything. There are other aspects of the game that a player needs to have down. McCrotty only hit 1 3-pointer and finished with just 9 points, but her biggest impact was on the backboard. She finished the night with 11 rebounds.   The guard was better on the offensive glass, pulling down 6 boards and helping give her team some second-chance opportunities. This gave her some additional scoring opportunities as well, and she knocked down 3 field goals from inside the arch.   [player_tooltip player_id='876339' first='Kenzie' last='McCrotty'] is an efficient scorer who is expected to be the go-to player next season. Everyone knows she can shoot from outside, but she proved that if she is not connecting from long range, she can make an impact in other areas of the game.    <a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/kadee-keaster/">[player_tooltip player_id='465498' first='Kadee' last='Keaster']</a>- Dover's assist leader did what she does best against Lamar. She led her team in assists with 3 and added 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals to her total. She shot 50% from inside the arch and got herself to the free throw line a couple of times. Keaster's ability to facilitate and play lockdown defense at the other end still set her apart on the floor.   Review and What's Next   Both Lamar and Dover had several seniors who made up their championship rosters. For Lamar, its entire starting lineup was made of seniors, including one player who came off the bench, which was 6 of the 7 players who participated in the title game. Macie Davidson is a junior and she will lead a lengthy group of 2026 hoopers, but they will still have to dig deep and find some depth if they want to successfully defend their title.   For Dover, several of their go-to players were seniors. [player_tooltip player_id='417402' first='Logan' last='Young'] and [player_tooltip player_id='465498' first='Kadee' last='Keaster'] will move on to the next level, but [player_tooltip player_id='876339' first='Kenzie' last='McCrotty'] will be the primary scorer next season. Lily Titsworth, an excellent outside shooter, will return next season along with Madison Spradlin. Both of those juniors started in the championship game. [player_tooltip player_id='1091205' first='Kimber' last='Cox'], a sophomore, could be a major difference-maker next season, but I would imagine that Elle Morrow will have a tremendous impact. Morrow is a freshman who did not see the floor much during the regular season, but she played 13 minutes in the title game and scored 4 points.   Great coaches lead both teams, so even if the rosters are a bit younger or inexperienced, they may remain contenders.

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