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Mountain Brook's girls varsity team celebarates their win after the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's girls varsity HC Sara Price watches a play during Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's girls varsity team celebarates their win after the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's cheerleaders flip during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's girls varsity team celebarates their win after the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Maddie Walter (15), Libby Geisler (10) and Avery Davis (3) are awarded All-Tournament team after their win over Fort Payne in the 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Davis (3) was also awarded the tournament MVP award. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Libby Geisler (10) and Clarkie Wilkinson (1) celebrate their win during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's student section celebrates the girls varsity win during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's student section celebrates the girls varsity win during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's student section celebrates the girls varsity win during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's cheerleaders celebrate the girls varsity win during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's bench cheers on the team during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Ellie Halpern (24) shoots a three-pointer during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Libby Geisler (10) grabs the ball during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Kate Bakken (25) shoots a free throw during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Maddie Walter (15) shoots the ball during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Clarkie Wilkinson (1) lines up to rebound during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Maddie Walter (15) dribbles the ball during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Marrill Hines (2) defends the ball during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's bench and girls varsity HC Sara Price watch the team during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Maddie Walter (15) lines up for a rebound during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Avery Davis (3) shoots a free throw during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Marrill Hines (2) shoots a free throw during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Marrill Hines (2) jump stops during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Ellie Halpern (24) shoots a three-pointer during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Claire Wilkinson (1) shoots a layup during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Ellie Halpern (24) shoots a three-pointer during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Marrill Hines (2) shoots a free throw during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Clarkie Wilkinson (1) shoots a layup during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Avery Davis (3) shoots a free throw during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Libby Geisler(10) reaches to block a shot during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Libby Geisler (10) shoots the ball during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Libby Geisler (10) grabs the ball during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's Maddie Walter (15) reaches to block a shot during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
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Mountain Brook's cheerleaders during the Mountain Brook vs. Fort Payne 6A girls basketball regional championship game on Feb. 20, 2025. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
JACKSONVILLE – The Mountain Brook High School girls basketball team looked like a team that had been there before.
The Lady Spartans showed poise, composure and confidence in a 52-40 win over Fort Payne on Thursday in the Class 6A Northeast Regional final at Jacksonville State University.
It marks the first state final four appearance in program history.
On the surface, it doesn’t make sense, though. Mountain Brook has just one senior, and the last time the program was in the regional final, many of the team’s players weren’t even born.
But the Lady Spartans believed in themselves, and it resulted in a convincing victory to achieve history.
“This is a [special] moment,” Mountain Brook head coach Sara Price said following the game. “Mountain Brook has never been to the final four on the girls side. This is a moment of history and I want them to take it in.”
That lone senior, Libby Geisler, didn’t score much on this day. But she commanded the offense and led the team with her usual calm demeanor.
It was the young stars that shone the brightest Thursday. Freshman Avery Davis was named regional tournament MVP after a magnificent performance. She scored 25 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including four 3-pointers.
Davis admitted she felt good in warmups, but was none too eager to talk about herself after the game. Geisler interrupted on her behalf.
“She can shoot,” Geisler interjected.
Price added, “She does a good job of handling her composure as a freshman, and everyone rallies around her.”
Sophomore Maddie Walter dominated in the painted area as well, going for 10 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. She credited the team’s tough practices for preparing her for the big moments.
“Our team works really hard in practice and it makes going into games easy, because they’re never nearly as hard,” she said.
Mountain Brook jumped out to a 17-10 lead after a quarter of play, but a slow second quarter allowed Fort Payne to cut the lead to 26-23 at the half. But the Lady Spartans responded with solid third and fourth quarters to put the game away. They held Fort Payne to just six points and two made field goals in the third.
Mountain Brook outrebounded Fort Payne 38-20 in the game. Merrill Hines grabbed six boards and Annabelle Avery pulled down five.
Zimri Craig led Fort Payne with 18 points.
Mountain Brook had only been to the regional final twice before in program history, and the Lady Spartans broke through to the final four in their third try.
They will now look ahead to a matchup against Chelsea, a team the Lady Spartans defeated 51-49 in early December. Chelsea is making its second final four trip and has been one of the top programs in the state over the last handful of years.
“Get back to work,” Price said of the approach.
But they will enjoy the moment for at least a little while.
“It’s absolutely amazing,” Walter said. “I’m so proud that it’s this team, because we’ve been so strong and dedicated to the sport and to each other. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished.”
