Class 2A girls basketball: Jaden Hobbs leads Alva past Dale

No. 4 Alva (25-4) has earned a trip to its sixth state championship game in school history with three sophomores and a freshman in the starting lineup.

“We lost everybody from last year,” Alva coach Eric Smith said. “If you would have told me at the beginning of the season that we would be in the state finals, I would have told you that you need to be put in the funny farm or something.”

But Alva's freshman doesn't play like one.

Hobbs was 5-of-9 from 3-point range, and was 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. She had 26 points in Alva's opening round 53-45 victory over Colbert.

“She is pretty special,” Smith said.

Dale (28-2) raced to a 12-4 lead Friday night but Alva responded with a 14-2 run to cut the Lady Pirates lead to 21-20 at halftime.

The Lady Goldbugs then distanced themselves in the third period as Morgan Shiever, Hobbs and Bailey Forell knocked down three consecutive 3-pointers to take a 34-25 lead.