Stone girls rip four goals to run away with MHSAA Class 4A
BRANDON — They say defense wins championships, and that was certainly true Saturday at Bulldog Stadium.
Behind a stiff defense and balanced offensive attack, Stone ran past New Albany 4-0 to claim the MHSAA Girls Class 4A State Championship.
It’s the Lady Tomcats (16-6-1) first state title in school history and first state championship in any women’s sport.
“Our girls were ready, were excited and dominated the game,” said Stone coach Carissa Harrison. “When the fourth goal went in, I knew we were state champs and it’s real. It’s a great experience and an amazing feeling.”
Stone got on the board five minutes into the game as Morgan Pickering scored to give the Tomcats the 1-0 lead.
Eight minutes later, Baelynn Smith scored off a pass from Pickering to extend the Lady Tomcats lead to 2-0.
The Lady Tomcat defense only allowed New Albany to get three shots on goal the entire game.
“Our defense is our back wall. In district play we only allowed one or two goals and they’re the reason “We talked scoring an early goal and how that could completely change the game, so they did exactly what we needed to do.”
In the second half Caroline Batson scored off a corner kick with 12 minutes left to extend the Stone lead 3-0.
Mary Grace Batson also scored off a corner kick with just over five minutes left to give Stone the 4-0 lead.
Pickering was named the game’s most valuable player.
“This is the moment we’ve been looking for since we were four years old," she said. "This group has been together since we were four years old and that was a dream come true. This team has been a blessing. Defense was great today and they did everything we talked about. To do this my senior year and leaving a legacy is great.”
New Albany finished the season 18-8.
“State championship game is supposed to be left out on the field and Stone did that,” said New Albany coach Bert Anderson. “Today, we couldn’t stay with them. They were great on the attack and finished opportunities.”
