By CALEB ODOM (caleb@themadisonrecord.com)

The Sparkman girls basketball team is moving on to the State Semi-Final after a 55-44 defeat of Hewitt-Trussville on Tuesday, Feb. 21.

The Lady Senators (25-8) punished the Huskies (26-7) at the foul line sinking 26 of 32 free-throws that they attempted in the Northeast Regional Final in Jacksonville.

Sparkman next faces the winner of the Foley vs. Daphne game on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 9:00 a.m. It will be played at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham.

Kennedy Langham’s 15 points and Jamya Griffin tallying a total of 14 for Sparkman was driven predominately from the aforementioned charity stripe in this contest.

Langham was clutch, draining 9 of 13 free-throws while Griffin was perfect from the same spot, hitting 9 of 9 freebies.

This game was not all about the short shots though, the Lady Senators turned to the strong defensive play from Nylaa Fuller who did not let Hewitt-Trussville breathe.

“The defensive pressure that Fuller put on was clinic-worthy,” Sparkman head coach Jarvis Wilson said.

“That is a testament to her knowing the role we needed her to play with today.”

The game started out well for the Huskies as they jumped out to a 14-6 lead after one quarter of action.

Hewitt-Trussville leaned on the production of top scorers Jordan Hunter with 12 points and an 11-point morning from Audre Benson.

Despite being down early, Sparkman used an unbreakable mindset that has gotten the team this far to take control of the game.

“They have bought into our culture of being positive and never quitting on each other,” Wilson said.

“Our team culture was on display as we never got rattled and just stayed within ourselves with the mindset of making the next play.

The Lady Senators might have been cold from everywhere other than the free-throw line, but the team found a way to survive and advance.

By the half the scoreboard was glowing 20-18 Sparkman.

The free-throws added up as the Lady Senators led 34-27 by the end of the third quarter.

As the State Semi-Final game looms next week on Thursday, March 2 at noon, Sparkman’s coach is focused on empowering his program, while seeking improvement.

These are uncharted waters for this current group that has not been to a Final 4 until now.

“I will remind them of their team goals and aspirations while we will work tirelessly to ensure that we are prepared to play on the biggest stage in the AHSAA,” Wilson said.