After an early exit last season Central high girls basketball is ready to make a run

Central high girls basketball was ranked the top Class 5A team in the state last year but fell in the regional round, now that loss has become fuel for this year's team.

The Lady Falcons (24-5) have returned to the Class 5A regional round after a 55-27 win over Elmore County (17-6) on Monday at home. They will face UMS-Wright Prep, the team that eliminated them last season, on Saturday at 12 p.m. CT in Montgomery.

They were led by Aliyah Golston with 25 points and Jakiyah Smith with 10 points.

Central took an early lead that they never surrendered. Last year's loss has helped this team play with more focus, especially on the defensive end. It showed as a halftime adjustment led to the Lady Falcons outscoring the Lady Panthers 33-11 in the second half.

"We're on a mission," coach Michael Rivers said. "I think the girls are more focused this year like in that game we made an adjustment at halftime and went to our 2-1-2 defense, we pretty much shut them down in the second half...This group right here they consistently play defense across the board. We don't have any selfish individuals out there, we play team ball."

Central girls basketball: 'You got to make them scared of you': Kylera Warren, Jahkiya Smith stand tall for Central

Top Performers: Tuscaloosa-area high school top performers: Northridge's Aniyah Cabbil reaches 1,000-point milestone

The team has used the experience they gained last season, not just the early exit but being able to get playing time with most of their team to play the team ball coach Rivers talked about.

"Personally I think we are a more together team than we were last year," Golston said. "I think we work together better since we all played last year."

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Central high girls basketball is ready to make a run following last seasons early exit