BIRMINGHAM — Two years ago when Keith was in the state championship game, the Lady Bears saw a small halftime lead turn into a loss. This time they didn’t take any chances.

Keith held Spring Garden to just 4 points in the first half Friday and used a 15-4 second half run to cruise to a 38-25 victory to win the 1A state championship.

“I saw the determination to come out and finish,” said Keith head coach Cecil Williams. “They knew [this time] the game wasn’t over and that we were playing a pretty good team. We needed to continue playing defense until the game was over.”

Spring Garden went on a 7-2 run to begin the third quarter to cut the Bears’ lead to 18-11, but Keith recovered. Led by back-to-back baskets by Zykia Pettway, the Bears scored the next seven points to seize control.

“We made the cake, and now we get to eat it,” said Keith guard Harriet Winchester.

Winchester was named tournament MVP after scoring 13 of her 18 points in the second half. Pettway was also named to the all-tournament squad after her fourth consecutive double-double. She finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

It was a dominant and complete performance for the Bears, who scored the first seven points of the game and led the entire way in one of the lowest scoring 1A girls championships in state history. The record for few points scored in a 1A title game is 58, set in a game between Akron and Edward Bell in 1983. It was clear early on Friday’s game might challenge that mark, as both teams struggled to score from the onset.

Spring Garden, a team that had averaged seven made three-pointers a game during the state tournament, made only one the entire game.

Keith also hit one, as Winchester knocked down a three to start the scoring.

Keith led 16-4 at the half and recovered after Spring Garden started the second half with a quick run. Pettway had a three-point play and kept going to work inside the paint.

“With a team that can shoot the three ball, you never know when they are going to catch fire and start making their shots,” Williams said. “You saw when they came out in the third quarter they made a couple of shots so we had to pick up our defense.”

The victory capped off an emotional week for the Bears.

On Tuesday afternoon legendary R.C. Hatch coach Eugene Mason, who had known Williams since early childhood, collapsed at Keith High School and passed away later that evening at Vaughan Regional Medical Center.

“The whole time [I was thinking about him today]. It never stopped,” Williams said while holding back tears. “I just wish he’d been here to see it.”

Keith also had to overcome playing two games at or before 9 a.m. in a four day stretch. The Bears were originally scheduled to play Spring Garden at 4 p.m. before winter weather caused Wednesday’s slate of games to be postponed. However, getting up early wasn’t a problem.

“I was dedicated to getting up this morning,” Pettway said. “I even told the hotel to give me a wake-up call.”

The win gave Keith its third state  championship and first since 1990.