COLUMBIA -- Returning all-state junior Ashlen Garrett scored 37 points Thursday, leading the Skyline Lady Tigers to a 61-47 win against the Principia Panthers in the Class 2 girls basketball state championship game at Mizzou Arena.
Skyline, the top-ranked team in Class 2, made its ninth trip to the Final Four in the past 11 seasons. However, this was only the Lady Tigers’ second state title during that run. The other title came in 2017.
Skyline opened with a 13-4 lead midway through the first quarter. Principia was down 19-12 by the end of the first quarter, but the Lady Tigers widened the gap to 26-12 barely two minutes into the second quarter.
Garrett tallied 25 of her points in the first half, helping Skyline to a 40-24 halftime advantage.
Principia trailed 48-35 at the end of three quarters, but Skyline kept the lead at double digits, extending its lead to 56-39 midway through the final quarter.
Principia freshman Dasia Scott ended the game with 19 points and 18 rebounds. She finished the season with 756 points and 417 rebounds.
Skyline, which improved to 7-5 all-time in state title games -- all since 1996 -- concludes the season with a 30-2 record and a 14-game winning streak.
Fifth-ranked Principia, which was playing in the Final Four for the first time in program history, ends the season with a 23-8 record.
In Thursday morning’s Class 2 girls third-place game, second-ranked Tipton routed unranked Norwood for a 62-35 win.