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The Charles Henderson Lady Trojans will play for their second state championship on Saturday morning when they take on Madison Academy at Legacy Arena in Birmingham.

The Trojans knocked off Center Point by 40 points, 68-28, on Thursday afternoon to advance to the championship game.

The Trojans last made it this far in 2018 when they won their first championship.

Senior Niaira Jones led all scorers with 25 points on Thursday afternoon, 24 of which came in the second half.

“I just wanted some way to help my team out,” Jones said. “In the second half they were leaving me open, and they kept feeing me the ball so I kept shooting.”

Makala Hobdy finished with 20 points and Mykyia Milton finished with eight.

The Trojans will match up with a Madison Academy team who came to Birmingham sporting a 30-4 overall record. The Mustangs are three-time state champions. Their last came in 2018 when they were in a different classification. They also won in 2011 and 2017.

The Mustangs entered the postseason as the Class 5A Area 16 winner. So far this postseason the Mustangs have knocked off Hamilton, Pleasant Grove, West Point and Shelby County. Each of their wins have been by double digits.

In their semifinal win over Shelby County, four of their five starters finished in double figures, led by Destinee McGhee, who finished with 20.

The Mustangs enter the championship averaging 67 points per game. Defense has been a strength for the Trojans in the postseason so far. The Trojans have allowed 26.6 points per game this postseason.

“My philosophy is defense wins the games,” head coach Dyneshia Jones after their semifinal win. “With defense we can get easy layups. And momentum wise, that’s what our girls love. The great thing about this team, they never ask me about points or how many steals or charges. Defense is very important and we go over that every day in practice.”

Tip-off between the Trojans and the Mustangs is set for 9 a.m.