Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

LINEVILLE – Six area games, six wins. That’s what the Briarwood Christian Lions accomplished in 2025, and as a result, they are the champions of Class 5A, Area 8.

Briarwood defeated the Central Volunteers of Clay County 50-36 on Friday, Jan. 24 at Central High School in Lineville to complete a 6-0 run through area play.

After needing a win in the area final to clinch the No. 1 seed, the Lions will now host the Class 5A, Area 8 tournament at Briarwood Christian School during the week of Feb. 3 and face the Sylacauga Aggies in the area semifinals for a spot in sub-regionals.

Sasha Munikar led Briarwood with 15 points on the night, and she got started early with a pair of 3-pointers for six first-quarter points. Emma Kerley opened her scoring account with four points as the Lions controlled the early minutes of the game.

Briarwood largely limited Central’s impact and took a 16-8 lead into the second quarter.

However, the Vols started gaining ground in the second as one of their top players caught fire from the field and the team got more opportunities from the free throw line.

Kerley and Munikar each added on four points to limit the damage, but Central cut the deficit to 24-19 ahead of the halftime break.

The Lions went back to their first-quarter ways and prevented the Vols from overcoming the two-possession deficit. Munikar hit her third 3-pointer of the night to pair with two made free throws and get to 15 points on the night, and Grace Garrett emerged from the break with four points.

AT Baker also hit a crucial 3-pointer as Briarwood outscored Central 16-7 to extend the lead to 40-26 at the end of the third quarter.

Free throws littered the end of the game for both teams as they tied each other’s 10-point scoring output. Because of that, the Vols couldn’t draw any closer and the Lions secured the 14-point win.

Munikar paired her team-high 15 points with three rebounds. Kerley was just behind her with another double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds to go with two blocks, two steals and two assists.

Baker finished with eight points, three rebounds, two steals and two assists. Garrett earned seven points and five rebounds. Crawford scored four points but her biggest impact was on the boards as she earned eight rebounds and secured two assists as well in the win.

Briarwood is 18-9 on the season and currently riding a nine-game win streak. The Lions will face a big test to that unbeaten run when they face Mountain Brook at home on Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 6 p.m. in their regular season finale.