WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5

CLASS 3A-1A PRIVATE

#3 No. 3 Holy Innocents’ 57, #1 No. 1 Hebron Christian 39: Holy Innocents’ (25-5) never trailed and never allowed a three-point make, forcing Hebron Christian (29-2) into 0-19 shooting from beyond the arc as the Golden Bear 2-3 zone led to Holy Innocents’ to their first state title since 2020. All-American Stanford-signee Hailee Swain posted 30 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block in the win shooting 10-27 from the field but a perfect 9-9 from the line. A quick 7-0 run to open the game led to a 19-5 advantage at the end of the first quarter as Makayla Weaver scored all 7 of her points in the opening frame. Holy Innocents’ led 25-14 at half as Hebron Christian shot 0-13 from deep. In the third quarter the Lions trimmed the lead to 27-21 but the Golden Bears answered with a 7-0 run sparked by a Swain And-1 and took a 38-29 lead into the fourth. At the 5:30 mark of the fourth, Hebron cut the lead to 42-35 behind the play of Miami-signee Danielle Osho who finished with 16 points and 8 rebounds, but Holy Innocents’ would hang on and take a 10-point lead into the final minute before late buckets extended the lead. George Washington-signee Mia James had 12 points and 4 rebounds for Hebron in the loss. Freshmen Loriel Murray and Aaniyah Branch battled foul trouble for Holy Innocents’ while Hebron made their run. Murray posted 6 points and 7 rebounds while Branch contributed 6 points and 6 rebounds. Holy Innocents’ held Hebron Christian to 30.4% shooting.

#3 No. 1 Holy Innocents’ 84, #1 No. 3 North Cobb Christian 45: Just like the girls championship, Holy Innocents’ (27-4) raced out to a 7-0 lead and never relented, cruising to the program’s first ever state title behind All-American North Carolina-signee Caleb Wilson who finished with 33 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks. The Golden Bears led 15-3 after the first quarter and 42-18 at the half as North Cobb Christian (28-4) struggled outside of an opening possession which saw the Eagles block four shots inside with smothering defense. Holy Innocents’ shot 56% from the field and forced 20 turnovers. Devin Hutcherson scored 17 points on 7-9 shooting while Khalid Worthy added 11 points and 8 rebounds. North Cobb Christian was led by Brock Bass-Bonner’s 15 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Will Russell scored 11 points and Grant Robich had 10 points and 6 rebounds.

CLASS 3A

#4 No. 8 Cherokee Bluff 66, #7 No. 1 Baldwin 58: Down 33-27 at the half, Cherokee Bluff (25-8) surged past defending state champion Baldwin (25-7) to win their first state title. The Bravettes went on a 12-0 run to pull ahead 26-17 midway through the second quarter but the Bears regained their composure. Cherokee Bluff led 47-46 after three quarters after Bristol Kersh came to life with eight points in the frame. Kersh would finish with 22 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals. Her running mate Claire Carlson poured in 23 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 block including going on a personal 5-0 run to start the fourth quarter to give the Bears just enough cushion to control the game. As good as Kersh and Carlson were, it was Emery Jones who came off the bench and provided the biggest lift with 14 points, hitting four timely jumpers. Baldwin had 28 second chance points and dominated the glass as expected, winning the battle of the boards 49-25 but the Bravettes had 20 turnovers to Cherokee Bluff’s 8. The Bears shot 7-24 from beyond the arc while Baldwin shot 5-20, three threes via Georgia Southwestern-signee Kassidy Neal who hit two quick long balls to open the game and finished with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Janaye Walker’s career ended with 21 points, 21 rebounds and 2 blocks. Suri Clark double-doubled with 10 points and 11 rebounds while Zuri Grant chipped in 10 points.

#1 No. 3 Sandy Creek 39, #3 No. 1 Cedar Grove 38: It took a physical battle and a last second defensive stand for Sandy Creek (29-3) to three-peat as state champs. Amari Latimer split a pair of free throws with 14.1 seconds left to win it for the Patriots. Cedar Grove (28-4) got a last possession after multiple timeouts from both sides but a Yusef Bowyer three was off the mark. Cedar Grove took their largest lead of the game at 30-26 at the 2:44 mark of the third quarter using a 10-0 run and holding the Patriots scoreless for nearly six minutes. Free throws hurt the Saints in the fourth quarter, shooting 2-5. Avohn Florence led Sandy Creek with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Latimer had 8 points but played outstanding defense guarding Manny Green, helping hold the star to 13 points on 6-15 shooting with 6 turnovers. Javonte Floyd provided Cedar Grove with 9 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks while Keith Gillespie and Bowyer added 7 points apiece. Jared White (7) and Osakilo Okeke (6) rounded out the only for Patriots to score.

THURSDAY, MARCH 6

CLASS 2A

#3 No. 4 Hardaway 47, #1 No. 3 Murray County 34: Hardaway (26-6) learned from last year’s nightmare second half and didn’t let a big lead slip away as the Hawks captured their first state title using a 14-2 run to open the game. The Hardaway press and the Hawks’ overall length stifled Murray County (30-2), blocking 11 shots and forcing 11 Indian misses to start the game. Montreat-commit Bayleigh Winkler finally got the Indians on the board with an up-and-under but Murray County would miss 15 of their first 16 shots as the Hawks extended their lead and led 20-4 after the first quarter and 28-11 at the half. Murray County shot just 13% from the field in the first half and 25% for the game. Hardaway saw Hampton-signee Akilah Shelton  finish her career with 6 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 8 blocks. New Orleans-signee Mikayla Johnson netted nine points in the first quarter before finishing with 13 poitns and 8 rebounds. Sophomore Rhianna Boynton posted a double-double with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks. Murray County was led by Winkler’s 14 points and 6 rebounds. The Indians finished the game 2-19 from beyond the arc. Freshman Blaklee Ledford collected 5 points and 6 rebounds. Callan Ledford’s first bucket of the game came at the 5:51 mark of the fourth quarter to make it 40-23. Ledford racked up 10 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists after missing her first 13 shots. The Indians made things interesting in the fourth quarter after an Emma Blaylock three at the 2:29 mark to trim the lead to 42-32 but the Hawks would close on a 5-2 run.

#4 No. 4 Butler 57, #6 No. 7 Union County 49: Butler (21-8) led wire-to-wire for their first state title since 1966 but it wasn’t easy. The Bulldogs’ largest lead came early in the second quarter at 27-15 and led 33-24 at the half as Union County (26-6) struggled from beyond the arc at 1-12. In the third quarter, the Panthers got hot behind Hayden Hughes who went 3-4 from deep to cut the lead to 45-38 heading into the fourth. The closest Union County would get would be 45-44 at the 7:02 mark of the fourth quarter after Hughes and Houston Henry hit back-to-back threes. Following a Hughes steal and layup to make the score 49-47 with 3:08 remaining, Butler would finish on a 8-2 run sparked by a Kwamane Bridges three with 2:44 to play. Bridges would finish with a game-high 22 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists, followed by De’Cori Fleming who had 11 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Panthers 46-28, snagging 16 offensive rebounds which resulted in 10 second chance points. Union County shot 6-26 from the three-point line as Hughes led the team with 17 points. Henry recorded 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists while Vince Marevka tallied 10 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Denver-signee Marcus Scurry provided Butler with 9 points, sinking two free throws with 33.2 seconds left to extend the lead to 54-49.

CO-ED THREE-POINT CONTEST

CLASS 4A

R4 #1 No. 1 Creekside 57, R4 #3 No. 10 Maynard Jackson 37 Creekside (32-0) completed a perfect season, beating region rival Maynard Jackson (20-8) for a third time. Deadlocked at nine after one period, Creekside edged ahead 24-19 at the break, using a 12-0 run to gain separation. The Seminoles moved to a 2-3 zone to disrupt the Jaguars. Maynard Jackson stuck with their man-to-man defense and were effective in slowing down superstar C’India Dennis in the first half, Janiya McCoy hounding her in 2-13 shooting with 3 turnovers, but others stepped up for Creekside as Jacy Mitchell scored eight first half points and Lia Moore added five.  Creekside broke it open with a 17-4 third quarter. Dennis finished 22 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals while Mitchell chipped in 14 points. Sydnee Hunter contributed 9 points and 9 rebounds. Maynard Jackson was led by Aaliyah Weaver’s 20 points and 7  rebounds. Cayden Cornish scored 9 points and East Georgia State-signee Journey Conley chipped in 8.

R8 #1 No. 2 North Oconee 60, R4 #1 No. 1 Pace Academy 51: After falling behind 16-6 early, North Oconee (30-2) found their footing and punched back against Pace Academy (27-5) to repeat as state champions. Pace Academy entered winning their first four state playoff games by an average of over 37 points per game before running into the Titan buzz saw. The Knights’ length gave the Titans issues early on and blocked a total of 12 shots on the night, but after trailing 16-9 following the first quarter, North Oconee won the second quarter 18-7 closing on a 12-2 run to take a 27-23 lead into the half. In the third Justin Wise scored nine of his game-high 27 points to balloon the Titan lead to 45-35 heading into the final eight minutes. Although outsized by the Knights, the Titans outscored Pace Academy 28-24 in the paint. North Oconee had 22 points off 14 Pace Academy turnovers while the Knights had only 5 points off 11 Titan miscues. Pace Academy last led 21-18 in the second quarter before a Wise three drew the Titans even. The Knights made a late push in the fourth quarter using an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 54-48 with 1:36 left. Pace Academy could have drawn closer after freshman Bentley Lusakueno missed a free throw and the Knights stole the ball, but Lusakueno missed a layup and subsequently fouled out with 4 points and 5 blocks.  In the loss, Georgia Tech-signee Eric Chatfield scored 20 points followed by Chandler Bing’s 15 points and 8 rebounds. North Oconee received 14 points from Thrasher Wilkins. Khamari Brooks tallied 9 points and 11 rebounds. Banks Pourchier pitched in 9 points and 11 rebounds.

FRIDAY, MARCH 7

CLASS A D-II

R4 #1 No. 1 Wilcox County 72,  R8 #1 Washington-Wilkes 48: Wilcox County (28-1) raced out to a 21-9 lead after the first quarter and never looked back, romping their way to their first ever state title, going wire-to-wire as the state’s number one ranked team. The Patriots outrebounded Washington-Wilkes (14-9) 53-30 led by Tyliah Benjamin’s 13 points, 21 rebounds and 5 blocks before fouling out. Wilcox County outscored the Tigers 44-18 in the paint. Shamauri Martin shined as a playmaker with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Carly Miller posted 14 points. The Patriots led 32-20 at the half. The Tigers came out hot with a 7-0 run to open the third quarter. Things got interesting when Benjamin picked up her fourth foul at the 4:28 mark with the Patriots up 38-29. Wilcox County led 47-36 after three and saw Benjamin return to the floor at the 5:51 mark with the Patriots leading 56-42. The Tigers had cut the lead to 47-41 but Miller answered with a quick three to extend the lead and Kamauri Martin converted an And-1, sparking a 21-3 run to put the game out of reach. Martin posted 9 points off the bench, all in the second half. Freshmen Myasia Lewis and Samaria Young powered Washington-Wilkes with 15 points and 10 points respectively, Young adding 7 rebounds. Kaidyn Porter chipped in 10 points and 5 rebounds.

R3 #1 No. 1 Savannah 58, R3 #2 No. 3 McIntosh County Academy 52: Down for 23:20 of the 32-minute contest, Savannah (27-4) rallied to stun region rival McIntosh County Academy (26-6), denying the Buccaneers their first state title, beating them for a third time this season and in the process capturing their 11th state title, first since 1998. The Blue Jackets had no flow until midway through the fourth quarter as foul trouble became a blessing, flipping a switch for Savannah. Deshawn Davis fouled out at the 3:31 mark with the Jackets down 50-40. Instead of the disqualification being the beginning of the end, it sparked a 16-1 run that began with a Chance Hendricks three followed by a Jermontae Brown steal and And-1 layup that drew Savannah to within 50-46 in just 26 seconds. McIntosh County Academy’s MJ Quarterman fouled out with 2:25 to play with 11 points and 8 rebounds as the Buccaneers still maintained a 51-46 advantage. Stephon Fox, who came off the bench for Davis, scored six of his eight points in the fourth quarter including shooting 4-4 from the foul line. Savannah took their first lead since up 7-6 when Hendricks sank a corner three with 1:17 left to go ahead 52-51, finishing with a game-high 17 points and 8 rebounds. The Blue Jackets held MCA scoreless for over two minutes as they made their run. Maki Joyner, who battled foul trouble all game, provided the Blue Jackets with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals after having just two points and three fouls at halftime. McIntosh County Academy saw Jayden Ellis post 11 points and 7 rebounds followed by CJ Battle who had 10 points and 7 rebounds before fouling out late.

GIRLS THREE-POINT CONTEST

CLASS 5A

R6 #1 No. 1 River Ridge 52, R3 #1 No. 2 Langston Hughes 47: Down 16 with 3:30 remaining, River Ridge (31-1) never waivered, rallying to stun Langston Hughes (29-3) for the Knights’ second state title in three years. The Panthers led 15-5 after one, a nightmare start for the Knights, shooting 2-15 from the field and seeing Finley Parker pick up two fouls. Parker had three fouls heading into the third quarter with the Knights down 31-24 but with momentum hitting five of their final six shots. Joy Tchamabe came off the bench to spark the Knights with all 13 of her points off the bench in the first half. Parker, who played just 14 minutes, checked in for the first time in the third quarter with the Knights down 40-26 with 3:30 left in the third as Cornelia Ellington hurt River Ridge with her quickness, leading the Panthers with 12 points. Furman-signee Sophia Pearl buried River Ridge’s first three of the game at the 2:22 mark to make it 42-29, the Knights shooting 4-11 from distance overall. River Ridge entered the fourth quarter down 45-33 before flipping the script on the Panthers, outscoring Langston Hughes 19-2 to close the game. The Knights hit two threes in the fourth quarter, birthday girl Makayla Roberson sinking one from the corner to make it 45-38 before Parker swished a long ball to make it 45-41 with 3:37 left. Kyla Cantey, who scored nine of her 12 points in the fourth quarter, had timely hoop after timely hoop starting with a steal and layup to make it 45-43.  Georgia Southern-signee Kayla Cleaveland finished with 8 points and 11 rebounds, tying the game at 45 with 2:01 to play on an And-1. Three seconds later on a baseline out of bounds, Cantey struck again with an And-1 layup to give the Knights their first lead since 4-2 in the first quarter, surging ahead 48-45. Kylar-Rae Johnson snapped a 15-0 Knight run with a transition layup. The Panthers had an opportunity to take the lead after River Ridge missed a pair of free throws but Langston Hughes turned the ball over on an offensive rebound. With 23 seconds left the Knights once again saw Cantey break free on a baseline out of bounds to make it 50-47. Two Pearl free throws with three seconds left iced it. The Furman-signee finished her career with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Langston Hughes got 11 points and great defense from Karrell Greene.  The Panthers successfully held River Ridge to just six fastbreak points and held the Knights to two single digit quarters, but allowed 19 points apiece in the second and fourth quarters.

R4 #2 No. 2 Tri-Cities 66, R4 #1 No. 1 Woodward Academy 55: Tri-Cities (26-6) avenged two earlier losses to Woodward Academy (27-5) and split the season series 2-2, winning the most important game, the state championship, the Bulldogs’ third in the past seven years. Tri-Cities face-guarded Clemson-signee Zac Foster in the second half, limiting him to 14 points, just five in the second half. Jalan Wingfield, who averaged just eight points in their prior two meetings, dominated from the get-go, posting 20 points, 19 rebounds and 3 blocks. Woodward Academy led 27-25 at the half after a late Foster three but Tri-Cities won the third quarter 19-13 to inch ahead 44-40 heading into the fourth, closing on a 4-0 run. The largest lead of the game going into the fourth was just five points but the Bulldogs broke it open with an 11-0 run to sprint ahead 57-46 with just 1:39 left. Tre Keith finished with 14 points while Georgia Southern-signee Sean Van Dorn tallied 18 points, 11 coming in the decisive fourth quarter. After shooting 40% through three quarters, the War Eagles mustered just 4-18 (22%) shooting in the final frame. Deke Cooper finished with 17 points and 7 rebounds. Jarvis Hayes Jr. had 15 points and 7 rebounds.

SATURDAY, MARCH 8

CLASS A D-I

#1 No. 3 Fannin County 51, #2 No. 1 Banks County 42: Fannin County (29-2) snapped Banks County’s 22-game winning streak to claim the school’s third state title, first since 1999. A high scoring first quarter saw Banks County (25-6) lead 17-14 and 23-20 at the half. In the third quarter, the Rebels ripped off a 12-2 run to take control 32-25 but the Leopards responded with a 6-0 close to trail 32-31 entering the fourth. Fannin County scored the first five points of the final stanza as Izzie Jabaley sank a corner three to extend the lead to 37-31 as the Rebels shot 4-13 from deep but 3-6 in the second half while Banks managed just 2-12 for the game. At the 5:13 mark, Reese Lewis picked up her fourth foul and went to the bench with Fannin County up 39-33. The Rebels went on a mini 5-2 spurt as Maggie Ledford netted a three, the junior the star of the game finishing with 22 points and 7 rebounds on 10-15 shooting and 2-4 from deep. The Rebels withstood poor foul shooting, going just 11-23 from the line and 7-16 in the fourth quarter but relied on their defense to hold the Leopards at bay, just 6-26 (23%) from the field after halftime. Reese and Ryleigh Murphy scored 9 points apiece to lead the Leopards. Lewis double-doubled for the Rebels with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. Fannin County handled Banks County’s 2-2-1 press, turning the ball over just 15 times after the Leopards forced 37 Model turnovers in the Final Four.  Jabaley recorded 9 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and just 3 turnovers. Banks County turned the ball over 18 times, leading to 13 Fannin County points.

#15 No. 3 BEST Academy 62, #1 No. 2 Southwest-Macon 56: BEST Academy (25-7) used a 25-11 fourth quarter including a 10-0 run over the final 2:16 to bewilder hometown Southwest-Macon (27-3) to win their first ever state title and deny the Patriots a seventh championship. Down 45-37 going into the fourth, BEST Academy deployed a 1-2-2 press to get back into the game. The Eagles last led 24-23 in the second quarter before Jacob Mickell scored at the 1:06 mark to take a 58-56 lead. Mickell finished with 15 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists while Joshua Mickell scored a game-high 16 points. Nick Dozier scored eight of his 14 points to pair with his 9 rebounds in the fourth quarter. The Eagles went 8-14 from the field and 8-12 from the line in the fourth quarter. Southwest-Macon was powered by CJ Howard’s 31 points and 5 rebounds. Chase Dupree had 10 points.

SLAM DUNK CONTEST

CLASS 6A

R4 #2 No. 7 Newton 59, R4 #1 No. 2 Grayson 56: The fourth time was a charm for Newton (25-5) as the Rams won their first state title by finally knocking off defending state champ Grayson (30-2), snapping their 30-game winning streak. London Smith would not be denied, the sophomore dropping in 23 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block after netting 28 points in the Final Four. Deadlocked at 13 after one, Newton led 26-25 at the half and took their largest lead of the game at the 1:15 mark of the third up 48-40 behind Smith’s 11-point quarter before Grayson closed on a 4-0 run highlighted by Jacksonville-signee Tatum Brown’s And-1 jumper right before the horn. Grayson last led 29-28 in the third quarter, never holding a lead in the fourth. A three from Liyah Williams cut the deficit to 48-47 early in the frame but Newton responded with a 7-3 spurt. Grayson had a chance to tie the game with under a minute to play but Brown was blocked by Smith with 48 seconds left. Grayson got a stop at the 23.3 mark but turned the ball over when racing up the sideline after an inbound. With 15 seconds left, Smith split a pair of free throws, giving the Rams one last chance to tie it. A Coco Rudolph straightaway three was off the mark however and a second attempt at a three-pointer never came. Newton’s size hurt Grayson at times, outrebounding the Rams 35-23, outscoring Grayson 32-24 in the paint and converting 17 second chance points. The game featured four tied scores and 11 lead changes, seven in the first half. Camille Files posted 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals while Mya Perry had 8 points and 6 rebounds for Newton. Grayson got 16 points and 6 rebounds from Brown, followed by 15 points and 6 rebounds from Rudolph. Zoie Lofton netted 11 points.

R5 #1 No. 2 Wheeler 61, R4 #2 No. 6 Newton 56: Wheeler (29-3) jumped out to a 20-10 lead and looked like they would coast to their 10th state title but Newton (22-10) fought tooth and nail, pushing the Wildcats to the brink before bowing out in the final moments. Minnesota football-signee Zachry Harden drained a three-point shot from halfcourt to send the Rams into the half down 34-30, hitting five of their final seven shots to gain momentum. A pair of Harden free throws at the 3:20 mark of the third gave the Rams their first lead since 6-5, up 42-40. Newton held a 46-44 advantage heading into the fourth quarter before the Wildcats outscored the Rams 17-10, propelled a 10-4 run to close, Newton’s last lead 52-51 with 2:42 to play after App State-signee Ted Neal had back-to-back possessions with emphatic blocks, the second sparking a transition layup for Marcus Smith II who finished with 7 points and 6 assists. With 19.6 seconds left, Bryce Jackson split a pair of free throws to draw the Rams to within 57-56 but Colben Landrew, who had 19 points and 8 rebounds, coolly hit two free throws with 14.2 seconds remaining to make it 59-56. Newton got the ball to Harden on a sideline out of bounds and got a clean look, but the shot clanged off the rim. Harden, who had a game-high 26 points and 7 rebounds, hunted down the miss and immediately forced a jump ball to retain possession with 10 seconds to play. Off a baseline out of bounds, Jordan Green, who had 16 points, missed a fading away corner three and Landrew knocked down two free throws to ice it. Kevin Savage provided Wheeler with 19 points. Newton battled foul trouble all game as Harden fouled out while Neal, Jackson, Smith and RJ Wilson all finished with four fouls.