CLASS 7A
Saturday, March 2 at Georgia State
R3 #1 No. 4 North Paulding 57, R5 #1 No. 9 Cherokee 54: Marina Sippola, Kaden McCorvey and Morgan Landrum all scored 10 points to propel North Paulding (25-6) to their first-ever state title berth. McCorvey snagged 8 rebounds. Ava Andrews (9), Wheeling-signee Jayda Jackson (8) and Andrea Landrum (8) all contributed offensively.
R4 #1 No. 1 Grayson 66, R1 #1 No. 10 Lowndes 25: Grayson (31-0) continued their journey toward a perfect season, overwhelming Lowndes (22-5). Georgia Tech-signee Danielle Carnegie exploded for 25 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 steals. Florida Atlantic-signee Erin Rodgers posted 14 points, 18 rebounds and 3 assists. Nicholls State-signee Malaya Jones tallied 10 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Taj Hunter added 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks.
CLASS 6A
Saturday, March 2 at West Georgia
R8 #1 No. 2 North Forsyth 43, R1 #2 No. 7 Veterans 33: North Forsyth’s quest for a perfect 32-0 season continues after London Weaver and Gabbie Gliatta scored 15 points apiece to eliminate Veterans (24-7). Gabby Minus led the Warhawks with 14 points and Nariah Nelson had 8.
R4 #1 No. 3 Marist 72, R6 #1 No. 1 River Ridge 69 OT: Marist (29-1) shocked the defending state champs River Ridge (26-5) in overtime as Kate Harpring carried the War Eagles, leading the comeback after trailing by 11 points in the fourth quarter with 47 points. River Ridge was led by Kayla Cleaveland’s 18 points. Allie Sweet had 16 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals in her final game. Makayla Roberson posted 12 points and 5 assists while Sophia Pearl tallied 9 points and 7 assists. Freshman Finley Parker scored 9.
CLASS 5A
Friday, March 1 at West Georgia
R5 #1 No. 2 Maynard Jackson 77, R7 #2 Cartersville 57: Maynard Jackson (28-1) raced past Cartersville (18-13) to punch their ticket to the state title game. Shakira Gresham netted 29 points while Taliah Cornish posted 21.
R5 #2 No. 4 Midtown 73, R7 #1 No. 5 Dalton 63: Midtown (27-5) will get a fourth crack at Maynard Jackson as the Knights pushed past Dalton (21-10) to make it to their first-ever state championship. Briaiah Lewis netted 22 points and Sinclair Richman had 16 to power the Knights. The Catamounts saw Emma Hefner produce 22 points while North Georgia-signee Grace Ridley pumped in 17.
CLASS 4A
Saturday, March 2 at Fort Valley State
R2 #1 No. 1 Baldwin 55, R4 #2 No. 6 Fayette County 32: Janaye Walker posted 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 blocks as Baldwin (28-2) advanced back to Macon. Kassidy Neal had 11 points and 7 rebounds. Mount St. Mary’s-signee Madison Ruff tallied 8 points, 5 rebounds, 6 steals and 2 blocks.
R1 #1 No. 2 Hardaway 57, R8 #2 No. 9 North Oconee 44: Mikayla Johnson dumped in 20 points for Hardaway (27-4) while Akilah Shelton added 11 and Adazha Burrell pitched in 9. Oklahoma softball-commit Kendall Wells led North Oconee (22-10) with 18 points and 16 rebounds. Lolly Willis added 15 points and 7 rebounds in defeat.
CLASS 3A
Saturday, March 2 at Savannah State
R8 #1 No. 1 Hebron Christian 97, R1 #2 No. 9 Monroe 42: Mia James (24), Danielle Osho (17), Camryn Register (12), Ja’kerra Butler (12) and Aubrey Beckham (12) led Hebron Christian (29-2) in scoring. Freshman phenom Kie’Aundria Acree paced Monroe (21-10) with 18 points. Ciarra Lunsford added 9 points while Taylor McKinzy netted 8.
R7 #1 No. 2 Wesleyan 71, R1 #1 No. 3 Carver-Columbus 57: Johanna Potter (18), Texas-signee Bryanna Preston (16) and Georgia Tech-signee Chit-Chat Wright (13) led Wesleyan (27-3) past Carver-Columbus (23-7) to set up a long awaited showdown with Hebron Christian for the state title. In the loss, Camryn Thomas scored 18.
CLASS 2A
Saturday, March 2 at Georgia College
R4 #2 No. 2 Josey 45, R2 #1 No. 6 Central-Macon 38: The guard play of KeAsia Henderson and Kerri Fluellen guided Josey (28-4) past Central-Macon (26-5), the Eagles also utilizing a 24-6 run to take control, starting their stretch late in the first half after trailing 17-11. Josey raced ahead 35-23 in the fourth quarter after being deadlocked at 17 at halftime. The Chargers surged back and cut the lead to 35-29 but wouldn’t get any closer as the Eagles put the game away behind their backcourt. Henderson finished with 18 points and 4 steals. Fluellen had 14 points, 3 rebounds and 4 steals. The Chargers were powered by Talladega College-signee Alaya Grane’s 14 points and Jazlyn Johnson’s 11 points and 10 rebounds.
R6 #1 No. 1 Mt. Paran 72, R7 #1 No. 7 Murray County 44: Mt. Paran (28-3) rolled past Murray County (24-7) for a chance to three-peat as state champs. Jessica Fields pumped in 22 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks while Campbell-signee Ciara Alexander had 20 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Jacalyn Myrthil tallied 19 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals. Katali Youmans went for 6 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals. Murray County saw Callan Ledford put up 14 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Skyler Mahoney chipped in 12 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 2 blocks followed by freshman Miley McClure’s 9 points.
CLASS A D-I
Friday, March 1 at Georgia College
R6 #2 No. 2 Galloway 60, R8 #1 No. 4 Rabun County 45: Galloway (19-10) limited Rabun County (24-7) to just four threes and saw the Thompsons carry the load to advance back to the state championship. Georgia Tech-signee Tianna Thompson finished with 28 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals while Taryn Thompson recorded 15 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal. Western Carolina-signee Lucy Hood closed her illustrious career with 22 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal while Presbyterian-signee Ellie Southards netted 15 points and 3 rebounds. The LadyCats trailed 28-22 at the half and 42-35 after three following a last-second layup from Libby Abdur-Rahim. Rabun County cut the lead to 47-41 at the 4:44 mark in the fourth quarter but saw Galloway finish the game on a 13-4 stretch.
R6 #1 No. 1 St. Francis 70, R8 #2 No. 3 Athens Christian 38: St. Francis (23-7) pulled away in the second half from Athens Christian (24-5) after leading 27-16 at the half. Up 44-31 after three, the Knights put the game away with an explosive 26-7 final stanza. Nya Young posted 20 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Austin Peay-signee SaMya Wyatt had 13 points and 7 rebounds while Giaunni Rogers netted 11 points and Desi Taylor chipped in 10. Emmanuel-signee Natalee Goff closed her career with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks for the Eagles. Josi Vaughn had 8 points and Marlene Mbilima finished with 4 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks.
CLASS A D-II
Friday, March 1 at Fort Valley State
R3 #1 No. 3 Montgomery County 61, R2 #1 No. 5 Clinch County 57: Montgomery County (30-1) got 29 points from Marley Bell and 21 from Amire Banks. Clinch County (21-5) received 24 points from Amariah Dean.
R7 #1 No. 1 Greenforest 64, R6 #1 No. 2 Taylor County 35: Greenforest (26-5) bowled over Taylor County (27-4) to clinch a berth in the state title game. Lana Koricanac posted 18 points while Ndate Ndiaye added 13 points. Central Florida-signee Arek Angui added 8 points. Trista Bennett led Taylor County with 10 points.
