WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6

CLASS A D-II

R7 #1 No. 1 Greenforest 39, R3 #1 No. 3 Montgomery County 28: A 10-0 run spanning the end of the third quarter into the fourth quarter gave Greenforest (27-5) the separation needed to pull away from a scrappy Montgomery County (30-2) team, giving the Eagles their first state title. Greenforest trailed 8-5 after one and led 14-12 at the break as both teams struggled from the field, a combined 9-58. In the third quarter Greenforest began to establish 6-foot-6 UCF-signee Arek Angui inside, seeing the lanky post score with her turnaround jumper. The Eagles outscored Montgomery County 26-8 in the paint after being tied 4-4 at the half. Greenforest only won the rebounding battle 46-45. Angui finished with 10 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks while Milica Lazarevic added 11 points and 5 rebounds. Montgomery County was held to 9-62 (14.5%) shooting. Star senior Marley Bell ended her career with 13 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Amire Banks added 7 points on 3-22 shooting.

R7 #1 No. 1 Greenforest 68, R6 #2 Manchester 39: Greenforest (27-4) captured their fifth state title using a 22-7 third quarter to bury Manchester (20-9), outscoring the Blue Devils 38-20 in the second half. Up 30-19 at the half, Greenforest’s size and sharpshooting proved too much for the Blue Devils to contend with. Elijah Lewis dropped in 18 points to pace Greenforest. The Eagles held the Blue Devils scoreless for nearly three minutes as Greenforest soared ahead on a 7-0 run. Caleb Kawela provided the Eagles with 11 points and 11 rebounds as Greenforest outrebounded Manchester 56-29 and outscored the Blue Devils 34-20 in the paint. Daniel Daramola totaled 9 points, 7 rebounds and 1 block. Greenforest shot 39% from the field compared to Manchester’s 27.5%. The Blue Devils were led by Treylin Jones who finished with 14 points. Daryus Bryant collected 10 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 blocks.

CLASS 4A

R2 #1 No. 1 Baldwin 47, R1 #1 No. 2 Hardaway 39: After seeing a state title slip away last year, Baldwin (29-2) rallied from down 27-11 in the third quarter to stun Hardaway (27-5) for the school’s fourth state title, first since three-peating between 1986-88. With both teams playing 1-3-1 zones, points were hard to come by, especially in the first half. Hardaway led 15-9 at the break, holding the Bravettes to three points in the second quarter. The Hawks got momentum early in the third quarter building a 27-11 lead at the 5:18 mark riding a 12-2 run, forcing turnovers and getting balanced contributions offensively. Baldwin stormed back with 16-2 run highlighted by a 13-0 spurt to close the gap to 29-27 with 6:55 to play in the fourth quarter, but Hardaway would respond and drew Janaye Walker’s fourth foul at the 5:17 mark up 32-29. Mount St. Mary’s-signee Madison Ruff converted a tough And-1 to knot the game at 36 with 3:22 to play. Walker fouled out at the 1:31 mark tied at 39, finishing with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Ruff struck again at the 1:14 mark, finding Kassidy Neal for a hoop to give Baldwin their first lead since 2-0 50 seconds into the game. Ruff, who scored nine of her team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter, also finished with 8 rebounds and 2 assists. The Hawks closed the game on a 16-3 run, including scoring the final 11 points of the game as the Hawks were held scoreless over the final 2:48. Neal finished with 9 points and 7 rebounds for the Bravettes who outscored Hardaway 22-10 in the final frame. The Hawks were led by Adazha Burrell’s 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Akilah Shelton posted 12 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks while Mikayla Johnson netted 9 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, all her points in the second half.

R8 #1 No. 3 North Oconee 65, R6 #1 No. 5 Holy Innocents’ 60 : A balanced attack and bevy of three-pointers helped North Oconee (30-3) upend Holy Innocents’ (26-7) for their first state title in school history. Down 29-25 at the half, the Titans went on a 14-0 run sprung by four consecutive threes to jump ahead 44-33. Holy Innocents’ wouldn’t lead again after the stretch which saw freshman Justin Wise bury three of his five three-pointers en route to finishing with 19 points. North Oconee would go 9-24 from deep, including 6-12 from distance in the second half. Khamari Brooks, who did a great job defending Caleb Wilson in the first half, picked up his fourth foul with 1:33 to play in the third quarter. Wilson quickly got to work, and propelled the Golden Bears to a 7-1 run to finish the third quarter down 45-40. Fast forward to 39.1 seconds left in regulation, Holy Innocents’ still trailed 60-57 after Devin Hutcherson ripped away steal under the North Oconee basket for two of his 23 points to pair with his 13 rebounds. The Golden Bears got a stop on defense but with Wilson trapped in the corner on offense, the star junior called a timeout but had none left, resulting in a technical foul where Justin Payne split a pair of free throws to put the game out of reach for good. Wilson finished with 26 points (9-11 FT; 3-4 3PT), 18 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks but the balance of North Oconee was too much. Byrd Carter piled in 20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block while Brooks tallied 14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Evan Montgomery provided 7 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block while Payne had 5 points, 8 assists and 2 steals. The Titans beat the Golden Bears in transition, outscoring them 12-2 in fastbreaks and turning 12 Holy Innocents’ turnovers into 15 points while turning the ball over only six times.

THURSDAY, MARCH 7

CLASS 2A

R6 #1 No. 1 Mt. Paran 59, R4 #2 No. 2 Josey 52: Mt. Paran (29-3) didn’t make a field goal the last 6:18 of the game but the Eagles shot 12-24 from the foul line in the fourth quarter and 23-40 for the game to three-peat as state champs. Campbell-signee Ciara Alexander put in 22 points and 7 rebounds while shooting 8-13 from the line while Jessica Fields collected 16 points, 14 rebounds, 2 steals and 6 blocks, going 10-15 from the line. Tied at 27 at the half, Josey (28-4) never led in the second half as the Eagles slowly pulled away. Kerri Fluellen was electric for Josey with 11 of her 20 points coming in the first quarter before fouling out at the 1:58 mark down 53-46. KeAsia Henderson supplied support with 17 points. Mt. Paran saw Kitali Youmans post 5 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists and 5 steals. Jacalyn Myrthil had 11 points.

R4 #1 No. 1 Westside-Augusta 64, R3 #1 No. 4 Toombs County 29: Westside-Augusta (28-4) controlled the pace from the opening tip, jumping out to a 10-0 run to race away from Toombs County (29-3) to claim their third consecutive title. 11 players scored for Westside led by Lavonta Ivery’s 14 points and Jarious Adkinson’s electrifying 11 off the bench highlighted by a handful of dunks. The Patriots outscored the Bulldogs 34-6 in the paint, 12-0 in transition and 28-6 via the bench. Dominic Eason led Toombs County with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. The Bulldogs trailed 16-7 after one and 31-14 at the half. Westside held Toombs County to just eight made field goals and a 24.2% success rate. The Patriots converted on 26 attempts and took 20 more shots than the Dogs.

COED THREE-POINT CONTEST

1. North Hall
2. Commerce
3. Trion/Lowndes

CLASS 5A

R5 #1 No. 2 Maynard Jackson 58, R5 #2 No. 4 Midtown 44: For the fourth time this season, Maynard Jackson (29-1) defeated region rival Midtown (27-6) to claim the program’s elusive first state title. Down 14-10 after the first quarter, the Jaguars ripped off a 14-0 run which grew to a 24-6 spurt that gave Maynard Jackson an 11-point lead midway through the third quarter after holding a 28-22 advantage at halftime. Turnovers were the story as they were all year for the Knights against Maynard Jackson, coughing the ball up 22 times after turning it over 29, 17 and 17 times during their first three meetings. The Jaguars scored 27 points off turnovers and netted 18 fastbreak points. Briaiah Lewis was held to six minutes in the first half after picking up two fouls and finished her career with 1 point and 10 rebounds. Midtown trimmed the lead to 38-35 with 6:33 to play on a Devin Bockman jumper, two of her game-high 23 points on 7-11 shooting, 4-5 from beyond the arc, but the Jags would respond with a 9-0 run which featured a three-pointer from Kennedie Cooper, Maynard Jackson’s first make from distance after missing their first 11 attempts.  The Jaguars outscored the Knights 36-12 in the paint. Shakira Gresham led Maynard Jackson with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 steals and 2 blocks. Aaliyah Weaver posted 13 points while Taliah Cornish added 11. Hailey Wortmann battled foul trouble and provided the Knights with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks.

R6 #1 No. 1 Kell 62, R2 #1 No. 3 Eagle’s Landing 51: After beating Eagle’s Landing 61-53 last year in the state championship, the Longhorns (28-3) topped the Eagles (23-8) again behind a decisive 8-0 run in the fourth quarter. Kell led wire-to-wire in a close game, up 26-24 at the half. A 6-0 run from Eagle’s Landing knotted the score at 35 at the 2:29 mark of the third quarter but the Longhorns closed on a subsequent 7-0 spurt keyed by a Connor Staphylaris corner three right before the buzzer to surge ahead 45-37. Staphylaris, who finished with 9 points, drilled back-to-back threes part of an 8-0 jolt that pushed Kell to a 55-42 advantage with 4:51 left in regulation. Before the Staphylaris daggers, it was South Florida-signee CJ Brown who answered every Eagles threat. Brown tallied 21 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block to close his career, excelling at getting to the rim and scoring through traffic. Alabama A&M-signee Jaylen Colon provided 14 points while Cannon Richards posted 8 points and 10 rebounds in the win. Eagle’s Landing saw Chris Morris II record 17 points and 6 rebounds. Dwight Brown pitched in 9 points and 8 rebounds.

FRIDAY, MARCH 8

CLASS 3A

R8 #1 No. 1 Hebron Christian 62, R7 #1 No. 2 Wesleyan 60: A Chit-Chat Wright three-pointer trimmed the Hebron Christian (30-2) lead to 19-18 at the 4:20 mark of the second quarter but the Lions responded with a 13-2 run to close the half and lead 32-20 at the break, before surviving in the second half to repeat as state champs. Hebron outrebounded a relentless Wesleyan (27-4) 40-27 and held the Wolves to 31% from the field. Danielle Osho posted 14 points and 15 rebounds in the win. Texas-signee Bryanna Preston powered Wesleyan with 22 points and 10 rebounds. The Wolves closed the third quarter on a 7-0 run to enter the fourth down 47-35 after trailing by as many as 23 points and sliced the lead to 49-40 after a Shayla Bahr three but Johanna Potter fouled out with 4 points for Wesleyan at the 6:02 mark. A pair of Wright free throws put the Wolves behind 55-48 with 2:40 left and trailed 61-56 with 20.6 seconds left after a Wright three. The Georgia Tech-signee finishing with 24 points, 14 coming in the fourth quarter sparking a frantic comeback, outscoring Hebron 25-15 in the final period. Following a technical foul on the Hebron bench and a foul on a jump shot, the Wolves found themselves down just two with 6.8 left to play. Coming out of a timeout, the Wolves were unable to get a shot up, turning the ball over.

R5 #1 No. 1 Sandy Creek 74, R3 #2 Johnson-Savannah 49: Sandy Creek (27-3) ripped off a 27-4 run in the first half to pull ahead for good and claim their second consecutive state title. The upset-minded Atomsmashers (20-12) went blow for blow with the Patriots, tied at 11 midway through the first quarter before Sandy Creek found their groove. Jacobi Robinson netted eight of his 18 points in the frame to spring the Pats to an early lead. Sandy Creek shot 6-13 from beyond the arc in the first half to build a 42-22 lead and finished the game 8-19. James Madison-signee Micah Smith posted 15 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 5 blocks. Five Patriots reached double figures with Jared White (12), Missouri baseball-signee PJ Green (12) and Amari Brown (11) all producing. Joshua Quarterman paced Johnson-Savannah with 20 points and 5 rebounds. Favion Kirkwood netted 16 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks.

GIRLS THREE-POINT CONTEST

First Place: Lizzie McGrath – Riverwood
Second Place: I’ziah McCutchins – Trion
Third Place: Ellie Southards – Rabun County/Amira Walters-Smith – Colquitt County

CLASS 6A

R4 #1 No. 3 Marist 67, R8 #1 No. 2 North Forsyth 48: Marist (30-1) shot a blistering 63% and saw Kate Harpring rack up 27 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals and 1 block before fouling out at the 2:29 mark up 62-45 as an encore performance after netting 47 points in the Final Four to power the War Eagles to their second title in three years. Tied at 16 after one quarter, North Forsyth (31-1) fell off pace, outscored 16-7 in the second quarter to enter the break down 32-23. Abby Lindsay sank a pair of threes for the War Eagles in the frame and finished with 13 points. Hannah Faklaris posted 16 points. North Forsyth got a buzzer-beating three from London Weaver to send the game into the fourth quarter trailing 54-38. Weaver would finish with 15 points and 4 rebounds. Gabbie Gliatta tacked on 16 points and Emma Rose scored 10.

R4 #4 No. 7 Riverwood 67, R5 #1 No. 1 Alexander 63 OT: History was made in scintillating fashion as Riverwood (25-7) stunned the defending state champs after trailing 12-1 to open the game, forcing overtime on a pair of Vanderbilt-signee Karris Bilal free throws at the 1:04 mark of regulation. Riverwood trailed Alexander (29-3) at the half 29-26, shooting just 19% from the field, but buoyed by JR Leonard’s 13-16 shooting from the foul line. In total, Leonard would go 19-23 from the charity stripe as the Raiders went 25-32 while shooting just 2-23 from beyond the arc. Riverwood took their first lead of the game with 6:20 to play in the third quarter, 32-31, but would lead for just 16 seconds before falling behind again. Alexander held a 43-39 lead through three quarters but couldn’t gain any separation. Kennesaw State-signee Braedan Lue led the Cougars with 26 points and 13 rebounds while Chris Hutchinson stepped up with 15 points and 9 rebounds, but fouls were a major problem throughout, especially in the backcourt as Alexander was whistled for 27 fouls as they struggled to contain Leonard. The star junior gave Riverwood their first lead since early in the third quarter when he scored at the 3:30 mark of the fourth quarter to go ahead 52-51. From there, the score would see-saw, Jermaine Freeman putting the Cougars up 54-52 after converting an And-1 with three minutes to play but the South Cobb transfer would foul out with 1:04 to play with 8 points as Bilal netted a pair of free throws to deadlock the game at 57, forcing overtime. In the extra period, Bilal hit a pull-up jumper with 2:13 to play to take the lead, two of his 17 points to pair with his 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Jesse Graves, who had 5 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal, hit a short jumper in the lane to go up 61-57 with 90 seconds left before Leonard sank two more free throws to lead 63-57, part of his 31 points and 5 rebounds. Lue trimmed the lead to 64-63 with 26.8 left to play, but Kaleb Bilal coolly sank a pair of free throws before Leonard buried the dagger from the line to make it a four-point game. The Raiders led for just 2:57 of the game, trailing Alexander for 27:12.

SATURDAY, MARCH 9

CLASS A D-I

R6 #1 No. 1 St. Francis 74, R6 #2 No. 2 Galloway 71 OT: A 6:30 scoring drought for Galloway (19-11) in the second quarter nearly cost the Scots a chance at a state title as St. Francis (24-7) utilized a 16-0 run to jump ahead 30-17 and lead 30-19 at the half before a Tianna Thompson barrage got the Scots back in it before ultimately falling to St. Francis (24-7) for the third time this season and second straight year in the state championship. Thompson exploded in the third quarter with 11 points and two free throws from freshman Sophia Louis-Pierre pushed Galloway ahead 40-38 before settling for a 42-40 deficit after three quarters. Austin Peay-signee SaMya Wyatt, the reigning Class A D-I Player of the Year, was saddled with foul trouble and attempted just two shots over 14 minutes over the first three quarters. Wyatt, who scored 13 of her 27 points in the fourth quarter of last year’s championship, scored eight points over the fourth quarter and overtime to finish her career with 10 points on the day. A transition layup from Thompson, a Georgia Tech-signee, put the Scots up 62-60 with 69 seconds left but Wyatt would knot the game up from the foul line seconds later and the score would head into the extra period deadlocked at 62 after a Desi Taylor layup with three seconds left rimmed out for the Knights. Up two in overtime, Nya Young delivered a dagger three from the wing with 32 seconds left to take a five-point lead. Freshman Giaunni Rogers led St. Francis with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists while Amelia Basit double-doubled with 12 points and 11 rebounds.  Thompson led all scorers with 37 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Louis-Pierre stepped up with 18 points and Taryn Thompson netted 8 in a game that featured 12 lead changes and 14 tied scores.

R6 #1 No. 1 Mt. Vernon 48, R6 #2 No. 2 Paideia 40: Paideia (17-13) scrapped and clawed but a 17-4 third quarter did in the baby snakes as Mt. Vernon (24-9) was able to dominate inside to pull away for the school’s first state title, beating Paideia for the second time this season after cruising to the Region 6 title 66-48.  After being outscored 10-4 in the paint in the first half, trailing 23-18 on the scoreboard against Paideia, the Mustangs outscored the Pythons in the paint 12-0 in the third quarter and went on a 12-1 run to lead 35-27 following three quarters. Mt. Vernon would finish the game with a 22-16 advantage in the paint and outrebounded the Pythons 34-24. West Georgia-signee Xavier Shegog led the charge after a 1-point first half, totaling 18 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. KJ Garris added 10 points and 8 rebounds while Sha’Yah Goba racked up 10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. Georgia State-signee Trey Scott had 9 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocks, the Mustangs blocking 10 shots total. Freshman Tristan Mitchell powered Paideia with 16 points. Frank Jackson fouled out with 5 points and David Oglesby-Smith fouled out with 4. CJ Harper netted 6 points.

BOYS SLAM DUNK CONTEST

1. Jeremy Bell – Clinch County
2. Chris Perry – Bradwell Institute
3. Evan Montgomery – North Oconee
4. Dylan Barbra – East Coweta

CLASS 7A

R4 #1 No. 1 Grayson 65, R3 #1 No. 4 North Paulding 44: There was no let down on the pursuit to perfection as Georgia’s best rolled to their first ever state title, Grayson (32-0) racing past North Paulding (25-7) for the second time this season. A slow start saw both teams tied at 2 early on, but a decisive 15-0 run moved the Rams ahead 17-2 and would never trail. Georgia Tech-signee Danielle Carnegie tallied 21 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals while Florida Atlantic-signee Erin Rodgers contributed 18 points and 6 rebounds. Grayson outscored North Paulding 42-20 in the paint and scored 27 points off 19 Wolfpack turnovers, 14 miscues which came in the first half. The Rams recorded 14 fastbreak points and 22 second chance points. Tatum Brown had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals while Nicholls State-signee Malaya Jones added on 10 points and 3 assists. North Paulding received 12 points from Marina Sippola and 7 apiece from Wheeling-signee Jayda Jackson and Ava Andrews while Andrea Landrum netted 8 points off the bench.

R4 #1 No. 1 Grayson 51, R3 #1 No. 2 McEachern 41: Grayson (30-2) edged Rutgers-signee Ace Bailey and McEachern (26-6) for the second time this season to finally claim the program’s first state title and sweep Class 7A along with the girls. McEachern opened the game ice cold, just 1-17 from the field but trailed only 11-5 after one quarter. The Indians surged ahead 22-20 at the 1:42 mark of the second, but Grayson closed on a 6-0 run highlighted by two Jacob Wilkins slams to enter the break up 26-22 and never trailed again, the Rams leading for 29:15 minutes compared to just 33 seconds of an Indian advantage. The UGA-commit Wilkins had multiple highlight plays with slams that broke the back of the Indians, finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Bailey did his best to lead McEachern, scoring 14 points in the first half, but the five-star prospect was clamped down to just 18 total points in the game to go along with his 6 rebounds and 2 assists, finishing 8-20 from the field as the Indians as a whole shot 30.5%, buoyed by a 53.3% second quarter in which they scored 17 points. The Rams outscored McEachern’s bench 11-0 and outrebounded the Indians 47-27, College of Sequoias-commit Ahmad Clark providing a spark off the bench with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Purdue-signee Gicarri Harris tallied 9 points and 5 rebounds followed by Western Carolina-signee CJ Hyland’s 8 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. McEachern received 10 points and 6 rebounds from Nnadozie Onyirimba, the only other Indian in double figures.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8

CLASS A D-II

R2 #2 No. 5 Clinch County 45, R8 #1 No. 1 Lake Oconee Academy 42: The Pantherettes (27-4) held the defending state champs and wire-to-wire number one-ranked team scoreless over the final 3:38 to capture their first title since 1993.  Clinch County led Lake Oconee Academy (28-3) the entire first half until the Titans surged ahead on an 8-2 run to start the third quarter to move ahead 28-22. Lake Oconee Academy led 36-30 after three quarters, but struggled to contain Clinch County’s size. Tyana Dorsey finished with 19 points and 20 rebounds, leading the Pantherettes’ charge on the glass, winning the boards 43-31. Freshman Amariah Dean did the vast majority of her damage in the first half, finishing with 9 points, 10 rebounds and 5 steals. Lake Oconee Academy was powered by Jada Williams’ 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. A 5-0 flurry from Williams gave the Titans’ their last lead of the game at the 3:38 mark, 42-41. Amyieon Grady, the Pantherettes’ leading scorer, came to life in the second half and provided 11 points. Lake Oconee Academy had a final look with 4.2 seconds coming out of a timeout, but Hannah Heinen, who tallied 10 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals, saw her shot fall short. Clinch County outscored the Titans 15-6 in the final frame and dominated the interior outscoring Lake Oconee Academy 36-8 in the paint.

R5 #1 No. 4 Wilkinson County 40, R2 #1 No. 9 Charlton County 36: It took until the 1:56 mark of the fourth quarter to take their first lead of the game, but Wilkinson County (26-6) found a way to outlast Charlton County (29-3) after fouling out 6-foot-8 sophomore Elyiss Williams to capture their 11th state title and move to a remarkable 11-0 in the big game. Wilkinson County trailed 11-6 after one and 19-16 at the half as Charlton County’s zone stymied the Blue Storm. After three quarters of play, the Indians maintained a 25-20 advantage, but foul trouble continued to pile up. After hitting an important corner three, Jaylen King fouled out following a Justin Stanley answer at the 4:13 mark with the score 32-29 in favor of Charlton County. A Kwaveon Hill turnaround jumper gave the Blue Storm their first lead at 33-32 before just over a minute later Williams fouled out for the Indians with 10 points, 20 rebounds and 6 blocks. Charlton County would not score with Williams on the bench, a 5-0 finish from the Warriors as Stanley scored seven of his 11 points in the quarter. Hill finished with 12 points and 6 rebounds. The Indians had chances to extend the lead and draw closer late after trailing, but shot 2-5 from the foul line in the period and just 8-16 for the game.  Jarvis Wright netted 10 points and collected 5 steals in the loss.

CLASS 4A

R2 #1 No. 2 Griffin 51, R2 #2 No. 3 Baldwin 47: Griffin (27-4) claimed their first-ever state title, outlasting severe foul trouble the entire game. Zy Thompson and Samiah Puckett logged just 17 and 7 minutes, respectively as Janaye Walker chewed up the interior for the Bravettes (23-9). The sophomore finished with 21 points, 19 rebounds and 3 assists battling Griffin’s long front line, fouling out Puckett, an East Tennessee State-commit in the process.  The Bravettes led 25-20 at the half and could have been more, but Baldwin shot just 5-14 from the line and 11-21 for the game. Following a scoreless first half, Mississippi Valley State-signee Leah Turner found her groove, scoring all 17 of her points in the second half, five buckets coming via the three-point line where the Bears shot 9-22.  Griffin was in trouble early in the fourth as fellow MVSU-signee Aaliyah Duranham, who finished with a team-high 20 points and 7 rebounds, picked up her fourth foul at the 5:45 mark with Baldwin in front 43-38. Baldwin’s final bucket came on an And-1 basket from Kassidy Neal to make it 47-43 with 85 seconds remaining, but the sophomore who had 12 points on the night missed the free throw. Griffin then got a three from Zamiyah Hosley, her first hoop of the game, to make it a one-point game with 1:05 left. From there, Turner cashed in her fifth three of the night and on the ensuing possession got a steal and threw the ball off a Bravette to give possession back to the Bears all of a sudden with a 49-47 advantage with only 23.4 seconds left. Griffin closed on an 8-0 run as Turner scored eight points in the final frame. The win marked the Bears’ third in four games against Region 2 rival Baldwin. The Bravettes won the paint, outrebounding the Bears 40-26 and outscoring them 26-18 inside, but Griffin was plus-27 from the three-point line while Baldwin was 0-9 from deep.

R5 #2 No. 2 Pace Academy 66, R4 #1 No. 5 Fayette County 54: An 8-0 start to the third quarter pushed the Pace Academy (25-7) lead to 47-32, a lead the Knights would never lose as they won their fifth state title in school history.  A high scoring first half saw the Knights hold a 39-32 lead at the break after being tied with Fayette County (26-6) after one period. The tandem of LJ Moore and Kyle Greene scored 30 of Pace Academy’s first 32 points and finished with 42 combined for the night. The Knights punished the Tigers inside, outscoring Fayette County 52-22 in the paint and outrebounding them 41-19. Moore, who finished with 23 points and 7 rebounds, shot 10-16 from the field. Pace Academy led 55-42 after three quarters after winning the frame 16-10. Fayette County was led by Robert Hurst’s 12 points and Tobi Ijiwoye’s 10. 

THURSDAY, MARCH 9

CLASS 2A

R6 #1 No. 1 Mt. Paran 67, R8 #1 No. 3 Banks County 44: Banks County’s game plan of attacking Jessica Fields early worked in terms of taking the star sophomore off the court, but the Leopards (28-4) were unable to take advantage of just six minutes of Fields in the first half as Mt. Paran (31-1) led 18-8 after one period and 31-22 at the half en route to repeating as state champs. Fields picked up her third foul at the 2:16 mark of the first quarter with the Eagles up 9-4. Mt. Paran pushed their lead to 12 points before Banks County closed the gap at 26-20, but the Eagles finished the half on a 5-2 run as Ciara Alexander scored 16 first half points. The junior would finish with 26 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks while shooting 12-16 from the field. A 21-11 third quarter gave the Eagles all the separation they would need to hold off Banks County.  Fields quickly made an impact upon returning to the floor, tallying 15 points, 3 rebounds and 1 block in the third quarter. She would finish with 23 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks. Banks County was led by Ryleigh Murphy’s 14 points, Addison Hoard’s 10 points and Emmanuel-signee Kamryn Grier and Carley Segars’ 8 points apiece.  The Eagles shot 59% compared to Banks County’s 37% while outrebounding the Leopards 32-21 and outscoring them in the paint 40-28. The Eagles outscored Banks County 36-22 in the second half.

R4 #1 No. 1 Westside-Augusta 89, R8 #1 No. 7 Providence Christian 81 OT: In what was an all-time classic, somehow, someway, Westside-Augusta (25-7) was able to repeat as state champs, withstanding a 17 three-pointer barrage from the high-octane Storm (27-5). The Patriots found themselves down 36-32 at the half as Providence Christian went 7-15 from deep and would finish a blistering 17-34 from beyond the arc. In the third quarter the Storm grew their lead to 50-39 midway through the period but AuMauri Tillman would refuse to let go of the rope. The senior poured in 25 of his game-high 36 points in the second half including 11 in the third quarter but Providence Christian continued to trade twos for threes as Devin McClain scored 10 of his 21 points to match Tillman in the quarter. After three, Westside still had work to do down 58-54. With 3:47 to play, Jalexs Ewing drove to the basket to give the Patriots their first lead since the 6:57 mark of the third quarter as Westside inched ahead 63-61. It looked like McClain may have landed a dagger in the corner off a Thomas Malcolm assist in transition to make it 71-69 with 36 seconds left but Westside-Augusta saw Khalon Hudson snatch an offensive rebound  underneath the basket with 14 seconds to play and from a tough angle, some how spin the ball up and in without using the glass to tie the game at 71 and eventually send it to overtime. Malcolm opened with a three for Providence Christian but Westside surged ahead 79-76. Xavier Goss fouled out for Westside after they got a loose ball and were fouled. Goss was whistled for a technical foul but before he left the game got a chance to extend the lead with a pair of free throws but missed both. Samuel Thacker, who had team-high 22 points off 7-12 three-point shooting split his pair of technical foul shots, leaving the Storm down 79-77 with 58.6 seconds remaining. The Patriots pushed the lead out to four points on a DeMarco Middleton transition finish, but the Storm immediately rushed the ball down and found McClain for his fifth three to make it 81-80 with 38.7 seconds left. Up 83-80 with 27.7 seconds to play, the Patriots saw Dontrell Jackson, who played just eight minutes, rip away a steal from Thacker, giving the ball back to the Patriots. From there, Jackson missed a pair of free throws but got a crucial offensive rebound, the Patriots collecting 20 on the day and outrebounding the Storm 42-27 overall. Jackson would split a pair but then it was Ewing’s turn to sneak in for another offensive rebound to help put the game away has he went 1/2 from the stripe. Westside-Augusta would outscore the Storm 44-20 in the paint, net 23 points off turnovers and score 28 second chance points to survive the Storm’s unbelievable three-point shooting. Hudson posted 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Patriots while Ewing (18) and Middleton (11) both reached double figures as well. Before fouling out, Kamron Carryl provided the Storm with 16 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Malcolm finished with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

4Q; 2.8
No. 1 @WestsideHS 71
No. 7 @Prov_Hoops 71

MAYHEM!

2023 6-5 F @KhalonHudson makes a near impossible shot and now it’s back to the Pats pic.twitter.com/fmVpGaA4wR

— Kyle Sandy (@KyleSandy355) March 9, 2023

COED THREE-POINT CONTEST

First Place: Bella Brick & Landon Mealor – Flowery Branch
Second Place: Camiya Starks & Damaris Lewis – Griffin
Third Place: Ellie Southards & Cooper Welch – Rabun County

CLASS 5A

R6 #1 No. 1 Kell 57,  R2 #1 No. 2 Warner Robins 36: A 12-3 run to open the second half ballooned the lead to 36-16 and was enough to propel Kell (26-5) to their first-ever state title. The Longhorns led 21-5 early as Warner Robins (28-4) started the game 1-14 from the field with 12 turnovers. The Demonettes got back into it, holding Kell without a field goal over the final 4:43 but still trailed 24-13 at the half. Georgia State-commit Crystal Henderson finished her illustrious career with 29 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 7 steals. Jamiah Gregory contributed 15 points while MaKayah Harris had 8. Warner Robins was led by South Carolina State-signee Jada Morgan and Tori Davis’ 8 points apiece.

R6 #1 No. 1 Kell 61, R2 #1 No. 2 Eagle’s Landing 53: Kell (28-2) climbed the mountain top to their first state title, using an 18-6 fourth quarter to erase a tough 24-10 third quarter in which Eagle’s Landing (29-2) rallied to take as large as a six-point lead after trailing the entire first half. Kell was in good shape early, limiting Eagle’s Landing’s chances at transition offense and ripping off an 11-0 run to seize control at 18-6 and eventually finish the first quarter up 18-10. At the half, the Longhorns led 33-23 and controlled the glass 19-9 even with Auburn-commit Peyton Marshall held to just four minutes of action after picking up two fouls. As soon as Marshall got back on the floor to start the third quarter he converted two slam dunks to give the Longhorns’ their largest lead of the game at 37-23 at the 6:48 mark. From there, Eagle’s Landing picked themselves off the mat however behind Mercer-signee David Thomas who finished with a game-high 23 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Thomas netted 10 points in the quarter and helped spark a 16-2 run that tied the game at 39. Moments later with 1:32 on the clock, Eagle’s Landing took their first lead of the game on a pair of Thomas free throws, making it 43-41. The Eagle’s largest lead of the game was six points and settled for a 47-43 advantage after three quarters. Kell responded with a 7-2 spurt to open the fourth quarter, moving ahead 50-49. With 3:40 to play, Marshall checked back in with four fouls and went to work, going on a personal 5-0 run to give the Longhorns the lead for good at 55-51 with 2:01 remaining. Upon Marshall’s return, Kell closed the game on an 11-2 run. CJ Brown led the Longhorns with 22 point, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks while Cannon Richards provided 11 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 timely blocks. Kenneth Brayboy gave Eagle’s Landing 12 points, 6 rebounds and 5 blocks including back-to-back alley oop dunks during the Eagles’ 16-2 stretch.

FRIDAY, MARCH 10

CLASS 3A

R8 #1 No. 1 Hebron Christian 68,  R7 #2 No. 3 Lumpkin County 36: Cold shooting doomed Lumpkin County (26-5) as Hebron Christian (32-0) completed a perfect season. The Indians shot just 23% from the field while the Lions connected at a 53% rate including 7-16 from beyond the arc. Hebron Christian outrebounded the Indians 37-26, outscored them in the paint 32-14 and and forced 18 turnovers. The Lions never trailed, holding a 15-7 lead after one, 30-19 at the half and used a 16-6 third quarter to extend the lead to 46-25 heading into the fourth quarter. Aubrey Beckham led the Lions with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists while Ja’Kerra Butler added 16 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks. Amiya Porter added 12 points and Nickyia Daniel had 11. Averie Jones powered the Indians with 20 points, 14 which came in the first half.

R5 #1 No. 2 Sandy Creek 66, R5 #2 No. 7 Cedar Grove 38: Finally after close calls and heartbreak, Sandy Creek (26-6) captured their elusive state title for the first time in school history using an 18-0 second quarter to turn a one-point deficit after eight minutes into a commanding 17-point halftime lead. Cedar Grove (20-10) had a woeful second period, shooting 0-8 with six turnovers as they lost pace with the Patriots. In the third quarter, senior Vic Newsome scored 10 of his 14 points to power the Patriots. A balanced attack saw Micah Smith (17), PJ Green (16) and Amari Brown (10) all reach double figures, Smith adding 7 rebounds and Brown 8 boards. Cedar Grove was led by freshman Manny Green’s 11 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks while Darius Reynolds collected 10 points and 8 rebounds.

GIRLS THREE-POINT CONTEST

First Place: Ellie Southards – Rabun County
Second Place: Bella Brick – Flowery Branch
Third Place: I’ziah McCutchins – Trion
Fourth Place: Sariyah Chester – Pelham

CLASS 6A

R6 #1 No. 1 River Ridge 68, R3 #3 No. 3 Lovejoy 50:  The Knights finally landed a knockout blow in the fourth quarter, ripping off a 10-0 run and holding Lovejoy (26-6) scoreless for the final six minutes of the game to claim the first state title in River Ridge (27-5) history. The Knights led 16-15 after one quarter and 24-17 at the 5:14 mark when Bryanna Preston picked up her third foul. River Ridge extended their lead to 32-19 as Preston was banished to the bench with her fourth foul but Austin Peay-signee La’Nya Foster would sink back-to-back threes to draw the Wildcats closer and would head into the break down 36-29, finishing on a 10-4 run. The Knights sparked a 7-0 spurt to move ahead 43-31 behind Penn-signee Mataya Gayle’s five-straight points and would balloon the lead to 48-34 on a Kayla Cleaveland layup at the 4:35 mark. The defending state champs would claw back however, slashing into the lead with a 7-0 run of their own to make it 48-41, but the Knights would close the quarter up 55-45 as Gayle nailed a shot at the buzzer to extend the lead. Disaster struck for the short-benched Wildcats with 6:25 to play as Preston would foul out with Lovejoy down 58-48. River Ridge would close on a 10-0 run and hold the Wildcats scoreless the rest of the way after a Camiah Muldrow jumper. The Knights forced 19 turnovers converting them into 25 points. River Ridge outscored Lovejoy 26-14 in the paint and outrebounded the Wildcats 38-29. Gayle finished her career with 25 points, 2,015 over her four years , 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal, followed by Kayla Cleaveland’s 15 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals before fouling out and missing some time with an ankle injury. River Ridge’s deep attack saw Sophia Pearl provide 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals while Makayla Roberson netted 7 points and Allie Sweet collected 5 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals and 1 block. Lovejoy was powered by Foster’s 16 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks. Preston tallied 13 points (10-15 FT), 3 assists and 2 steals before fouling out. Morgan Bone (9) and India McIntosh (8) both stepped up offensively.

R5 #2 No. 2 Alexander 64, R1 #1 No. 10 Lee County 42:  A 13-0 run to close the third quarter propelled Alexander (27-5) to their first state title. Down 14-11 at the half and up 26-24 at the break, the Cougars rode Braedan Lue to 11 third quarter points to gain separation. The junior would finish with 26 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks. Following an Ousmane Kromah And-1 putback to tie the game at 33, Alexander seized control with Lue, Chattanooga-signee Noah Melson and JayQuan Nelson powering the charge. Two monster slams by Marvin McGhee and Lue put the exclamation point on the win early in the fourth quarter pushing the lead to 56-38. Melson ended his night with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists while Nelson provided 11 points.  Kromah paced Lee County (28-4) with 14 points and 9 rebounds. Caden King chipped in 8 points and 10 rebounds.

SATURDAY MARCH 11

CLASS A D-I

R6 #1 No. 1 St. Francis 76, R6 #2 No. 3 Galloway 74 OT:  St. Francis (27-6) overcame 30 turnovers, foul trouble and an 11-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter to win their fourth state title and first since 2016. The Knights, who beat Galloway (27-6) twice prior this season, leapt out to a 9-2 lead before the Scots rebounded and ripped off a 21-4 run to take control in a high scoring first quarter and head into the second period up 25-18. At the half, the two teams were deadlocked at 35. Both teams shot well from the field but the Knights especially struggled with the Galloway press, turning the ball over 15 times and eight more times in the third quarter where Galloway pulled ahead, North Florida-signee Kyla Cain scoring nine points in the frame after a scoreless first half. The Scots led 58-47 heading into the fourth quarter before the Knights responded with a 9-0 run to make it 58-56 as Sa’Mya Wyatt began to dominate inside. Wyatt would score 13 of her game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter while finishing with 10 rebounds and shooting 11-17 from the field. The Scots led 66-64 briefly with 37 seconds left in regulation but Wyatt would quickly answer with a short jumper and the game would head to overtime knotted at 66. In overtime, the Scots had chance to gain separation with Kennesaw State-signee Kailyn Fields at the line with Galloway leading 74-72 with 1:04 on the clock, but Fields, who finished with 4 points, 7 assists and 8 steals, missed the front end of the one-and-one and Wyatt sank a pair of free throws with 51.7 seconds left. Wyatt found herself at the line once again with 7.6 seconds left and buried a pair to gain the lead for good and finish her night 5-5 from the stripe. Galloway had a last opportunity at the buzzer as Tianna Thompson caught a post entry pass and took a short fadeaway on the block but Anaja Hall, who played a large bulk of the game with four fouls, used her 6-foot-4 reach to alter the shot. Nya Young had 21 points and 4 assists for St. Francis while Desi Taylor tallied 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists before fouling out. Kennesaw State-signee Trynce Taylor finished with 8 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Galloway was led by Tianna Thompson’s 23 points (13-15 FT), 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Cain posted 15 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists while freshman Taryn Thompson came off the bench to provide 14 points. Danaya Stokes had 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks before fouling out late.

R6 #4 No. 4 King’s Ridge 68, R6 #2 No. 2 Mt. Pisgah 58: Blistering shooting from King’s Ridge (23-10) landed the Tigers their first-ever state title, doing it the hard way as a four-seed through the state playoffs. King’s Ridge lost to region foe Mt. Pisgah (23-9) in their only prior meeting 74-65 in early December, but much had changed in three months as King’s Ridge led 21-9 after one quarter and 40-21 at the half. The Tigers shot 60.9% from the field in the first half and finished the game at 54%. Micah Hoover poured in 21 of his 25 points in the first half and snatched 8 rebounds while Zak Thomas netted 14 of his 24 points in the second half as King’s Ridge held a 54-38 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Micah Tucker wouldn’t let the Patriots go quietly into the night. The star sophomore scored seven points in the third quarter and helped trim the Tiger lead to 57-51 at the 4:19 mark of the fourth quarter after trailing by as many as 22 points, but would foul out with 3:45 remaining and the Patriots down 59-51, finishing his night with 19 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.  The Patriots got 11 points from Cedric Haynes and 10 from Tyson Pittman but it wasn’t enough for Mt. Pisgah whose only lead of the game came on the opening bucket.

SLAM DUNK CONTEST

First Place: Jalen Hilliard – McEachern
Second Place: Evan Montgomery – North Oconee
Third Place: Robert Skaggs – Prince Avenue Christian
Fourth Place: Caden Hinton – Trion

CLASS 7A

R4 #1 No. 1 Brookwood 43, R7 #1 No. 2 Norcross 39: Brookwood (31-1) was outrebounded by the smaller Lady Blue 40-29 and saw Norcross (29-3) a plus-18 in the three-point column but what the defending champs didn’t have was Diana Collins, the Ohio State-signee making all the plays late to guide the Broncos to their first ever title. Norcross jumped out to an early 16-9 lead after one period and held a slim 19-17 advantage heading into the half as they struggled to score. Norcross shot just 25.4% on the night, largely anchored down by a 8:37 scoreless span that wasn’t broken until a Veronaye Charlton layup at the 4:56 mark of the third quarter, the Lady Blue only down 23-21 at the time. Brookwood pushed the lead to 31-26 and would take a 31-28 advantage into the fourth quarter winning the frame 14-9. A quick 5-0 spurt from Charlton, who finished with a team-high 17 points and 8 rebounds, brought the Lady Blue even at 33 all. The Broncos saw Collins pick up her fourth foul at the 3:13 mark leading 35-33 but the Brookwood great would never foul out. She would finish with nine points in the quarter, 15 in the second half and go 5-6 from the line over the final 1:09 to help ice the game with a steal with six seconds to play up three the championship-clincher. Collins ended her illustrious career with 21 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. Danielle Osho had 10 points and 8 rebounds while UAB-signee Jade Weathersby collected 9 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks.  Jania Akins provided Norcross with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal, nine points coming in the first half. Kayla Lindsey snatched 16 rebounds.

R5 #1 No. 1 Wheeler 78, R5 #2 No. 8 Cherokee 58: Blistering hot shooting in the first half from Wheeler (26-6) got the Wildcats off to a 22-12 first quarter lead and 39-28 halftime advantage that they would grow throughout the second half en route to their ninth state title and their fourth win over the Warriors this season. Wheeler shot 71.4% from the field in the first half including 7-10 from deep and finished 66% on the night. Cherokee (25-7) scrapped with Wheeler for as long as they could, outshooting the Wildcats 57 attempts to 47 and grabbing 13 offensive rebounds to Wheeler’s 2,  but it wasn’t enough to keep pace.  Wheeler rode a 19-12 third quarter to extend the lead to 58-40 entering the fourth, proving to be the knockout punch. McDonald’s All-American Isaiah Collier scored nine of his 22 points in the third quarter and finished with 3 rebounds and 7 assists. Fellow USC-signee Arrinten Page posted 15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks. Iowa State-signee Jelani Hamilton netted 11 points and 8 rebounds while Ricky McKenzie had 11 points, nine coming in the first half via the three-ball. Cherokee got a balanced attack as well led by Braylin Giddens (17) and Cameron Pope (12). Tayden Owens pitched in 11 points while Dastin Hart battled for 10 points and 9 rebounds. Cherokee shot just 30% and were outscored in the paint 36-18. Wheeler finished the year unbeaten in the state of Georgia.