North Augusta makes history with sixth state championship

North Augusta makes history with sixth state championship

By Neill Kirkpatrick

Special to the HSSR

Florence – As the saying goes it is not how you start but it is how you finish and in Friday afternoon’s AAAA girls state championship game the North Augusta Lady Yellow Jackets provided proof of the statement as they overcame a slow start to win their sixth state championship defeating the Westside Lady Rams 50-37 at the Florence Civic Center.

The sixth championship moves North Augusta (30-1) into a tie with Bishop England and Keenan for third place All time in girls state championship history. The Lady Yellow Jackets have done all of this in the last nine years and Friday’s victory was a bit of revenge as Westside handed North Augusta their only defeat in state championship games at the end of the 2021/22 season.

“First, I want to give all the glory to God,” said North Augusta Head Coach Al Young. “I am excited for the girls. They worked hard all year with a single goal in mind and this is the result of all their hard work.”

Westside ended their year at 24-3. This was their third time reaching the state finals in the last five years, winning it all in 2021 and 2022. This was also the Lady Rams first loss in a state final as they had been 5-0 in their previous trips.

“Credit North Augusta, their guards really pressured us, especially after halftime and we had trouble getting into our offense,” Westside Head Coach Nicole Hood  said. “We knew they were a strong team inside the paint. We needed to rebound better and they had some shots go in that got their offense going and we missed some shots that we normally make.”

The first quarter started slow for both teams as the quarter ended with Westside on top 6-5. However, what we did see was the leading scorers for both teams, junior wing Celena Grant for North Augusta and sophomore center Khalia Hartwell for Westside lead their teams in scoring. Grant hit a three for the Lady Yellow Jackets while Hartwell did her damage in the paint.

In the second quarter each team’s offense started to find the range and get other player involved in the scoring. Junior Mariah Randolph  started hitting from the outside knocking down a shirt jumper and then nailing a three. That opened up the inside for Hartwell as she scored nine points in the quarter including a three from the right side.

North Augusta countered with senior forward Madison McCain and junior center Messiah Williams scoring five and four points, respectively. Grant also had a three the old fashion way and the teams went to the break with Westside on top 23-19.

“We went into the half feeling good about where we were but we needed to pick up our intensity and believe in what we do. The girls came out determined and they continued to play hard,” said coach Young.

The North Augusta ramped up their defense at the start of the second half and Westside had no answer. The Lady Yellow Jackets put a lot of pressure on the ball and on the perimeter causing several turnovers by the Lady Rams. The pressure also made it hard to get the ball inside to Hartwell. After scoring 13 points in the first half, she scored a single basket in the third quarter.

Offensively, the Lady Jackets scored enough to grab a 31-28 lead heading into the fourth quarter. They finished the quarter on an 11-3 run keyed by sophomore forward Ashley Walker and Grant.

McCain opened the fourth quarter by hitting a three and Grant had two driving lay ups and suddenly the Lady Yellow Jackets had some breathing room as they opened up a 10-point lead at 39-29 forcing Westside to call a time out with 4:39 left in the game.

The Lady Rams would cut the lead six at 41-35 as Hartwell scored six consecutive points. Coach Young called a time out for North Augusta with 2:33 to settle his team down.

After the time out North Augusta went into a version of the four-corners forcing Westside into a fouling situation. The Lady Jackets responded by hitting 10 of 12 from the charity strip to seal the win and capture their sixth state championship.

Grant led the Lady Yellow Jackets with 17 points while Walker added 10 points. Walker scored all of her points in the second half on a three and by going 7-of-8 from the free throw line.

McCain finished with 8 points for North Augusta hitting two of their made three’s and Williams, who battled Hartwell in the paint, had seven points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

The Lady Rams were led by Hartwell, who posted a double-double before fouling out 49.6 seconds to go. She had a game high 21 points and 11 rebounds to go with three blocks.