GHSA State Championship Preview: 7A-6A
Class 7A No. 1 Westlake (29-2) vs. No. 2 Collins Hill (31-0) The rematch the state has been waiting for. But will Collins Hill be able to challenge Westlake, who just demolished a very good Cherokee team 62-33? The backcourt…
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Continue ReadingClass 7A
No. 1 Westlake (29-2) vs. No. 2 Collins Hill (31-0)
The rematch the state has been waiting for. But will Collins Hill be able to challenge Westlake, who just demolished a very good Cherokee team 62-33? The backcourt matchup will decide whether Collins Hill can stop Westlake’s dominance. Raven Johnson (16) and Ta’Niya Latson (17) were too much for Cherokee, combining for 33 points. They will go toe-to-toe with former Northview guards Eden Sample (18) and Asjah Inniss (11) who tallied 29 of the Eagles’ 54 points in a 54-37 win over Campbell. Westlake won last year’s title game 60-53 but will have to deal with a new cast of Eagles which includes 6-foot-3 Purdue-commit Sacha Washington. Westlake of course will counter with 6-foot-5 Georgia Southern-signee Lydia Freeman. Kamryn Collins and the sparkplug play of Aniecia Malone provide a change of pace for Collins Hill. The Eagles will need to slow down Johnson, who hurt them with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block in last year’s championship. Freeman put up 16 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks while defensive specialist Brianna Turnage collected 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block.
Class 6A
No. 2 Forest Park (26-6) vs. No. 4 Glynn Academy (26-4)
Zoesha Smith vs. Sania Feagin might be the best player matchup championship week has to offer. Smith, a UGA-signee, has been unstoppable in the playoffs. She dumped in 35 points and 18 rebounds in their 59-38 win over Langston Hughes. Forest Park scored a 54-38 victory against a long Valdosta team and got 14 points, 14 rebounds and 3 steals from Feagin. Both players will find ways to get their points, which means supporting casts will have to step up. Francis Marion-signee La’Trinity Best has been solid for the Terrors all season and scored 12 points in the Final 4. Western Carolina-signee Joi Reid netted 10 points against Valdosta. The productivity of 5-foot-7 senior Talia Hamilton will be worth tracking. She is Glynn Academy’s second-leading scorer at 11.7 points per game, but can be streaky. An interesting mutual opponent has been Valdosta. The Panthers handled their size well, but way back on December 13, the Terrors lost 45-37 at home.