State tournament: South Atlanta runs into buzz saw

Southwest Atlanta Christian ran into a buzz saw at the Macon Centreplex on Friday as Savannah Country Day rode the hot shooting of Katelyn Hilliard and Katherine Dotson to a 68-38 victory in the Class A girls semifinals.

Hilliard had 22 points and Dotson added 14 to put the Hornets in the state championship game for the first time since 2004.

Point guard Melissa Burkhamer added 10 points and nine assists and Blake Stafford had 13 points and helped shut down Southwest Atlanta Christian star Mariah Chandler in the first half while the Hornets built a 33-12 halftime lead.

“I thought we shot the ball well outside [and] Blake Stafford did a great job on Mariah Chandler,” said SCD coach Dale Parker. “And she had a lot of help.”

Savannah Country Day, which won its 12th consecutive game and improved to 29-3, was never seriously challenged and led by as many as 35 points in the second half.

Mariah Eades paced Southwest Atlanta Christian (17-13) with 12 points.