Defense key for Carrollton girls

Macon — To win your school’s first state basketball title, it helps if your young head coach has a little Karisma. Karisma Boykin, that is.

Boykin, who averaged nearly 30 points a game this season, showed off her defensive chops Saturday night in shutting down one of the state’s most explosive players, as Carrollton beat Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 51-31 for the Class AAA title.

Boykin helped limit Kayla Weaver, who scored 33 points in the semifinals, to a mere eight. The rest of the Trojans displayed their defensive skills as well, holding the Warriors scoreless in the third quarter.

“I didn’t care much about my offense,” said Boykin, a 5-foot-7 senior who finished with 13 points. “We took the defensive challenge personally tonight.”

“We knew that Weaver is an excellent player, and we were not going to let her beat us,” said Carrollton coach Shon Thomaston.

Even so, the Warriors held a 24-23 lead at halftime. Then, for the second straight night, the Trojans had an impressive third quarter, outscoring LFO 11-0.

“We are a well-conditioned team, and I think that has shown the deeper we got in the tournament,” Thomaston said.

Carrollton’s Kelsi Billings led all scorers with 14.