Wesleyan girls win state title

By S. Thomas Coleman

For the AJC

At the end of Saturday’s Class A final, the chant from the Wesleyan supporters who made their familiar mid-March journey to Macon spoke volumes about the dominance of the Wolves’ program:

“Sec-ond, three-peat.”

Wesleyan (28-4) used its superior size and depth to smother a game, but outgunned, Savannah Christian team, 65-49. For the Wolves, it was the program’s seventh state title since 2002 and, as the crowd proudly announced, it was the second time for three consecutive titles in that time span. Wesleyan won the Class AA championship from 2004-06.

“It never gets old,” said Wesleyan coach Jan Azar, the architect of Wolves’ dynasty. “Things weren’t going our way early, so I was very pleased with the effort. [Savannah Christian] did a great job of staying with us early.”

Wesleyan’s first-quarter shooting woes, forced by the Raiders’ scrappy defense, allowed Savannah Christian (21-6) to gain a 17-11 lead early in the second quarter, after senior Adrienne DeFilippis’ 3-pointer banked in off the glass. But that’s when Wesleyan’s superior size and depth took over.

The Wolves went on a 24-10 run to close the half, with most of the damage coming from sophomore forward Holli Wilkins, the daughter of former NBA star Gerald Wilkins. She had 11 points and five rebounds in the second quarter. Another sophomore, guard Jordan Frazier, contributed six points and two steals during the spurt. Wilkins and Frazier finished with 17 and 16 points, respectively, to lead Wesleyan.

“Our younger players came in and really helped us out when we were struggling,” Azar said. “They worked hard this summer in our team camp, and I think they learned a lot about themselves today.”

In the second half, Wesleyan’s veterans stepped up. Logan Morris, one of a group of six seniors for the Wolves, stuffed the stat sheet in the third quarter with five points, three steals, three rebounds and two assists.

“That group has been together since middle school,” Azar said. “It’s just a great day when you can see a group like that come together, believe in what our program is all about and continue the tradition of what we’ve established.”

Savannah Christian kept fighting but couldn’t get any closer than 14 points in the second half.

“Did I think we could come in here and demolish them, no,” Raiders coach Toy Byrd said. “But I thought we could play with them, and we did in the first quarter. But we had a lot of turnovers, and we couldn’t contain them.

“I can’t say enough about their program,” said Byrd, who next season will have all but two players returning, including four starters. Junior Kelly Reid had a game-high 18 points for the Raiders on Saturday, while DeFilippis finished with 17.

“You never know how the [playoff] brackets are going to line up, and there are no guarantees,” Byrd said. “But we’ve got some good up-and-coming players, so we’ll see.”

As for Azar, she and her staff are already eyeing a “four-peat.”

“We’ll certainly enjoy this one now,” Azar said, “but you never stop thinking about [winning titles].”

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Savannah Christian (49) — Byrd 6, Reid 18, Turner 4, Friess 4, DeFilippis 17, Abercrombie, Sparks.

Wesleyan (65) — Morris 10, Wilkins 17, Baughn 2, Groff 7, McKenzie 2, Frazier 16, Hall 9, Byrd 2, Stevens, Causwell.

Halftime: Wesleyan 35, Savannah Christian 27