MACON - Buford star Camille Anderson struggled much of the night in the Class AAAA girls basketball championship Thursday at the Macon Coliseum, dealing with foul trouble and the after-effects of a knee injury she suffered in a semifinal victory against Fayette County last weekend.
But Anderson hit the biggest shot of the night for the top-ranked Wolves (30-3), a 3-pointer with 2:38 to play that gave her team its first lead since early in the third quarter, a lead that held up in a 35-34 victory over Carrollton that secured the Wolves’ fourth state title in seven years and first since 2011.
Buford’s escape did not come without a dramatic finish. The Trojans (25-8) had the ball with a chance to win in the closing seconds. They missed their final shot, but Erial Daniel got the offensive rebound and was fouled on the putback with 0.6 seconds remaining. Daniel missed both free throws, however, and Buford rebounded the second as time ran out.
Anderson, an N.C. State signee, picked up three fouls in the first half and did not score until 4:14 remained in the third quarter, which ended with Carrollton leading 31-28. Neither team scored in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter until Buford’s Pamela Johnson cut the lead to 31-30 with two free throws with 2:55 to play. Anderson, who finished with six points, hit her 3-pointer 17 seconds later.
Buford had a chance to put the game away in the final minute but twice missed the front end of one-and-ones. Carrollton did not make a field goal in the quarter, settling for two free throws by Alecia North and one by Malariah Ranson.
Carrollton center Emily Waters dominated early as the Trojans built a 15-7 lead in the first quarter. She scored from inside and out, picking up Carrollton’s first eight points and 10 in the quarter, but she did not score again.
Carrollton made just one field goal in the second quarter and scored six points, allowing Buford to get back into the game. The Wolves tied the score at 20-20 on a layup by Corey Staples in the last minute of the half before Carrollton went into halftime with a 21-20 lead. Staples led Buford with eight points.
The 69 combined points in the gamew was the lowest for a girls state-championship game since 1980, when Miller County beat Whigham in the Class A finals, 36-27 (63 combined points), according to Becky Taylor of the Georgia Basketball project. The record for the lowest-scoring GHSA state final occurred in 1960 when Henry County beat Blackshear in triple overtime, 20-19.
Buford (35): Anderson 6, Bisges 2, Staples 8, Wright 7, Crawford 4, Hall, N.Bruce, M.Bruce, Johnson 6.
Carrollton (34): Ranson 4, North 7, Swint 5, Gamble 2, Waters 10, Hendrix, Nelson, Barge 2, Daniel 4.
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