MACON – Terrianna Cave scored eight of her team-high 14 points in the fourth quarter to lead Stephenson to a 65-56 victory over Region 6 rival Mays in the Class AAAAA girls basketball championship game Friday at the Macon Coliseum.
Stephenson held Mays without a fourth-quarter field goal until 19 seconds to play and was able to pull away in a game it led 48-46 with 5:46 remaining.
Stephenson (27-6) had lost to Mays twice this season, including a 53-51 setback in the region tournament semifinals on Feb. 13.
The Jaguars became the 10th DeKalb County team in 12 years to win the girls championship in the second-highest classification and extended the county’s streak to 12 seasons with at least one state champion, boys or girls. The title was Stephenson’s third after winning championships in 2004 and 2008 in the highest class.
Stephenson trailed for most of the first half but took the lead for good at 42-40 on a putback by Nailah Manning with 1:57 to play in the third quarter. Davion Wingate made two free throws and a layup in the final 40 seconds of the quarter for a 46-40 lead. Wingate and Miracle Gray scored 13 points each for the Jaguars.
Mays stayed close by going 13-for-16 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, but the Raiders’ only field goal in the period – the 3-pointer by Kamiyah Street – came too late as Stephenson led at that point by 11.
Stephenson shot the ball much better in the second half, making 59.1 percent of its field-goal attempts after hitting just 29 percent in the first two quarters.
Mays (27-3) did not trail in the first quarter, turning nine Stephenson turnovers into fast-break opportunities for guards Street, Kennya Simms and Kendall Pack. The Raiders built a 9-4 lead before Stephenson closed the quarter with a 5-1 run.
The Jaguars cut down on the turnovers in the second quarter, committing just three more, but Mays was able to extend the lead to 27-23 by halftime. The Mays guards combined for 18 points in the half, but forwards Gina Smith and Harlyn Wyatt held their own, adding a combined nine points and 13 rebounds.
Street led all scorers with 19 points, and Wyatt had 18 after going 7-for-10 on free throws in the fourth quarter.
Stephenson (65): Wingate 13, Gray 13, Culpeper 8, Beaman 5, Cave 14, Holmes 2, Saxton 5, Saunders, Hoard 1, Manning 4.
Mays (56): Simms 6, Street 19, Pack 7, Smith 6, Wyatt 18, Loving, Lockhart, Rushin.
