Despite key injuries during season, GAC girls find purpose in playoff success
ATHENS — The Greater Atlanta Christian Spartans’ team motto has led them to the state semifinals, where they will play Holy Innocents’ on Friday at Akins Arena.
“We’ve used that — OTOP, One Team, One Purpose — as just a battle cry throughout the season,” Spartans head coach Jessica Guarneri said. “We have come to our purpose; we are at our purpose.”
GAC is no stranger to success, winning the Class 3A girls state championship in 2020 and finishing as runners-up in 2021 and 2022.
With their 53-33 quarterfinal win over No. 2-seed Athens Academy, the seventh-seeded GAC Spartans are 23-8 on the season. It’s the first time they have won more than 20 games in a season since the 2021-22 campaign.
The Spartans had to deal with two tough blows on the injury front. Just seven games into the regular season, senior Asia Johnson tore her ACL and was sidelined for the rest of the season. Nearly a month later, standout sophomore Barri Newman also tore her ACL, which tested the group’s resilience, depth and ability to adapt.
“It’s an instant punch in the gut, and there are massive adjustments that need to be made, but my girls get all the credit for being willing to step up in situations,” Guarneri said.
With a cast of players taking their first trip to the final four, this Spartans team is attempting to etch their name in the already illustrious history of the GAC basketball program.
Junior Milan Johnson (18 points, 12 rebounds) and freshman Peyton Frazier (14 points, 15 rebounds) led the Spartans’ win over Athens Academy.
“When you’ve got Barri Newman — who had ACL and meniscus surgery two weeks ago — and Asia Johnson cheering you on from the bench, my goodness, how could you not do it for them?” Guarneri said.
Newman was averaging more than 11 points over 22 games this season.
“It means a lot,” she said after watching the quarterfinal victory. “Just to be there for my team, still be a part of the team — not be on the court, but still able to rep for GAC."
The buy-in from players like Newman and Johnson has played a big role in the Spartans’ ability to advance this far in the state tournament.
“To me that means we’re all together, we’re all one group, ” said Newman. “And we compete for the same thing. We all have different stories, we’re different people, who come from different families, but we’re all here making one big family, competing for the same one purpose.”
For GAC, adversity didn’t derail the season, it authored it.
What began as a campaign built on depth evolved into one defined by toughness and collective accountability.
With a state title just two wins away, the Spartans’ purpose is no longer abstract — it is within reach.
TJ French is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.
