The Westminster girls basketball team went 1-7 in the first two months of the 2021-22 season as its star player, then-junior Courtney Ogden, was sidelined while recovering from a broken ankle she sustained during the summer.
Ogden, a 6-foot-1 wing player, returned to the lineup for an early January game and scored 15 points in a victory against Salem that kick-started a 16-4 season-ending run that took the Wildcats to their first semifinals playoff appearance since 2005.
Ogden averaged 18.4 points per game that season despite playing limited minutes until the playoffs, where she averaged 22.8 points and 7.6 rebounds in games against Dawson County, Liberty County, Sumter County and eventual state-champion Lumpkin County.
That perhaps was the best example of how much Ogden meant to the Westminster program, but she was even better this year.
In the recently concluded 2022-23 season, Ogden had the best statistical season of her career, averaging 22.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.7 steals. The Wildcats spent most of the season ranked in the Class 4A top five before being upset in the second round of the playoffs. Still, they finished 22-8 and ranked No. 9.
“Courtney can score from anywhere on the floor,” Westminster coach Katie Argall said. “She can pull up in transition from 3 and is automatic in her mid-range game. She is our best rebounder and can guard the other team’s best player inside and out. She is so challenging to guard because there is no weakness in her game.”
Ogden was selected as the top player in Georgia this season by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Gatorade, MaxPreps and the Atlanta Tipoff Club and was named a McDonald’s All-American. She was a three-time region player of the year and a four-time all-state selection. Ogden set the school record for career points with 1,936 and had 829 rebounds and 40 double-doubles in 94 games.
Ogden had a reputation for playing her best in the biggest games. She averaged 29 points and 13 rebounds in three games this season against region rival Holy Innocents’, which was ranked No. 1 for most of the season, and she scored a school-record 41 points in a 2021 victory against Greater Atlanta Christian, which was a reigning state champion and finished as state runner-up.
“Courtney is a smooth player on the court,” Holy Innocents’ coach Nichole Dixon said. “Offensively, she makes scoring look effortless because she is just so poised and fluid. She makes her teammates better by sharing the ball and making the right decisions when reading and reacting to the defense. I’ve also always appreciated and respected her sportsmanship during and after games. Win or lose, her demeanor following games stayed consistent and positive.”
Ogden, a five-star recruit, is rated by ESPN as the top player in Georgia, the No. 1 player at her position nationally and the No. 10 player overall. She has signed with Stanford, where she will join top-40 recruits Nunu Agara of Hopkins, Minnesota, and Chloe Clardy of Conway, Arkansas, in the No. 3-rated recruiting class.
“She will be known as the greatest basketball player to ever play at our school, men’s or women’s, and the single most accomplished single-sport athlete in school history,” Argall said. “She has done all this with an incredible dedication to her school, coaches, teammates, teachers and trainers. She has done this without complaint, and she has shown tremendous humility and gratitude along the way. I acknowledge when I am lucky enough to coach a generational talent, and recognize she is most likely the most successful and talented athlete I will ever coach.”
Credit: Frederick Johnson/Westminster
Credit: Frederick Johnson/Westminster
