MACON - Top-ranked Mount Paran Christian was pushed by No. 2 Josey about as hard as anybody this season, even in the playoffs, but the result turned out the same - another championship for the Eagles.
Mount Paran (29-3) outlasted Josey 59-52 in the Class 2A girls final Thursday at the Macon Coliseum to become the first Georgia team to win three consecutive state titles since the end of Westlake’s four-year run in 2021.
The Eagles had won their first four playoff games this season by an average of 37 points. Mount Paran’s only losses came against Class 7A finalist Grayson and Alabama state champions Hazel Green and Hoover.
Josey (28-4) was seeking its first championship since 2021 and third overall.
“It’s hard to do anything three times in a row, especially when you have a target on your back,” Mount Paran coach Stephanie Dunn said. “I think we felt that pressure a little bit more than I thought we would. I could see it in their play. But they put the work in, and that’s what it came down to - what does your offseason look like, what do your individual workouts look like. And then you can’t substitute heart and just the desire to win.”
Like so many of the victims during Mount Paran’s three-year run, Josey ultimately was done in by the dominant inside duo of Ciara Alexander and Jessica Fields, who combined for 38 points, 21 rebounds and seven blocked shots and made 18 of their 28 free-throw attempts.
Tied 27-27 at halftime, Mount Paran took the lead for good with five consecutive points to open the third quarter - a free throw by Fields, a steal and layup by Jacalyn Myrthil and a layup by Alexander.
“I told my team at halftime that I felt that [Josey] played extremely well, and we didn’t play so well,” Dunn said. “We got a do-over in the second half, because we came in here tied, some kind of way. They just needed to stay the course and do what we do.”
Josey had cut the lead to two by the end of the third quarter, but Mount Paran opened the fourth with a 6-0 run, with Alexander’s putback making it 49-41 with 6:18 left. Josey never got closer than six points, and Mount Paran made six free throws in the final 1:17 to put the game away.
Alexander, the team’s only senior, finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and a blocked shot. She had eight points, including 6-for-6 shooting from the free-throw line, in the second quarter as Mount Paran stayed close and then six more in the third as it began to seize control.
“I can’t exactly sum up what she has brought to this team,” Dunn said. “The points, the rebounds, just the heart to play hard and practice hard every day is one thing, but she means so much more to us. She was really and truly a Godsend.”
Fields, a junior, finished with 16 points, 14 rebounds and six blocked shots. She was 7-for-10 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to keep Josey at arm’s length. Kitali Youmans had five points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and five steals.
Kerri Fluellen made three 3-pointers in the first quarter, the last of which gave Josey its biggest lead of the game at 19-15, but picked up her second foul with 1:07 to play in the period. She eventually fouled out with 1:48 left in the game after scoring a team-best 20 points. Josey also got 17 points from Ke’Asia Henderson.
Mount Paran Christian - 17-10-16-16 - 59
Josey - 19-8-14-11 - 52
Mount Paran Christian (59): Kitali Youmans 5, McKinley Brothers 3, Jacalyn Myrthil 11, Jessica Fields 16, Ciara Alexander 22, Jada Harvey, Isabella Ramirez 2.
Josey (52): Shaniya Sanders 9, Kerri Fluellen 20, zZy’Miyah Jenkins 3, Sinaia Hills 2, Ke’Asia Henderson 17, Tymaria Mack, Tamia Tmbers, Kayla McCord, Kendal Mathis, Clairrissa Winfrey 1.
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