After Lizzie McGrath signed up for the GHSA 3-point Contest, she did a little research on what it would take to win. And after dominating all three rounds of the competition, the senior from Riverwood emerged as the champion.
McGrath, who averaged 15.6 for Riverwood this season, scored 21 points in the first round, 26 points in the second round, and beat Trion’s Iziah McCutchins 18-13 in the final.
“I watched last year’s championship and I saw the scores there,” McGrath said. “So when I was practicing, I had a mental mindset. My thing was be at 23 (per round). Every time I was in practice, I was beating that. I knew it was going to be different here but I was just trying to reach that goal.”
McGrath had a good rhythm from the first rack of six balls and never had a slump during the competition. She earned the victory in the middle of the third rack and didn’t finish as strong as she would have liked.
“I didn’t mean to miss all those at the end,” she said with a laugh. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
Earlier this season she scored her 1,000th career point. She estimated that 60 percent of her practice is spent shooting 3-pointers. A 5-foot-8 senior, McGrath will continue her career at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Penn.
Ellie Southards of Rabun County, last year’s winner, and Amira Walters-Smith of Colquitt County also participated.
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