Down by five points entering the fourth quarter, Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy coach Jackie Cowan pulled her seven-player roster into a huddle and delivered one simple message.
“I told them we had eight minutes to come out and take this game,” she said. “I said we’ve waited all season for this moment.”
Message delivered. Message received. The Warriors took the lead midway through the period, part of a 15-2 run that propelled SACA (26-5) to a 57-52 win over previously unbeaten Holy Innocents’ (29-1) in the Class A private-school final, Saturday morning at the Macon Coliseum.
It was the first state title for SACA since 2006. The Warriors were defeated by St. Francis in overtime in last season’s final and lost to the Knights by 17 points last month in the Region 6-A final. But SACA returned the favor in Monday’s semifinal, beating St. Francis by 15 to earn a trip to Saturday’s game.
Cowan’s squad took home the title despite having arguably the thinnest bench in the state, two players. In fact, SACA’s five starters played, on average, more than 30 of the game’s 32 minutes, much of it pressing and trapping on defense, which helped the Warriors impose their will on the Bears and eventually take control.
“I believe you have to exploit your opponents’ weaknesses, and we knew they would have a tough time handling our pressure,” Cowan said. SACA forced Holy Innocents’ into 21 turnovers. “We’re in great shape. People don’t believe we are in that kind of shape, but we are, and the difference in this game was when we switched from our zone to man-to-man (on defense).”
Early in the fourth quarter, SACA tied the score 39-39 on a 3-pointer by senior Marquita Daniels (South Alabama), who led all scorers with 19 points. After a turnover by Holy Innocents’, the Warriors next possession was indicative of the heart and determination they have shown all season.
After a miss by Keimeshia Walker, freshman point guard Tiamya Butler scrambled for the offensive rebound and flipped the ball to Daniels, who missed a short jumper. Daniels grabbed her own miss, but failed to convert the put-back. But fellow senior Amy Griffin (LaSalle) snatched another offensive rebound and was fouled on her layup attempt.
Griffin made the first free throw, but missed the second. But freshman center Dominique Banks grabbed SACA’s fourth offensive board of the possession, and her layup gave the Warriors a 42-39 lead they would not give back.
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