MACON — Brookwood’s Diana Collins scored a game-high 21 points and went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final 1:09 to secure a 43-39 victory over Norcross in the Class 7A girls basketball championship game Saturday at the Macon Coliseum.
Brookwood, ranked No. 1 in Class 7A all season, captured the first state championship in program history and completed a 31-1 season. The Broncos’ only loss came against Class 6A champion River Ridge, 70-59 on Dec. 2. Second-ranked Norcross (29-3) came up one game short in its bid for a second consecutive state title.
“I’m overwhelmed, relieved and proud of my team, proud of my coaching staff,” Brookwood coach Courtney Mincy said. “It’s just been really hard, it’s been a really long season and it’s hard to get to this spot.”
Collins, a four-star recruit who has signed with Ohio State, was the steadying force for Brookwood. She got the Broncos off to a 4-0 lead with two jump shots in the first minute, but she really turned it on in the second half, scoring nine of the Broncos’ 12 fourth-quarter points. She also had six rebounds, two assists and two steals despite playing with some foul trouble.
“Diana’s just been consistent since her freshman year,” Mincy said. “I’ve enjoyed watching her grow over these past four years. She’s a game-changer, she’s a competitor and she’s just an overall athlete. I’m proud of how she’s developed and how she’s taken over and helped this team over the years.”
Brookwood’s Danielle Osho had 10 points and eight rebounds, and Jade Weathersby had nine points and 12 rebounds.
Norcross got off to a strong start, leading 16-9 at the end of the first quarter and 19-11 after a 3-pointer by Jania Atkins with 5:32 remaining in the first half.
The game changed, however, when Norcross went scoreless over the next eight minutes, a span that stretched into the middle of the third quarter. Brookwood scored 12 points during the Blue Devils’ drought to turn the eight-point deficit into a 23-19 lead.
Norcross never regained the lead, but it never trailed by more than five points. The shooting woes continued, however. The Blue Devils finished just 15-for-59 from the field (25.4%).
Veronaye Charlton kept the Blue Devils in the game. She accounted for 12 of the 20 Norcross points in the second half, made two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and finished with a team-high 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds. One of Charlton’s 3-pointers had Norcross within 40-39 with 19 seconds left, but Collins made three of four free throws to clinch the victory.
Atkins scored 19 points and Kayla Lindsey had 16 rebounds for the Blue Devils.
“Norcross is a good team, they have some good shooters, they’re patient and they’re well-coached,” Mincy said. “So it was definitely part of our game plan to make sure that we knew our personnel and were running out to the right people. We had some hiccups here and there, but we adjusted and made the right adjustments to pull it out.”
Brookwood - 9-8-14-12 - 43
Norcross - 16-3-9-11 - 39
Brookwood (43): Kate Phelan, Kennedy Daniels 1, Diana Collins 21, Jade Weatherby 9, Danielle Osho 10, Justyce McCoy2, Zayjah Knight, Ciera Hall.
Norcross (39): Kayla Lindsey 1, Veronaye Charlton 17, Mariyah Vaine 6, Jania Atkins 13, Cadence Peterson 2, Ebonie Watson, Markiesa Lancaster.
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