MACON - The top-ranked Greenforest Christian girls basketball team, locked in a low-scoring battle with No. 2 Montgomery County, pulled away with a 10-0 run that started late in the third quarter and went on to a 39-28 victory in the Class A Division II championship game Wednesday at the Macon Coliseum.
Greenforest, a private school in Decatur, won the first state title in program history. The Eagles were ranked No. 1 for most of the season and finished the year 27-5. Greenforest had made one previous trip to the championship game, losing to St. Francis in the 2016 Class A Private final.
Montgomery County (30-2) was playing in the finals for the first time since 1976 and seeking its first championship since 1972.
Greenforest’s game-deciding run came after a 3-pointer by Montgomery County’s Amire Banks tied the game at 22-22 with 1:53 remaining in the third quarter. Greenforest’s Lana Koricanac scored the game’s next four points in the final minute of the third quarter, and Milica Lazarevic had four points and Andela Mirkovic had two to start the fourth for a 32-22 lead with 6:30 remaining. That was plenty of cushion in a game where points were so hard to come by.
Montgomery County shot just 9-for-62 from the field (14.5%) and made no more than three field goals in any quarter. Greenforest wasn’t much hotter, particularly early, making just five of 28 shots in the first half. Greenforest was 11-for-25 in the second half and finished the game at 30.2%.
“What I told them before, because I’ve been here several times with the boys team, is that this gym doesn’t have any backdrop and the rims are kinda tight,” Greenforest coach Edward Ravenel said. “The 3-pointers that we normally hit, if it doesn’t go directly in, it’s not going to be there. I told them to not get frustrated because the other team has to shoot at the same rims. So what we had to do was impose our will in the second half.”
Greenforest had a significant size advantage with a lineup in which all five starters were 5-foot-11 or taller, led by 6-6 Arek Angui, a Central Florida-committed senior. Angui scored eight consecutive points early in the third quarter that helped Greenforest turn a 16-14 deficit into a 22-16 lead. Although Montgomery County tied the game about a minute later, Greenforest never gave up the lead.
Angui finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Lazarevic led the Eagles with 11 points.
“It was our length,” Ravenel said when asked what made the difference this season in winning the title. “And that group of girls worked real hard. They practiced with the boys and saw all the things that they went through. They stayed in the gym and took all the criticism we gave them.”
Montgomery County, with no starter taller than 5-11, held its own on the boards, as Greenforest finished with a rebound advantage of just 46-45. But Montgomery County had trouble scoring inside, making it harder to overcome its outside shooting woes.
Montgomery County, which had not scored fewer than 31 points in a game all season, was led by Marley Bell’s 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Greenforest - 5-9-12-13 - 39
Montgomery County - 8-4-10-6 - 28
Greenforest (39): Milica Lazarevic 11, Ndate Ndiaye 7, Fortunate Emechete 3, Lana Koricanac 6, Arek Angui 10, Asunta Ring, Marianah Achol, Andela Kirkovic 2.
Montgomery County (28): Marley Bell 13, Miracles Nobles, Trinity Wideman 6, Erin Adams 2, Amire Banks 7, Dekimber Wright, Zoe Jordan.
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