MACON - Top-ranked Creekside outscored Jackson-Atlanta 16-2 over the first five and a half minutes of the third quarter to break open what was a five-point game at halftime and went on to a 57-37 victory in the Class 4A girls basketball championship game Thursday night at the Macon Coliseum.
Creekside (32-0) won its first state title and finished the season as the only undefeated team - boys or girls - in the state by completing a three-game sweep of Region 4-4A rival Jackson, which was the third-place team in the region behind Creekside and Midtown.
No. 10 Jackson (20-8) was a reigning state champion, having won the Class 5A title last year. The Jaguars lost to Creekside 65-53 on Dec. 13 and 58-38 on Jan. 17 in the regular season.
“I told the girls that none of the pressure was on us,” Creekside coach Akennia Ellis said. “We had done everything we needed to prepare for this moment. The beauty in this is that it’s the first one that this school has ever won and it’s the first time we’ve ever gone undefeated. That wasn’t even a part of the plan, but these girls are so special. I told them that you come out and you play together and stay together and that whatever needs to happen in our favor is going to happen.”
Creekside led 24-19 after a back-and-forth first half, but Sydnee Hunter’s baseline jumper 17 seconds into the third quarter ignited the decisive scoring run, and she finished it with a 3-pointer with 2:28 left in the quarter that gave the Seminoles a 40-21 lead. Aaliyah Weaver scored all four of Jackson’s points in the period, and Creekside led 41-23 heading into the fourth.
Seminoles sophomore point guard C’India Dennis took over from there, scoring 10 of her game-high 22 points in the final eight minutes to help hold Jackson at bay. The Jaguars never got closer than 17 points in the fourth quarter.
Dennis added six assists, five rebounds and three steals. She scored 33 points in a quarterfinal victory over Ware County and 30 points in the semifinals against Marist.
“She is one of a kind, just like the No. 1 on her jersey,” Ellis said. “She’s a very special young lady. She’s a coach on the floor. She sees things that we don’t see and she communicates very well. … I hope she showed everyone today that she is the best in the state of Georgia.”
Jacy Mitchell scored 14 points and had three assists for the Seminoles. Hunter had nine points and nine rebounds, and Lia Moore added five points and 10 rebounds.
Weaver led Jackson with 20 points and seven rebounds. The Jaguars’ only other scorers were Cayden Cornish with nine points and Journey Conley with eight.
Jackson-Atlanta - 9-10-4-14 - 37
Creekside - 9-15-17-16 - 57
Jackson-Atlanta (37): Aaliyah Weaver 20, Cayden Cornish 9, Janiya McCoy, Janiyah Weaver, Journey Conley 8, Markayla Madden, Kobi Chism, DeAsia Jones.
Creekside (57): C’India Dennis 22, Sydnee Hunter 9, Kiana Harvey 2, Jacy Mitchell 14, Skyle Cleveland 5, Maliha Harris, Lia Moore 5, Camille Forts.
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