Mount Paran tops Josey for GHSA AA Girls Basketball State Championship

Eagles break a halftime tie and lead the rest of the way

MACON, GEORGIA – The Mount Paran Christian girls basketball had to fight and claw from start to finish in Thursday’s GHSA Class AA Girls Basketball State Championship Game, but the Eagles did just that and emerged with a 59-52 win over Josey to capture the state title at the Macon Centerplex.

The first half was intensely competitive and ended with the teams deadlocked, 26-26. Just 10 seconds into the second half, however, Jessica Fields made the second of two free throw attempts to give Mount Paran a 28-27 lead and the Eagles never trailed again.

The free throw was the start of 5-0 run and Josey never got closer than two points the rest of the way. That’s not to say Josey went away. Although it fell behind by as many as eight points early in the fourth quarter, Josey kept fighting back until Mount Paran built some breathing space in the final two minutes.

Ciar Alexander scored a game-high 22 points for Mount Paran, while Fields dropped 16 and collected 14 rebounds for the state champs. Fields also had 6 blocks and 2 steals. In addition, Jacaly Myrthil scored 11 points.

Kerri Fluellen was the offensive star for Josey, scoring a team-high 20 points and going 4-for-4 from beyond the three-point line. Fluellen also had 3 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.

Ke’a Henderson added 17 points and had 3 assists for Josey, while Shaniy Sanders had 9 points and 4 rebounds.