On Thursday night, May 10, 2012, McEachern High School was the site of the 5th Annual MaxPreps Girls' Basketball Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard. The McEachern girl's basketball team posted their best single season record in the history of the school at 33-0, and their first-ever state championship for any sport at McEachern. The Lady Indians finished ranked No. 6 in the nation out of over 20,000 high school girls' basketball teams according to the MaxPreps Freeman poll, a computer analysis.
Several hundred students, family members, faculty and fans gathered at the high school for the School Awards Night, and most were excited about recognizing the incredible accomplishments of the Lady Indians basketball team. McEachern dominated almost every game they played this entire season, by beating their opponents by an average of 29 points. Head Coach Phyllis Arthur was blessed to have six of her players on this years' team who have committed to play Division I basketball.
At the designated time during the awards program, MaxPreps representative, Arthur Kai came to the podium to a rousing applause from the audience. He shared how MaxPreps selects the schools to be recognized each year, and what a wonderful accomplishment this feat is for McEachern. As he shared about the accomplishments of this special team, the entire team also came to the stage and received a standing ovation. This state championship basketball team included Miss Georgia Basketball Player of the Year and Syracuse signee, Pachiyaanna Roberts. Arthur then introduced Sergeant First Class Anthony Jones of the Georgia Army National Guard, who praised the accomplishments of the Lady Indians and presented the well-deserved "Minuteman" or the Army National Guard national ranking trophy to the entire team, and they received yet another standing ovation. Several players then displayed the Tour of Champions nationally ranked championship banner and posed with the trophy on stage.
Head Coach Phyllis Arthur and her team were overjoyed with this special recognition. Coach Arthur and her seniors posed for pictures and conducted interviews in the lobby after they left the stage. It was a great night to honor a very special team of young ladies. Thanks again to the Army National Guard for making this special evening possible!
