CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Southwest Guilford (High Point) allowed just two points in the first quarter and never looked back, defeating
Millbrook (Raleigh) 44-35 in the NCHSAA 4A girls basketball championship at the Dean E. Smith Center at UNC on Saturday.
"This is a very surreal moment," said Shannon Buchanan, who had nine points and 14 rebounds in the win. "This is what you dream of when you're a little kid and now that it's here, it hasn't set in yet."
Zena Lovette had 14 points and Jessica Pone had 13 in the win. The Cowgirls (30-2) earned their first title since winning back-to-back in 1984-85.
Millbrook (31-2), which started four sophomores and a junior, seemed rattled by the pressure from Southwest Guilford, forcing outside shots and going just 1-of-14 from the field in the first quarter.
Far from letting up, the Cowgirls kept their fire on defense in the second half, outscoring Millbrook 22-20 despite shooting just 19 percent from the field. The attitude was set by Buchanan, who recorded her 1,000th career rebound.
"It's not the size, but it's the fight in my girls," coach Jessica Bryan said. "Shannon's only 5-10, and she gets in there and fights."
Southwest Guilford was also the more aggressive team on offense. The Cowgirls made 21 of 33 free throws, while Millbrook was 6-of-8.
3A: After losing in the 2009 state semifinals and the 2010 state finals,
South Central (Winterville) took the final step and won its first NCHSAA state championship with a 61-58 overtime win over
Hickory at N.C. State.
East Carolina-bound JaNesha Ebron had 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists and UNC-bound Daniel Butts had 16 points and 11 rebounds, including the go-ahead basket in overtime for the Falcons (28-4).
Jayda Payne had 29 points, eight rebounds and six steals and Hillary Sigmon had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Red Tornadoes (28-3).
Hickory led the entire fourth quarter, going up by as many as six. But Butts, who has more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career, tied the game at 49-49 on a lay-up with 53 seconds left.
Hannah Young missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 33 seconds left that could have given Hickory the lead, and then Butts missed an NBA-range 3 as time expired to send the game to overtime.
Butts game the Falcons a lead it wouldn't relinquish 50 seconds into overtime. And while South Central was only 5-of-18 from the line in the game, Ebron made four straight free throws in the final minute to keep the Falcons ahead.
The Red Torandoes had one last chance to tie, but Amber Clark stripped Signon with three seconds to play and ran out the clock.
2A: A rematch of last year's final led to the same result as
Salisbury defeated
East Bladen (Elizabethtown) 76-44 at UNC to win its third straight state championship.
MVP Brielle Blaire scored 20 points, Ashia Holmes had 10 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals and Ayanna Holmes had 11 assists for the Hornets (27-1), who shot 52 percent and forced 27 turnovers.
East Bladen (30-2) has now lost in the finals four times in the last five years. Jazmine Kemp had 12 points and eight rebounds to lead the Eagles, who started the same lineup that lost to Salisbury 49-37 last season.
1A: Bishop McGuinness (Kernersville) won its sixth straight state championship with a 57-43 win over
Southwest Onslow (Jacksonville) at N.C. State. The Lady Villains tied Hayesville (1988-93) for the longest state-title streak in history.
North Carolina-bound point guard Megan Buckland, who tore her ACL in last year's final, had seven points, 15 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and three steals this time and earned her third finals MVP award. The Lady Villains (26-6) went 20-1 this season after Buckland returned from her injury.
Julia Brown scored a team-high 15 points for Bishop McGuinness, who led by 21 at halftime.
Janika Williams had 19 points and 11 rebounds for Southwest Onslow (24-4), which was making its first appearance in the state finals.
Harold Gutmann covers the state of North Carolina for MaxPreps.com. He lives in Durham and can be reached at haroldgutmann@gmail.com.
