2A State Championship: Gray Collegiate vs. Bishop England

The theme for this season's 2A state girls championship might as well have been old school vs. new school – in terms of the schools and the coaching staffs.    After all, Bishop England is a school that a few years ago celebrated its centennial. It seems as if its head coach Paul Runey (who announced he will retire following 2023-24) has been around for nearly that same amount of time – 49 years to be exact as a coach or athletic director.    Meanwhile in the Midlands, Gray Collegiate opened its doors roughly around the same time Bishop England celebrated its centennial. Not to mention former South Carolina standout Brandon Wallace is a first-year head coach after being an assistant with the successful boys hoops program.    New school was better than old school on Friday evening at the USC-Aiken Convocation Center as the War Eagles defeated the Bishops by a final score of 40-32.    “I'm excited, man,” Wallace says. “We get a chance to take a rest now, because this basketball season is long. The good thing about it is we get to be state champions in the process. So, I'm excited.”   Quarter By Quarter   In similar way that the 3A girls final was delayed by five minutes for media coverage, the same applied to the 2A girls final. What followed was an offensive clinic from the War Eagles. Gray Collegiate started the game on an 8-0 run which prompted a Bishop England timeout. The War Eagles led the Bishops 10-2 after the first eight minutes.    Bishop England had two tasks in the second quarter – close the gap against Gray Collegiate and make sure the contest did not get any further out of hand via more War Eagles scores. The Bishops accomplished one of those objectives, but Gray Collegiate still went into halftime ahead by a score of 22-11 in what turned into a physical 2A clash.   For a good portion of the second half, the Bishops managed to keep the War Eagles off of the scoreboard – and Bishop England's deficit was narrowed down to four. With the game close – and emotions beginning to run high – Gray Collegiate's advantage was only 25-21.   “Anytime two teams are competing for a championship, you expect it,” Wallace says. “Because everybody's giving their max effort. And you're going to have plays that look kind of bad but they did a good job of just playing through it. Referees did a good job officiating, so I'm excited. I'm excited for the kids.”   Neither team could afford any more wasted possessions given how close the two teams were in the fourth quarter. This one would come down to the wire, but when all was said and done, the War Eagles earned their crowns as queens of 2A girls basketball in 2022-23.   “We know (Bishop England) was going to come out and they were going to fight to the end,” Wallace says. “So, when they started making their run, I just had to remind the girls it's part of basketball. Basketball's a game of runs. Weather the storm, let's make free throws and let's finish this thing.”   Primetime Performers   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/03/IMG_9028-crop-2141x1406-1677901097.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-608976" width="302" height="197" /></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='124108' first='Maliyiah' last='Mason'] finished her high school career with an 11-point outing. Mason also hauled in eight rebounds, leaving her two boards shy of a double-double. She also collected three steals in the 27 minutes she played.   “Every college coach I talk to (about Maliyiah), I let them know. Once that leg gets ready, you're going to have you a super kid. You're going to have you a special talent. A program changer. So, just to see what she did, I'm so proud of her … because she's the leader of this group and when she bought into what we were doing, the sky was the limit.”   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/03/IMG_9043-crop-2264x1486-1677901172.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-608978" width="317" height="207" /></figure>   Also tallying 11 points for the evening was [player_tooltip player_id='185424' first='Jordan' last='Mintz'] – all in the first half. The War Eagles' junior star guard led Gray Collegiate's efforts from behind the 3-point arc as she drained three of the team's four triples. She also collected two steals.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/03/IMG_8861-crop-2410x1583-1677901272.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-608980" width="334" height="218" /></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='242933' first='Kadence' last='Walker-Lee'] added nine points to what was a winning War Eagles effort. Close games such as Saturday evening's are won at the free throw line and Walker-Lee understood the assignment. She made seven of her 11 freebie attempts.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/03/IMG_8891-crop-3454x2268-1677901379.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-608982" width="337" height="220" /></figure>   With 11 points, [player_tooltip player_id='206616' first='Isabella' last='Woods'] spearheaded the Bishops' scoring efforts. Woods was key in Bishop England's second half comeback efforts as all 11 of those points were scored in the second half.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/03/IMG_9018.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-608983" width="361" height="271" /></figure>   Madison Riley keyed Bishop England's early first half scoring charge. Out of the 10 points that Riley finished the game with, eight were placed on the board in the first half. She also had four rebounds and two steals in 25 minutes.   Closing the Book   The “state champions” tag fits nicely alongside the 21-6 record that Gray Collegiate posted for the 2022-23 season. As for Bishop England, the book closes on their season having gone 19-12 as 2A runners-up.   So Long, Seniors   [player_tooltip player_id='124108' first='Maliyiah' last='Mason'], [player_tooltip player_id='471892' first='Alyssa' last='Woodlock'], [player_tooltip player_id='247776' first='Adrian' last='Frye'], [player_tooltip player_id='270385' first='Saniya' last='Boland'], Iyanna Elliot and Cymoria Thomas will soon depart from Gray Collegiate. Evelyn Kitchin is the lone senior graduating from Bishop England.

The theme for this season's 2A state girls championship might as well have been old school vs. new school – in terms of the schools and the coaching staffs.