4A State Championship: Westwood vs. North Augusta

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As the calendar has changed from February to March, it was time to crown champions across South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) basketball.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last season, the 10-game slate began with the 5A championship games. This time, the 4As were up first on Thursday starting with the girls matchup between a Midlands team in Westwood and a squad from just up the street from the USC-Aiken Convocation Center in North Augusta.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Would the Redhawks claim its first-ever state championship regardless of sport? Or would the Yellow Jackets complete its ascent once again atop the Palmetto State's 4A girls hoops mountain? The answer was the latter as North Augusta prevailed over Westwood by a final score of 42-29.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I just hope our girls will appreciate what they've done – what they've accomplished. And 10-15 years from now, they'll come back and see that picture of themselves on the wall,” Yellow Jackets coach Al Young said.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Quarter By Quarter</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was the Westwood fans that had the most to cheer about early as their Redhawks responded to North Augusta scoring the first two points with a 9-0 run. The Yellow Jackets managed to trim the deficit to five (11-8), but it was 13-8 to Westwood's advantage following the initial eight minutes.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the first four minutes of the second quarter, it appeared that both teams went cold from the field – including North Augusta which bricked a number of good looks in the interior. As both teams went into their respective locker rooms for halftime, the Redhawks held a slim, 14-13 advantage.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The third quarter began to conjure shades of the early moments of the opening stanza – instead it was the Yellow Jackets that would embark on an early 9-2 scoring binge. North Augusta's lead was 25-18 midway through the third – and 33-20 as the frame reached its conclusion.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Westwood managed to trim its deficit to single digits in the fourth quarter. Midway through the final frame it was 38-29 in favor of the Yellow Jackets. Time became a sixth woman for North Augusta as the Yellow Jackets had a 13-point lead with over two minutes to play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Primetime Performers</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":608343,"width":387,"height":254,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/03/IMG_7138-crop-2382x1564-1677832193.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-608343" width="387" height="254" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='172178' first='Peris' last='Smith']</strong> succeeded in putting an exclamation point on her storied career with the Yellow Jackets. She came within one rebound shy of a double-double as she tallied 13 points and hauled in nine rebounds. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“It's a good way to be able to come back,” Young said. “Peris was injured earlier in the season, so she missed most of our season. To be able to come back to this game and have an impact and then to win a state championship I don't think she'll ever forget it. There'll be some memories that she'll never ever forget.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":608345,"width":393,"height":258,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/03/IMG_7225-crop-2549x1674-1677832335.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-608345" width="393" height="258" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='350281' first='Celena' last='Grant']</strong> also had herself another noteworthy game. Not only did she place nine points on the board, but the star freshman led the Yellow Jackets' rebounding efforts. Grant brought down 12 boards. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":608347,"width":396,"height":260,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/03/IMG_7010-crop-2619x1720-1677832456.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-608347" width="396" height="260" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='558751' first='Ansley' last='Gartrell']</strong> also had herself a big game with nine points as she played all 32 minutes of the contest. Gartrell also added three assists and two blocks in what was a winning effort for North Augusta. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":608349,"width":398,"height":261,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/03/IMG_7067-crop-3094x2031-1677832548.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-608349" width="398" height="261" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='124105' first='Jessica' last='Woods']</strong>' career ended with a 10-point game. Woods did have a tough shooting game as she made only three of her 17 shots from the field but a plus for Woods was the seven rebounds she brought down and two steals she collected.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":608351,"width":399,"height":262,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2023/03/IMG_7165-crop-2005x1317-1677832656.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-608351" width="399" height="262" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='185432' first='Raven' last='Johnson']</strong> finished her game also with nine points. Johnson was also the Redhawks' leading rebounder as she brought down 11 boards, leaving her one basket shy of a double-double. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Coach Al Young on His Team's Defense</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We teach that. We preach that. We certainly believe that our defense creates our offense and we think defense is the most important thing that we do. So we talk about that all the time. We talk about our offense coming from our defense. So, that's something that we do very intentionally. We work hard defensively to try to get those turnovers and create some easy baskets for us.”&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Closing the Book</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Augusta finishes the season with a 27-3 record while that of Westwood concludes in the 2022-23 season with a 26-5 mark.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>So Long, Seniors</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Graduating seniors for the Yellow Jackets include <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='172178' first='Peris' last='Smith']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='558750' first='Jadah' last='O'Bryant']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='558751' first='Ansley' last='Gartrell']</strong> and <strong>Caleeya Duke</strong>. For the Redhawks, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='124105' first='Jessica' last='Woods']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='198126' first='Korletta' last='Daniels']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='185432' first='Raven' last='Johnson']</strong>, <strong>Jessica Bumpers</strong>, <strong>Miracle Branch</strong>, <strong>Cortna'e Pope</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='358288' first='Sage' last='Brown']</strong> will soon trade in Westwood uniforms for caps and gowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Hello, Campbell</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Woods and Smith will be reacquainted in the college ranks as both committed to Division I Campbell.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->