GHSA AAA State Championship Recap

In a very entertaining game that was full of emotion and closely contested, it was the ending and disqualification of superstar [player_tooltip player_id='899789' first='Morghan' last='Reckley'] that people will be talking about. It's unfortunate because these are two excellent teams who have had remarkable seasons. Sandy Creek came into the contest with an 18 game winning streak, but this upset-minded Heritage-Catoosa team was not intimidated and did not back down. Several of their players have won a state championship earlier in the year in softball and that experience was key when the game was chaotic at the end of the fourth quarter. A lot of players performed well individually, but on this day the Lady Generals performed better as a team and were rewarded with the ultimate prize in prep sports.    Reckley finished the game with 29 points, six rebounds, five steals, and three assists, however she was not on the floor when the game was decided after being disqualified for either her second technical or a combination of her fifth foul with a technical included. It was hard to tell what exactly happened on the play that ended her night. To start the game she was able to get by and around the Heritage defenders pretty easily off the dribble, but passed up several open shots she probably would have made trying to facilitate for her teammates. Reckley was too unselfish and that hurt Sandy Creek as much as anything with so many points being left on the board. She dazzles with the ball and does things not many other players can physically. There was one play where she was sprinting back in transition defense and turned her head, located the ball, and then sprang up into the air with full extension and got a piece of the ball before crashing to the floor. Her athleticism is unsurpassed and she plays as hard as anyone while being the most talented player on the court.     Collins was outstanding for Heritage-Catoosa in the post and her play was a huge reason that she and her team are now state champions. Collins is very efficient scoring on the block. She did a great job moving without the ball, especially diving and ducking into the post from the free throw line as well as establishing good post position sitting down and getting big on the block. Her release is very quick and she uses her body well to create space between her and the defender, in this case [player_tooltip player_id='1280107' first='Kandyce' last='Hopkins'] who is one of the best shot blockers in Georgia. Collins was also effective rebounding the ball coming up just short of a double-double finishing the game with 17 points and nine rebounds. She has very good size and strength to go along with good quickness and very soft hands. She is a player whose stock has continued to rise all season long.     Tanner also was close to a double-double for Heritage finishing as her team's leading scoring with 19 points (5-10 from the field) and grabbing 9 rebounds. Tanner shot the ball well going eight for ten from the free throw line, including some in critical times that helped extend the game into overtime and eventually win it for Heritage. Tanner had some of the ball handling duties as well and did a great job running the sets called by her coach while picking the right time and opportunities to beat her defender off the bounce and go score at the rim. She was in constant motion and made the defense work She was the unquestioned leader for Heritage both vocally and showing a lot of emotion in the game, which her playing mates all fed off of.     Epps, who was visibly worn down by the end of the game, made play after play for her team finishing the game with 12 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds. She did it all and her experience was huge as the she made several plays that helped get Heritage into overtime and eventually win the game. Epps stayed under control and did not get sped up with the ball, instead playing at her pace. Tori was very strong with the ball against the fiesty, quick guards for Sandy Creek. She kept a calm demeanor throughout the game and her decision-making was excellent. Epps put her passes in the pocket for shooters on the outside and in the chest of Collins on the inside- in a position where they could quickly shoot and score. Her overall play was rewarded with the game MVP honors.     McCoy went out with an outstanding effort in her final game for Sandy Creek scoring 22 points, leaving it all on the court in the process. Sandy Creek had foul trouble early on as [player_tooltip player_id='841732' first='Madison' last='Reckley'] was called for two in the first quarter. McCoy did a great job filling her role as she knocked down multiple corner threes, got to the rim and scored several times, as well as scoring on the break. McCoy is an excellent athlete who will play soccer on the division one level in college next year at USC-Upstate. Her athleticism was obvious for all to see as she raced up and down the court all night, showing her impressive soccer conditioning in the process, and kept running while other players faded.     Gracy had a very productive spurt in a key stretch of the game that helped fuel another important run for Heritage. She hit three-three point shots, two in that span, that drew a lot of attention from the Sandy Creek defense and created more open opportunities for her teammates to score. Gracy also went 1-2 from the free throw contributing 10 points in the win. Like Collins and Tanner, Gracy came up just short of a double-double also finishing the game with nine rebounds. She, like Tanner, was excellent all over the floor all game long and like Tanner, her emotion after making big plays kept her teammates fired up and on target to finish the mission. Her offensive contributions were timely and necesarry and had a huge impact on the game.

In a very entertaining game that was full of emotion and closely contested, it was the ending and disqualification of superstar Morghan Reckley Morghan Reckley 5'8" | PG Sandy Creek | 2028 State GA that people will be talking about. It's unfortunate because these are two excellent teams who have had remarkable seasons. Sandy Creek came into the contest with an 18 game winning streak, but this upset-minded Heritage-Catoosa team was not intimidated and did not back down. Several of their players have won a state championship earlier in the year in softball and that experience was key when the game was chaotic at the end of the fourth quarter. A lot of players performed well individually, but on this day the Lady Generals performed better as a team and were rewarded with the ultimate prize in prep sports.