Magnificent! Military Magnet girls secure program’s first state championship
Military Magnet girls basketball got a taste of championship experience last season. This year, the Eagles are state champions.
Military Magnet used a 10-0 run in the second half to defeat Southside Christian 54-49 on Saturday in the Class A championship at USC Aiken Convocation Center.
It is the first championship in girls basketball and just the second in a team sport at the. The boys’ track team won a state championship in 2019.
Military Magnet was making its second straight championship appearance. The Eagles lost last year to High Point Academy.
“We just didn’t finish,” Military Magnet coach Nathaniel Taylor said of last year. “That was the most important thing about this and we were able to do that. I am just so happy for our kids, the community and administration.”
Guards Chazmin Bradley and Kaelin Davis made sure the Eagles finished Saturday. The two sophomores are part of a young nucleus for Military Magnet, which has six sophomores, four eighth graders and just two seniors.
Bradley and Davis combined for 12 of the team’s 14 points in the fourth quarter. Leading 52-49, Bradley hit two free throws with six seconds to put the game away. She finished 18 points.
Davis finished with 10 and Rykia Jakes had 12 points, all in the first half.
Southside Christian was hoping to make it a sweep in basketball. The SCS boys won the Class A title with a 66-45 win over Scott’s Branch on Wednesday. The Sabres’ football team also won a championship in December.
Hannah Fuller led the Sabres with 21 points but was held to just five points in the second half. SC: Carter 7, Andres 8, Rothman 2, Ashlyn Bowers 11, Hannah Fuller 21. MM: Chazmin Bradley 18, Rykia Jakes 12, Brown 7, Kaelin Davis 10, Martin 2, Richardson 1, Mitchell 4.
