'This is what we wanted': North Augusta girls win Class AAAA crown for 5th time

Mar. 2—No. 1 NORTH AUGUSTA 42, No. 3 WESTWOOD 29

A sluggish start on the state's biggest stage left the top-ranked North Augusta girls' basketball team in need of an adjustment.

The Jackets had worked so hard to get back to the Class AAAA state championship game after losing in overtime in last year's title game, but they weren't doing themselves many favors in the early stages of this year's contest.

The solution to their troubles was fairly simple — settle down, and play Jackets basketball.

North Augusta dominated the second half of Thursday's title game for a 42-29 win over No. 3 Westwood at the USC Aiken Convocation Center, the Jackets' fifth state championship in the last seven years and first since 2020.

"It's an awesome feeling, and I'm just so proud of our kids," said North Augusta head coach Al Young. "We had a new group that stepped up this year and refused to be defeated and came back and got things done. I just can't tell you how happy I am for the girls, our program, our community, our coaching staff. All of those things played a very important part of this entire process. I can't tell you how happy I am about this."

The Jackets (26-3) trailed by a point at the half and then took over in the third quarter, outscoring Westwood 20-6 while shooting 53.8%.

That quarter looked like classic North Augusta after an uncharacteristic first half during which the Jackets shot 19.2% and missed several wide-open looks at the basket.

"I just think we were a little nervous," Young said. "We went back and just kind of talked to them about settling down and doing the things that we knew we could do. I just think they settled down and came back and played well."

The Jackets' defense held Westwood (26-5) to 20.8% shooting for the game — 15.8% over the final three quarters. Westwood raced out to an early 9-2 lead, then was held to just 20 points over the final 28 minutes and change.

North Augusta forced 21 turnovers, with Jadah O'Bryant and Kenedi Wright leading the way with four steals apiece, and held Westwood's senior All-State duo of Jessica Woods and Korletta Daniels to a combined 15 points on 5-for-26 shooting.

Wright was matched up with Woods for most of the night and held her to 17.6% shooting with four turnovers.

"She's a freshman, too," Young said of Wright. "I feel very good about that because she's so young. We put her on their best ball player, who is a senior, and she did extremely well. It just says a lot for our future. I'm excited about that. Kenedi's going to be one tremendous basketball player."

Senior P'eris Smith led North Augusta in scoring with 13 points to go along with nine rebounds. All-State freshman Celena Grant had nine points and 12 boards, and senior Ansley Gartrell had nine points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

The Jackets couldn't solve Westwood's pressure defense in the first half, as they were forced into 10 turnovers. Young said they didn't think breaking the press would be a problem coming into the game, but some early-game nerves changed that.

North Augusta figured it out in the second half, which meant big trouble for a Westwood team that had finally reached the state title game after so many close calls over the last several seasons. What could have finally been the Redhawks' night instead turned into the Jackets' night — again.

"Hard working. We work really hard. We know that this is what we wanted," Smith said. "This is the big game that we've been waiting for, and we got it."

More big games could be on the way for years to come for the Jackets, who started freshmen Wright and Grant with eighth-grader Ashley Walker playing big minutes all season.

The win caps a season that included an unbeaten run through Region 4-AAAA — the Jackets have won 68 consecutive region games dating back to January 2016 — and a challenging run through the postseason. North Augusta had to face second-ranked South Pointe in round two and had to stage a final-minute rally after giving up a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter, hit the road and held Region 1-AAAA champion Pickens to 25 points in the third round, then overcame an eight-point second-half deficit to beat No. 10 Wade Hampton in the Upper State title game about a mile from Wade Hampton's campus.

It's not been the easiest season for a variety of reasons, from getting a young team on the same page to injury to tragedy.

"This has been a tough year for all of us. It's been tough for me," said Young, whose son Al B. Young died on Christmas Eve at 47 years old. "There were days I went to practice and I just was tired, mentally tired, and I just thought our kids picked things up and they pulled me through. I can't take the credit. ... My wife, who put up with all of this. Our coaching staff, who has done a tremendous job of watching film and doing all the other things, and our kids for hanging in there. I know that they were tired, and there were times they didn't want to come in the gym but they did."

Thursday's victory was the perfect send-off for the Jackets' seniors, who were newcomers to the program at the tail end of the four consecutive state championships from 2017-20. The following season was the only one of the last eight that they didn't reach the state semifinals, and then last year they got back to state only to come up short.

Their high school careers end the way they began — as state champions.

"I'm really speechless. This is so big to me. We worked so hard," said Smith, who missed nearly half the season due to injury but returned in time to help her team to a title. "We worked so hard, and we came together as a team. Nobody played selfish. We all just played our game. I'm just proud of everybody. We have a young team. Everybody stepped up, even the young girls."

NA 8 5 20 9 — 42

W 13 1 6 9 — 29

North Augusta (26-3): P'eris Smith 5 3-4 13, Celena Grant 2 4-7 9, Ansley Gartrell 3 2-4 9, Jadah O'Bryant 2 0-0 5, Kenedi Wright 2 0-0 4, Ashley Walker 1 0-1 2. Totals 15 9-17 42.

3-pointers: Grant, O'Bryant, Gartrell.

Westwood (26-5): Jessica Woods 3 3-4 10, Raven Johnson 3 3-10 9, Korletta Daniels 2 1-1 5, Makiah Thompson 1 0-0 3, Destiny Omeire 1 0-0 2. Totals 10 7-15 29.

3-pointers: Thompson, Woods.