MILLEDGEVILLE — A young Murray County High School girls basketball team broke through for the program’s first appearance in the state’s Final Four since 1966 on Saturday.
Waiting for the Lady Indians on this new stage at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville in the Class 2A semifinals was a team that was anything but inexperienced in making deep playoff runs.
Two-time defending state champion Mount Paran Christian will get to play for a third on Thursday. The experienced, tall and talented Eagles pulled out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter and never really left much breathing room for the Lady Indians in a 72-44 win over Murray County (24-7). Mount Paran (28-3), which won the Class A Private championship in 2022 and the 2A championship last year, will try for the three-peat Thursday against Josey in Macon.
The best season for Murray County, by playoff round reached, in 58 seasons ends in the Final Four.
Murray County head coach Chris Tipton said before the game that the Mount Paran frontcourt duo of Ciara Alexander and Jessica Fields, each standing taller than any Murray County defender, would be a key matchup for Murray on both ends of the floor.
A scrappy Murray defense that made miserable the offenses of many opponents couldn’t slow down the taller duo.
Alexander scored 20, putting in layups, grabbing boards and putbacks and heading to the free throw line for 10 of her points. Fields scored 22, hurting the Lady Indians down low and stepping out to hit a few jumpers too.
The two towers helped jump start a Mount Paran team that led 21-9 after the first quarter. The pair’s length defensively also made many Murray inside shots more difficult.
Murray got some offense going early in the second when Hadley Dotson hit a driving bucket and Callan Ledford drilled a 3-pointer, but Mount Paran grew the lead above 20 late in the second quarter and took a 41-20 lead into halftime, scoring more in a half than Murray had allowed in total in 19 separate games this season.
Murray ratcheted up defensive pressure to its maximum in the opening minutes of the third quarter, pulling the lead down to 42-24, but a 9-0 run quickly shut down Murray’s comeback hopes.
The Mount Paran lead sat at 54-27 after three quarters, and the 72 total points marked a season high allowed for a Murray County team that had allowed 60 or more just twice and 50 or more seven times all season.
Mount Paran was able to solve the Murray defense with size and skill, and the Murray offense had trouble scoring around those same attributes.
Ledford led Murray with 14 points, and senior Skyler Mahoney had 12, getting loose for a few baskets in the second half of what became her final game at Murray County. Miley McClure had nine and Bayleigh Winkler scored seven.
Mount Paran guard Jacalyn Myrthil did most of Mount Paran’s damage outside of the Alexander-Fields duo, hitting three triples and finishing with 19.
Murray’s run this season included a second straight Region 7-2A title — last year’s was the first since 1967 — and a second straight appearance in at least the Elite 8. This year’s team, despite starting just one senior and one junior and playing several freshmen and sophomores heavy minutes, broke through for the deepest playoff run since the 1966 team.