Defending champs are half of No. 1s

Four defending champions and one first-time winner were among that eight teams that won girls basketball state titles in Macon last week and finished No. 1 in the final rankings of the 2019-20 season.

Class AAAAA Buford (31-1) won its fourth consecutive state title and eighth in 12 seasons when it beat previously unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Kell 66-63 in the most competitive of the eight finals. After a back-and-forth first half, Buford didn’t trail in the second, but never led by more than eight points. The victory wasn’t secure until Kell missed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer. Tate Walters led the Wolves with 18 points. Kell freshman guard Crystal Henderson put on the performance of the finals, scoring 26 points and turning the ball over just twice against Buford’s swarming full-court pressure defense.

Westlake completed its domination of Class AAAAAAA and won its third consecutive state title with a 72-53 victory against previously undefeated Collins Hill. The Lions (30-2) won their five tournament games by an average of 32 points, their closest game being the victory in the final. Raven Johnson and Ta’Niya Latson scored 23 points each against Collins Hill. Westlake, the only eventual state champion that came into the tournament ranked No. 1, has not lost to a Georgia opponent since the 2016-17 season.

Douglass won its second consecutive Class AA title with a 56-46 victory against Southwest-Macon. Kayla Sesberry scored 25 points, and

Ikenya King had 13 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Astros (26-5). Southwest has never won a state title.

Holy Innocents’ led most of the way in a 66-53 victory against previous No. 1 St. Francis and claimed its second consecutive Class A Private title. Jada Farrell had 21 points and Rachel Suttle added 19 for Holy Innocents’ (26-5). The championship was the fourth for the Golden Bears.

Wheeler County (31-1) got 23 points from Keonya

Mincey and 16 from Samerria Bryant in a 55-50 victory against previous No. 1 Central-Talbotton in the Class A Public final to claim the first state title in school history. Wheeler County’s best previous seasons were runner-up finishes in 1960 (Class C) and 1978 (Class B).

The other three champs had won state titles but none in several years. Forest Park ended the longest of those droughts, beating Glynn Academy in Class AAAAAA for its first title since 1970.