The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With win over Carrollton, 6A Westlake has 4th straight title
The championship reign of the Westlake Lions will continue for another year.
Westlake became the seventh girls basketball program in GHSA history to win four consecutive state championships after pulling away from Carrollton for a 64-46 victory in the Class 6A final Friday night at the Macon Coliseum.
The top-ranked Lions (20-0) have not lost a game played in Georgia during their four-year run, and they finished this season as the only undefeated girls team in the state. Westlake won its previous three championships in Class 7A before moving down in a reclassification.
Third-ranked Carrollton, seeking its first title since 2009, was the only team in the state to reach the 30-victory mark, finishing 30-2.
“To say it was easy would be a lie,” Westlake coach Hilda Hankerson said. “The whole thing is that those seniors that were here for the very first championship really dug in, and that’s only two of them (Raven Johnson and Brianna Turnage). Only two people are here that will get four rings. The others are enjoying the situation. But those two said they were not going to let us down, and they led us to the promised land.”
Johnson, the AJC’S 2020 all-classification player of the year, had 10 points, six rebounds and four assists, and she controlled the ball in the Lions’ spread offense in the fourth quarter. Turnage had 11 points and nine rebounds.
Westlake’s leading scorers were Ta’niya Latson with 24 and Camerah Langston with 12.
Carrollton used hot shooting from 3-point range to stay close early. Two 3-pointers by Eghosa Obasuyi in the first three minutes helped the Trojans take an 8-2 lead, and the score was tied 25-25 at halftime. Carrollton shot 50% from the field in the first half and was 4-of-8 on 3-pointers, while Westlake shot just 40% from the field.
De’mauri Flournoy, the Region 5 player of the year, had only two points at halftime but finished with a teamhigh 15 for the Trojans.