As time wound down Saturday night in Colonial Life Arena, and as the inevitable drew closer and closer, fans of the North Augusta girls' basketball team raised three fingers into the air.
With a win over No. 5 South Pointe, the top-ranked Lady Jackets' 3-peat dreams had come true.
Their trademark defensive intensity and rebounding were too much for state championship newcomer South Pointe, sophomore Kiana Lee stepped up on the biggest stage for the second year in a row, and the Lady Jackets' seniors leave as champions after wondering if they'd make it back to defend their crown.
"You know what? I'm going to enjoy this; I promise you that. This is great," said North Augusta head coach Al Young. "I can't tell you how proud I am of those young ladies. It's been a long way. We started back in September; we just had no idea. We had a lot of young kids. We talked about the possibility, but we really didn't know. The girls bought in, they worked hard, and here we are."
Here they are – the champs remain the champs.
Class AAAA Player of the Year Mya Burns had 13 points and 16 rebounds, and Lee had 12 points and 10 rebounds. J'Mani Ingram led the Lady Jackets in scoring with 17 points, and she added six rebounds.
North Augusta led by as many as 20 points against a South Pointe team that wouldn't go away quietly. The Stallions played the Lady Jackets closer than anyone has in the playoffs during these last three title runs, but they couldn't string together enough successful offensive possessions to overcome the deficit.
Read the full Aiken Standard article HERE.