MACON With the steady improvement over the past three years, it was only a matter of time before River Ridge broke through the Final Four to not just make the finals, but taking it all the way to win it all. In third round rematch of last year's playoffs, River Ridge tops the reigning champs Lovejoy 68-50.
River Ridge's hard-nose defense and hustle was the tale of the game as they forced 19 Lady Wildcat turnovers and out rebounded them 38-29. They made their living off running the fast break and capitalizing off the second chance points opportunities.
Class 6A Region 6 Player of the Year Mataya Gayle made her presences know with her all-around performance as she finished with team highs of 25 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. But key contributions from Sophia Pearl (11 points, five steals) and Kayla Cleaveland (15 points, three rebounds, two steals) helped pushed the team to victory.
Lovejoy's star guard La'Nya Foster finished the game leading the team in the five statistical categories with 16 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and four steals. With junior Bryanna Preston in foul trouble early in the first half, and fouling out with 6:25 left in fourth, Foster had to carry the workload.
Along with winning the championship, The Lady Knights finished their season with a record 27-5, 16 game win streak, three All-Region players, Region Coach of the Year in Jason Taylor, and regional champions.
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