Wesleyan dominates defending state champs to claim region title

DAWSONVILLE, GEORGIA – A new member of Region 7-AAA in 2023, Wesleyan Girls Basketball head coach Carolyn Blackman noticed an undertone of animosity between the mountain public schools that make up the other six programs in the region and the lone private school in Norcross.

Perhaps playing with an extra chip on their shoulder, Wesleyan silenced the packed-out Dawson County gym, filled to the brim with fans from neighboring Lumpkin County who watched as the Wolves dominated the defending AAA State Champion Indians and claimed the Region Championship, 62-52, Saturday night.

Blackman touted her team’s mental toughness to come into the hostile environment and get the job done.

“We’re focused on the right things. We’re focused on each other, we’re focused on the game plan and we didn’t let any of the outside noise distract us,” she said. “I was really proud of them for being so disciplined. That takes a lot of mental toughness, so I’m proud of them.”

The 10-point loss is Lumpkin’s worst loss in the state of Georgia since a Thanksgiving tournament loss to Buford in 2021 and its first double-digit loss to a school within the same classification since January of 2019. Wesleyan, which won the team’s first matchup by eight points in overtime, is the only team in Georgia to beat Lumpkin this season and joins Buford as the only teams to deliver multiple defeats to the Indians since 2020. 

As for Wesleyan, the Wolves dug deep on their biggest stage so far as Blackman said she feels this was the best game her team has played all season.

“This is the first game we’ve put four quarters together and I’m just really proud of them,” Blackman said. “I feel like we did a great job executing. We did a great job coming together and being all in and buying into a different game plan. We bought into each other, rallied behind each other. 

"It was mostly Lumpkin people there but we didn’t care. Each possession mattered, we valued the ball and made smart decisions, took smart shots. And defensively we executed the game plan. I’m just really proud of them and I think this is momentum going to the state tournament.”

The first quarter gave the appearance of the opening round to a heavyweight bout, with both teams furiously trading blows and sizing up their opponents for what would be a long battle.

Lumpkin struck first with a score from Co-Region Player of the Year Mary Mullinax. In perfect poetic symmetry, her fellow Co-Region Player of the Year, Chit-Chat Wright answered back immediately with a three, to take a 3-2 lead. Blackman said that these are the moments Wright lives for and hinted at the idea the honor of Player of the Year shouldn’t have been shared.

“She thrives in big games,” Blackman said of Wright. “She woke up this morning, did some physical therapy and then got shots up with her trainer. She’s just laser-focused. She can’t get enough. She lives in the gym and thrives in big games like this and it shows.” 

Wright got off to a scorching hot start, scoring eight in the first quarter and providing her teammates with scoring opportunities. However Lumpkin ended the quarter on a 5-0 run with scores from Ciera Brooks and Kate Jackson to take a one-point advantage into the second quarter. 

That lead didn’t last long as Desiree Davis claimed the advantage back for Wesleyan with a quick score to start the second quarter. The game’s sixth lead change, one possession into the second quarter, was surprisingly the last of the game, as it was all Wesleyan from that point. The Davis basket was the first points of a 16-1 run to start the second quarter and set the tone for the rest of the game. 

Unsurprisingly, 12 of those 16 points came from Wright, whose hot streak carried Wesleyan to a 14-point lead. Lumpkin answered with a 6-0 run to claw part of the way back, but wasn’t permitted to take any momentum into halftime as Londyn Walker scored the quarter’s final bucket to give the Wolves a 10-point lead at halftime.

Wesleyan then did what almost no team has been able to do against the defending state champs, choosing not to try and hold to their lead and survive in the second half, but rather the Wolves kept the pressure on and continued to outscore the Indians. 

Lumpkin’s halftime adjustments did not work, as the major scoring threat shifted away from Wright, who set up center Johanna Potter early and often in the second half. Potter dominated the post matchup, single handedly outscoring Lumpkin in the third quarter with 12 points to the Indians’ nine.

Blackman gave credit to her girls for their full-team effort.

“Everyone really bought into their role tonight,” she said. “Everyone played to their strengths and that is why the result happened the way it did.”

Wright added a couple of free throws near the end of the third to stretch Wesleyan’s lead to 19. A Mullinax basket for Lumpkin ended the scoring for the quarter and cut the lead down to 17 points heading into the fourth.

In the fourth quarter, the surge of scoring that formulated one final push came from Lumpkin as expected, with Lexi Pierce taking a strong drive to the hoop to earn the basket and a foul. 

After her free throw cut the lead to 14 and gave the Indians some life, Wesleyan proved it would not only try to endure this final push, but would keep countering with attacks of its own, led of course by Wright who answered immediately with another score, not allowing any momentum to transfer. 

Wesleyan answered every meaningful bucket put up from Lumpkin in the fourth with its own score, all the while running down the clock. Freshman Shayla Bahr hit a dagger three to put the Wolves up by 19 before taking their foot off the gas for good. Lumpkin finished the game on a 9-0 run that was deemed too little, too late for anything other than lessening the blow of the imminent scoreboard, shining down to a now-quiet crowd. 

Wright finished with a game-high 26 points. Mullinax led the Indians with 15 points.

Blackman feels the statement win could be a sign of things to come as her team takes the maximum momentum possible into the state tournament next week.

“I think it’s fair to say that we’re peaking at the right time,” she said. “This is when we need to be playing our best basketball, so moving forward, we know that we can’t go backwards. We have to keep moving forward and so I think they’re going to buy into that and go dominate the state tournament.”

With the win, Wesleyan advances to the state tournament as the No. 1 seed from Region 7 and will host Franklin County in the first round. Blackman said it’s a relief to not have to travel.

“With all these places, we could be traveling to Athens or we could be traveling to Monroe so it’s huge being able to have home court advantage,” she said. "We have a great community and they’re going to rally behind us so I’m excited about all the support we’ll get.”

Lumpkin advances as the No. 2 seed and will host Oconee County in the first round. In perhaps the most crucial game of the tournament when it comes to state tournament matchups, Dawson County, who upset a top-ten Pickens County team to clinch a playoff berth earlier in the week, took down White County to clinch the No. 3 seed from Region 7 and will now travel to Hart County. 

With the loss, White County, which spent all season ranked in the Top-10 in AAA, will have the uphill task of traveling to the unbeaten powerhouse of Hebron Academy, who’s believed to be the classification’s strongest team by far.