Murray County’s late, frantic rally fell short as the Lady Indians fell to Hardaway, 47-34, in the GHSA Class AA girls’ basketball championship game Thursday at the Macon Centreplex.
Murray County (30-2) trailed from the start in the early afternoon matchup as the Lady Golden Hawks (26-6) used their superior size and quickness to dominate defensively while building a 20-4 lead through one quarter and stretching it to 28-11 entering halftime.
The Lady Indians made just four of 30 first-half shots and were 1-of-13 from 3-point range, which had been a strong point of the team’s offense all season. Rhianna Boynton, Hardaway’s 6-foot-2 sophomore center, and 6-1 senior Akilah Shelton combined to block or alter numerous shots, including several from beyond the 3-point line early.
The final six seconds of the first quarter helped doom Murray County. Boynton had a putback basket to make it 16-4, with Mikayla Johnson stealing the inbounds pass and scoring as she was fouled. Johnson missed the free throw, but Boynton got the rebound and scored at the buzzer to end the period.
Hardaway, which held 11 of its last 13 opponents to less than 40 points, continued to press, even after misses, in the second eight minutes. The Lady Hawks used Boynton’s layup off Johnson’s long pass to increase their lead to 20 before Blaklee Ledford ended the half by making Murray County’s first 3-point basket of the game.