State Champion Lady Crusaders
The Robert Toombs Christian Academy Lady Crusaders basketball team are GIAA State A Champions. RTCA defeated Crisp Academy in the Final 4 last Wednesday at Brewton-Parker College, and then traveled to Columbus and beat Fullington Academy to bring home the State Title on Friday in the finals. vs. Crisp Final 4 RTCA battled with Crisp Academy’s Lady Wildcats on Wednesday at BPC. The big story of the first half was that Bree Wimberly got into foul trouble early and only played 5 minutes of the first half.
Crisp got on the board first with a free throw, but RTCA got a basket by Ansley Akins to take a 2-1 lead. RTCA fell behind over the first quarter, and at the buzzer, the score was 11-6 with Crisp Academy on top.
With 5:37 left in the second quarter, Meredith Durden and Kylie Acosta hit shots to close the lead to 11-9. Durden added a free throw to make it 11-10. RTCA took the lead 12-11 and then were up 1411 after a basket by Durden. Crisp came back to tie the game 14-14 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Wildcats pulled away to a 21-16 lead over RTCA. continued from page
With 3:11 left in the third, Wimberly closed the lead to 21-20 with a couple of baskets and free throws. Wimberly gave RTCA a 22-21 lead. RTCA pushed their lead to 28-22 with 30 seconds to play in the third, and then at the buzzer, the score was 28-22 with RTCA out in front.
Durden made it 30-22 with six minutes left to play. Emmie Davis extended the lead with a basket and a free throw with just over five minutes left. Wimberly hit a three-pointer to give RTCA a 36-22 lead as RTCA went on a 30-1 run to close out the game.
RTCA went on to win the game 43-22 over Crisp.
RTCA was led by Durden with 13 points, Akins added 11, and Wimberly posted 11 in the win.
Head Coach Jake Wilkinson said, “I'm so proud of how our girls played. The way they came out and played hard and in sync – I couldn't be happier for them. At the start of the game, we got down early and got into foul trouble. Bree Wimberly only played for 5 minutes in the first half along with Kylie Acosta, but our bench stepped up. Rachel Threlkeld, Leighton Williams, and Kailen Brant ley came in and gave us great effort to get into the second half. Our girls showed heart and depth, and I'm so excited for our program.' vs. Fullington Championship Game On Friday at Columbus State University, RTCA faced off with the Lady Trojans of Fullington Academy for the State Championship. In the first half, nerves got the better of both teams, but in the second half, it was a barn burner that came down to just one point in the final seconds of the game.
Early in the game, RTCA struggled to find their mark. Fullington was on top 2-1 after three minutes of play. Davis tied the game at 2-2 with a free throw, but Fullington hit a couple shots in the last minute of the first to hold a 7-2 lead at the buzzer.
In the second quarter of the contest, Wimberly made it 7-4, but a threepointer from them made it 10-4. RTCA went on a run as they closed the lead to 10-9 with 4:18 left in the first half. Durden tied the game at 11-11 with a pair of free throws with two minutes remaining. Fullington went back on top, but RTCA took their first lead of the game on a shot by Wimberly with 9 seconds left in the first half at 15-13. And that was the score at the end of the first half.
They tied the game at 15-15, but Akins and Durden pushed the lead to 1915 with 4:45 left in the third. Wimberly hit a shot and then Threlkeld pulled down a big rebound and put it back in and was fouled. She added the free throw to put RTCA up 2415.
Akins put one back in, and Wimberly hit a pull up from 12 feet as RTCA was on top 29-18 lead with 1 minute left on the clock. The score at the end of the third quarter was 29-20 with RTCA out in front.
The Wildcats hit two three-pointers to start the fourth quarter, to bring it back to a 29-26 lead for RTCA. It was 29-28 with 6:40 to play, and then with 6:14 on the clock Fullington went ahead, 30-29.
Akins went back on top on a baseline runner by Akins. The lead went back and forth. With 4:30 to play Fullington hit a three to lead 36-34, but a nice pass by Maddie Joyner to Davis tied the game at 36-36.
They got a basket in the lane and then drilled another three to take a 4136 lead with just under three minutes to play. Akins got another runner to fall and then added a free throw, and Wimberly put RTCA on top with a three from the wing to put RTCA on top 42-41 with just 1:50 to go.
Fullington tied the game at 42-42 with just 50 seconds left. Akins put RTCA on top with a free throw with just 18 seconds to play, and the RTCA defense did the rest. Fullington had the ball with just 5 seconds to play, but the shot they got off at the buzzer never had a chance and RTCA took the win, 43-42.
Coach Wilkinson stated, “They got up big and they are a really good team, but we just found a way to win. Akins works so hard on those free throws, and it paid off today. Our defense is what we feed off, and they did a great job for us. We got big plays from our bench today again, and wow here we are, State Champions. Just a great day to be a Crusader.”
RTCA was led by Wimberly with 15 points, Akins added 10 including the winning free throw, and Durden scored 8 in the win.
