State champs! Carver girls cap unique 2020 season with basketball state title
Make it two state championships in three seasons for the Carver Tigers girls basketball team.
The Tigers beat Cairo 70-54 Wednesday afternoon at the Macon Centerplex in middle Georgia, capping off a season that saw them finish with a 15-2 record, go unbeaten in the region and cruise to yet another state championship victory.
The Tigers ground out close wins over Cedar Shoals in the Final Four (74-70) and Jefferson in the Elite 8 (61-60) to reach the title game. Wednesday’s win was much more comfortable and served as another high mark for a program that’s become accustomed to them.
“We had a tough road here,” Carver head coach Anson Hundley said. “And we played a lot of tough teams. We had to just stay calm and keep playing, and that’s what they did. They did a great job of just knowing that we could still win, as long as we kept doing what we do.”
Clemson commit sparks Tigers
It looked for a moment like Cairo would pull away. The upstart Syrupmakers led 27-23 with just under seven minutes left in the first half and oozed confidence. They had little trouble, up to that point, dealing with Carver’s full-court press.
Tigers star guard Kionna Gaines was having none of that.
The Tigers quickly went on a 16-0 run to retake the lead and pull away from Cairo late in the second quarter. Gaines, a Clemson Tigers commit, finished with 24 points and nine rebounds.
Gaines averaged just over 20 points per game for the Tigers and was the only Tiger in 2020-2021 to average double-digit scoring.
“She’s an ACC player,” Hundley said. “And she played like one today. She really stepped up big for us, and we’ve got a state championship this year. It was a team effort, but she definitely led the way.”
A special, and unique, season
A year that featured COVID-19, GHSA-altered rules like no tip-offs and limited crowds ended in jubilation for the Tigers.
The Tigers played fewer games this season than in years past due to COVID-19’s impact on scheduling.
But outside of COVID-19, the season was business as usual for the Tigers.
They’ve won five consecutive Region 2-4A championships. They’ve made, at least, the Final Four of the Class 4A basketball tournament in each of the past five seasons.
When the final buzzer sounded, Hundley raised both hands above his head, his grin stretching ear-to-ear. But there was almost a vibe of “we expected this,” about what ultimately was a somewhat muted celebration at the Carver bench. After falling in the Final Four to Troup last season, the Tigers are back where they believe they belong — atop the GHSA Class 4A girls basketball hierarchy.
“Man, those seniors went out with a bang,” Hundley said. “I’m super proud of them, and it’s going to be business as usual. I got a bunch of great young girls who are going to be ready to take over from where they left off, and we’re just going to keep rolling and see what we can do next year.”
This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 7:37 PM.
