*Saturday, March 8

11 a.m. (Macon Coliseum)     

HOLY INNOCENTS'

29-0, Region 5

Holy Innocents' entered the state tournament as the No. 2 team in the state (although it is the highest-ranked team remaining with St. Francis having bowed out 

Photo by Ty Freeman

to Southwest Atlantic Christian), but it has played like a No. 1 team all season long. The Golden Bears are undefeated heading into their championship tilt and they have compiled that unblemished mark without any trouble. 

Their most competitive contest of the 2013-14 campaign has been a 57-50 decision at Darlington. Every other victory has come by a double-digit margin, including a much more convincing 46-20 rout of Darlington in Monday's semifinals. Holy Innocents' has won its three state playoff contests by an average of 33.7 points.

A big reason for the Golden Bears' dominance is freshman Khayla Pointer, a 5-foot-8 point guard. Pointer is the engine that makes her squad go on both ends of the floor. She can score, distribute the ball in dynamite fashion and she pesters opposing teams with her defensive tenacity. A young but athletic backcourt also features freshman Shai Blanding and sophomores Sydney Long and Chelsea Zoller. It is complimented perfectly by the post presences of sisters Erika and Lexii Cassell. Lexi, a Murray State signee, provides experience as the lone senior on the roster. The Golden Bears like to run and use their athleticism to parlay turnovers into fast-break points, but the Cassells have the potential to take over on offense in half-court sets.              

Holy Innocents' is bidding for its first state championship since 1999 and last season may have acted as a stepping stone to this moment. Following first-round exits from 2009 to 2012, the Golden Bears made a run to the 2013 semifinals before falling to Southwest Atlanta Christian by 25 points, 73-48. With Pointer now on board, though, erasing all of that 25-point margin and seizing revenge would not be an entirely surprising development. 

SOUTHWEST ATLANTA CHRISTIAN

26-5, Region 6

Southwest Atlanta Christian is through to its second consecutive Class A-Private state title game and it is bidding for its first championship since 2006. The Warriors lost to St. Francis in last year's final and by 17 points in this year's region final on Feb. 17, but they gained a measure of revenge in Monday's semis with a 66-51 victory. Senior guard Marquita Daniels scored 22 points in the winning effort, while freshman guard Tiamya Butler added 18 points and senior forward Amy Griffin contributed 17 points.

Beating Southwest Atlanta Christian twice in the same season is, of course, a taxing proposition. After all, getting the best of the team just once is difficult enough. The Warriors' only losses are to St. Francis (which was the second-ranked team in Class A Private), to Norcross and Westlake of Class AAAAAA and to Class AAAAA finalist Southwest DeKalb. Playing their best basketball when it matters most, they have won 18 of their past 19 games.                    

With only seven players and a primary rotation that features just six, stamina can be a problem for the Warriors. In the semifinals against St. Francis, for example, they led by 13 points at halftime but squandered all of that advantage and had to recover from a deficit in the last three minutes. 

The good news, though, is that Southwest Atlanta Christian will have had four full days off when it takes the court on Saturday. Even better news is that the players whom head coach Jackie Cowan does have at her disposal are impressive. The Warriors cannot run as much as they might like due to their short bench, but they don't have to. They can work a stellar inside-outside game in half-court sets with post players Griffin, a 6-foot-1 forward, and Dominique Banks, a 6-foot-3 freshman center, demanding attention from the defense down low. 

*Saturday, March 8

12:45 p.m. (Macon Coliseum) 

WHITEFIELD ACADEMY

23-6, Region 6

The Wolfpack is back in the state finals for the second time in three seasons with the opportunity to capture the program its fourth state title on Saturday. Whitefield cruised in the semifinals, posting an 82-61 win over Calvary Day. Now, the Wolfpack will face the challenge of trying to beat region-rival St. Francis for the third time this season. When the two teams met the first time this season (Dec. 10), junior Courtney Alexander led the way with 21 points and 6-foot-6 senior Eric Lockett finished with 14 points. 

Whitefield held St. Francis to just 1-of-7 shooting from the foul line and won by 14 points (65-51). In the second matchup (Jan. 21), Whitefield won 71-63 and was paced by sophomore Brendon Myles and Lockett's 15 points apiece along with a brilliant shooting performance from Berto Dryden. Dryden finished 3-of-3 shooting (all 3-point attempts) and went 9-of-10 from the foul line for a team-high 18 points.

The array of playmakers that are capable of producing a big game is Whitefield Academy's strength. Lockett is the leader statistically and vocally on the court and the senior averages right and 17 points per game. The 6-foot-7 Alexander is the only other scorer in double-figures at 11 points per game. There are five other players averaging north of five points per game and each one has scored in double-figures multiple games this season.

Whitefield houses a lot of size in the paint and the toughness of the Wolfpacks' big men helped the team survive a 73-69 double-overtime thriller in the semifinals against North Cobb Christian. Lockett suffered a facial laceration during the first overtime and returned by the second overtime to net three crucial buckets and lead his team with 22 points off of 8-of-10 shooting. Lockett is signed to George Mason.

ST. FRANCIS

23-7, Region 6

Last year, head coach Cabral Huff had just one senior on a roster that made it all the way to the state championship. Huff and his young lineup were unable to win the program its first state title despite holding a lead for much of the second-half. Greenforest Christian tied the game at 41-41 in the fourth quarter and scored the final 14 points to win 55-41. This year's team returned championship experience and one of the most dangerous and versatile trios of scorers in the state with junior Malik Beasley, sophomore Kobi Simmons and 6-foot-8 junior Kaiser Gates.

Beasley is averaging 21 points and 10.3 rebounds per game this postseason. The 6-foot-4 guard is joined in the backcourt by 6-foot-5 Simmons,

Photo by St. Francis Athletics

who is a nationally-recognized sophomore prospect. Simmons exploded for 19 of his 24 points in the first half of last year's finals and has averaged 17.1 points per game this season off of an efficient 55 percent shooting. Simmons also adds five assists per game and shoots 47 percent from the three-point line and 74 percent from the foul line. 

Kaiser is averaging 14.6 points per game and enters the championship off of consecutive double-double performances. Gates averages 10.2 rebounds per game and finished with 12 points and 10 boards in his championship debut last season. Gates not only grabs double-digit boards, but he can step out behind the arc and knock down three-pointers with his nearly unguardable height. Gates has hit 44-of-99 attempts (48 percent) of his three-point attempts this year.

Beasley, Simmons and Kaiser can all hit jump shots and finish with contact at the rim. Each of the three scorers have gone to the foul line more than 100 times this season. Senior McKinley Brown is player that likes to attack the basket and the 6-foot-1 guard is averaging 7.6 points per game this postseason and is dishing out seven assists per game. Brown has also knocked down 9-of-11 attempts from the foul line.