b'2019-20 Girls Basketball: A Season toRememberWhile it sounds easy, the team saw many ups and downs throughout the season, but they continued to push forward.ZERO seniors. There was not a single senior on this years team.They were led by multiple juniors: Hailey Blackwell 21, JeBria Fullwood 21, Caroline Wyrick 21, Lesley Thomas 21, and Paula Graichen 21. These juniors have been the backbone and foundation of the program shift. Hailey Blackwell 21 was the true leader of this team. She was the leading scorer due to her fast style of play at the point-guard position. Everything this team does goes through Hailey. She was the teams MVP this season and was named All-Conference and During the last several seasons, the girls basketball team has risenAll-State.to new heights, under the coaching of Mrs. Mara Montana. ThreeJeBria Fullwood 21 brought toughness to this team. She is years ago, the team had a record of 12-15. Two years ago, the teamtenacious on the defensive end which disrupted opposing offenses improved to 20-11 in Coach Montanas first season as Head Coach.and led to easy offensive opportunities. She and Hailey provided a This past season, the girls finished with an overall record of 28-4,1-2 defensive line that was arguably the best in the state this past the third best record ever for a GDS girls basketball team. Coachseason. JeBria was the Conference Player of the Year and named Montana stated that she could not be more proud of this team and allAll-State. that they accomplished this season.This season was exciting. The team started the season off strong,Caroline Wyrick 21 added scoring opportunities from the wing.winning their first 16 games by an average margin of victory ofShe was able to knock down the 3-pointer, or pull-up off one 24 points per game. The team took care of business in conferencedribble. Caroline added depth to this teams rebounding efforts as play, going undefeated, winning each game by at least 18 points onshe crashes the boards hard. Caroline was named All-Conference.their way to capturing their 2nd straight conference championship,Lesley Thomas 21 and her height strengthened the teams finishing the season 28-4.rebounding opportunities. She was a force on the inside on both This years team achieved some major milstones: ends of the court. Lesley was one of the teams leaders, holding her teammates accountable. They finished the season undefeated at home for the first time in Paula Graichen 21 brought additional height at 63 and created an program history (17-0). interesting dynamic as she played inside and out. Her basketball IQ They earned the highest seeding in program history for theis her strongest skill. She was able to see the floor and understands HAECO tournament. the game like a college player. Paula was named All-Conference and They, for the first time in program history, were ranked #1 in the All-State. State by MaxPreps for both public and private schools.This was the first time in program history the girls were ranked by The team made a deep playoff run, reaching the NCISAA state MaxPreps in the Southeast region. championship game for only the 3rd time in program history.They received the #1 seed for the NCISAA State tournament Unfortunately, the team fell just short to Providence Day School, which is the highest ever in program history, where for only the despite a feverish fouth-quarter comeback.third time in program history they made it to the Championshipgame.The team is hungrier than ever and will return the majority of its They defeated the reigning 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A NCISAA State young team for the 2020-21 season in which they look to win the Champions, along with the 4A and 3A State Runner-Ups in both programs first ever state championship.nSouth Carolina and Tennessee.34 | Summer 2020'