Lake Marion, SC – The Atlantic Collegiate Academy girls' basketball team pulled off a major upset last Thursday night, knocking off a Lake Marion squad that was ranked ninth in the state in Class AA to advance to the third round of the state playoffs.
The Armada improved to 11-12 overall with the 46-38 victory over the Gators, who saw their 18-game win streak come to an end and saw their season end with a 22-2 record. The 46 points scored by ACA equaled the most points allowed in a game by Lake Marion all season.
"Our team played great team defense, rebounded well on both ends of the floor and were very patient on offense," Armada coach
Bill Zatulskis said. "They believed in themselves and played team basketball."
The Armada edged out to a four-point lead, 10-6, in the opening quarter, sparked by a pair of baskets off the bench by sophomore
Amanda Garza. The lead grew to six points, 21-15, by halftime with another basket from Garza combining with three-pointers from senior
Abby Fusco and freshman
Ashyra Willis, who also came off the bench.
Sophomore
Zaniya Blackmon came on strong in the third quarter, scoring 10 of her team-leading 14 points with a trio of long-range bombs. Garza added another basket and a pair of free throws as ACA maintained its six-point lead, taking a 35-29 advantage into the final period.
Junior
Micah Davis connected for a pair of baskets to open the final quarter, pushing the ACA lead to 39-29, but Lake Marion still had some fight left. The Gators hit a three-pointer and a free throw to close to within six points, but ACA sophomore
Cayleigh Johnson put the game out of reach with a three-pointer with less than three minutes to play.
The Armada hit their free throws in the final moments to seal the victory.
In addition to her 14 points, Blackmon had five rebounds and a pair of steals in the game. Davis had 11 rebounds to go with her seven points. Willis was assigned the job of covering Lake Marion's leading scorer, junior Zimarika Moorer, and shut her out in the final quarter. Moorer finished with 14 points in the game.
The Armada will face its biggest challenge of the year on Tuesday in Kershaw when they face the No. 1 ranked team in Class AA, the Andrew Jackson Volunteers (25-3). The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
The Vols have won their last nine games while averaging 93.4 points per game, including four games with 100 points or more. In addition to their offensive production, Jackson has allowed just 20.1 points per game over its win streak, including just five points allowed to Barnwell in the opening round playoff game.
Defending AA state champion Andrew Jackson advanced to host ACA by defeating Marion, the second-place team from ACA's region, by a score of 100-41.
The Vols are led by 6-foot-2 senior center Tamia Watkins. The Elon signee has averaged 29.6 points and 13.9 rebounds per game this season and has surpassed 2,600 points in her prep career despite missing all her sophomore season. Over 121 games in her career she has averaged a double-double with 21.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. She scored a career-high 54 points in a 104-8 victory over Buford earlier this month.
"Even though they are the No. 1 team in the state and the overall No. 1 seed, our team is excited and ready to face the challenge," Zatulskis said.
About Atlantic Collegiate Academy: Atlantic Collegiate Academy (ACA), located in Conway, S.C., serves high school students in a safe, small and family-centered setting. Our students seek the opportunity and challenge of rigorous curriculum, high academic standards and elite athletics while also earning up to two years of college credit. ACA serves students in grades 9-12 using an honors curriculum in 9th and 10 grades with a dual enrollment curriculum in 11th and 12th grades.
Learn more about ACA by visiting our website at AtlanticCollegiate.Academy and by following us on social media on Facebook, Instagram and X.
