The 2A Championship included boys and girls teams from 42 schools all around the state, with enrollments of 1000 students or less.

The road to victory was tough as the girls played three formidable teams. Friday night they opened up against two-time defending state champion Mercer County. The girls pulled out an easy 15 point victory (66-51), to the excitement of the family, friends and CAL supporters who had traveled to see them. With signs waving and pom poms shaking, the fans cheered on this exciting first victory.

Play continued on Saturday in the semi-finals against #8 Webster County. While CAL was not favored to win, the girls’ outstanding teamwork led to another easy victory (53-34).

Sunday’s final championship game was against #12 Scott High School of Covington. CAL led by 11 points early in the game before Scott pulled within 2 points (25-23) at half-time. The game was a nail biter at the start of the 2nd half, but Scott was never able to take the lead. The Lady Centurions became the 2019 2A State Champions with a 49-40 victory. Shelby Calhoun and Arina Khlopkova each scored 13 points. Calhoun was named the tournament MVP and was joined on the All Tournament team by her teammates Arina Khlopkova, Mia Beam, and Jaya McClure.

This is a special group of girls who support each other on and off the court. For the fans watching, and the excited coaches, it was exceptionally touching to see them win and celebrate together. After the game medals were handed out, the girls each cut down part of the net. Many pictures were taken by the parents and fans. A fun and memorable moment for the girls was when they poured water on Coach Perry as he entered the locker room.

If you haven’t made it out to see the varsity games, please come and support these girls. They are now on an eight game winning streak as they are headed to the LIT next week.