Christ Church girls hang on late to defeat Mullins for Class 2A title

Christ Church found itself in a precarious position late in the Class 2A girls state championship matchup with Mullins on Saturday at the Colonial Life Arena despite holding a slim lead.

Leading scorers McCall King and Marissa Powe had fouled out but thanks to the steady play of seniors Emmy Dickerson and Erica Harris, the Cavaliers hung on for a 41-36 victory in a rematch of the 2017 Class 2A final.

“I’m so proud of those girls to be able to step up,” Christ Church coach Ja’net Vicks said. “We had our two leading scorers that fouled out early in the game and for our seniors to step up and execute and stay calm. We could have crumbled there with two minutes left in the game, but they stepped up and played an amazing game.”

Powe led all scorers with 15 points before fouling out with 2:25 remaining in the third quarter. King fouled out with 3:16 remaining and Christ Church (26-4) holding a 36-30 lead. Mullins (18-8) got within 38-34 but Harris scored off an offensive rebound with 1:08 remaining to seal it.

Harris finished with 14 points for the Cavaliers.

Janell Sindab scored 14 points for Mullins, who lost in the finals for the second consecutive year after winning it all in 2017.

This is Christ Church fifth state championship overall and first since winning back-to-back in 2015-2016.

M – Janell Sindab 14, Nichols 7, Lasane 8, Friday 5, Reed 2. CC – Marissa Powe 15, Erica Harris 14, McCall King 11, Dickerson 1.