Marist champs

Avery Fantucci came up with two huge plays that enabled Marist to beat Luella 56-54 in double overtime to win its first Class 4A  girls basketball championship on Wednesday at the Macon Coliseum.

Luella
Caption

Luella players show their disappointment after the last-second loss.

Fantucci hit a desperation halfcourt shot at the buzzer to send the game into overtime, then made a driving layup at the end of the second overtime to give the War Eagles the championship. She finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks.

Luella had the ball with 12 seconds left and Milani Smith was driving to the basket when the ball was knocked loose with four seconds left. Lauren Kim got the loose ball, fed it to Fantucci who make the well-guarded layup as the clock expired.

Marist (28-3) also got 19 points and 13 rebounds from Lexy Faklaris and 14 rebounds from Alex Norris.

Luella (27-4) was led by Smith with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Evangelia Davlakou and Trinity Layton each scored 10.

Click here for the official box score.

Marist dogpile
Caption

The Marist girls celebrate their championship with a dogpile on the floor of the Macon Coliseum.