Familiarity reigns in NCISAA 3A girls’ basketball state championship game

Concord Academy hung with Grace Christian for the better part of the first half of the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association’s 3A girls’ state championship game on Friday night in Greensboro. Concord even took a brief lead in the second quarter.

But the four-time defending state champion Crusaders squelched Concord’s upset bid with a big run that ended the first half, and then put the game away after the break for a 66-41 victory.

Grace Christian has now won five consecutive state titles, and defeated Concord Academy in the final for the second year in a row.

Concord Academy (25-8) only led once in Friday’s matchup, going ahead 14-13 on Justice Alexander’s 3-pointer with 7 minutes, 15 seconds left in the second quarter.

However, Grace Christian’s Cooper Cox hit a pair of free throws 10 seconds later that put the Crusaders (23-1) back on top. The free throws kicked off a 16-7 run at the end of the half for a Grace Christian 31-21 lead. Concord Academy got no closer in the second half.

“We lost focus in the last minute,” of the second quarter, Eagles girls head coach DeAngelo Alexander said. “We kinda know what their players are capable of, and they went on a 9-2 to end the half.

“That carried over to the second half, and it felt like (Concord Academy’s players) ran out of gas towards the end.”

Kennedy Jackson made three 3-pointers and scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Crusaders. Olivia Lewter had four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points, Kyndoll English added 11 points and Cox finished with 10.

Alexander led the Eagles with three 3-pointers and 19 points, and Jada Powell added 11 points for Concord.

This story was originally published February 27, 2026 at 7:59 PM with the headline "Familiarity reigns in NCISAA 3A girls’ basketball state championship game."