RALEIGH, N.C. – Clinton senior Mikayla Boykin entered the 2A State Championship game needing just 8 points to break the single season scoring record in NCHSAA play. She scored 31 on her way to Kay Yow Most Valuable Player honors and lifted her team to a 59-49 win over North Surry to claim the Lady Dark Horses third state championship in school history.
Boykin tied the 22-year-old mark set by Shea Ralph from Fayetteville’s Terry Sanford with 2:04 to go in the opening quarter with a free throw to give her team the lead 10-9. She broke the record on the next trip down the floor, hitting a three to put the Dark Horses up 13-9 with 1:51 to go in the first quarter. She finished her senior season with 1,159 points.
The Dark Horses only briefly trailed after that, when North Surry took the lead by one as Tiana Shuff hit a three with 7:45 to go in the second quarter. Clinton retook the lead with a pair of Ashlyn Williams free throws a minute later, and the Lady Dark Horses never looked back.
Williams finished the game with eight points and eight rebounds. Alex Canady knocked in 13 points with four rebounds, adding two blocks and a steal for good measure. Canady was named Clinton’s Most Outstanding Player.
North Surry got a double-double from freshman Elle Sutphin who had 12 points and 11 rebounds. She also had a pair of assists and three steals on her way to being named North Surry’s Most Outstanding Player. She was the only Greyhounds player in double figures.
The Lady Greyhounds finished the season 26-6, champions of the Western Piedmont Athletic 2A Conference where they were 10-0. North Surry won the Western Regional for the first time in school history and made their first appearance in an NCHSAA Women’s State Championship game.
The Lady Dark Horses finished the season 30-2 as champions of the Four County 1A/2A Conference where they were 14-0. The Lady Dark Horses won the school’s third title and their first since back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990.
