The Class 2A basketball season will come to a close when Union County’s boys take on Butler at 3 p.m. and Hardaway’s girls face Murray County at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Centreplex in Macon.
The Union County Panthers (26-5) have defied the odds to reach the 2A boys state championship game. The team has experienced a dramatic rise over the past five years. During the 2020-2021 season, the Panthers didn’t win a game, going 0-14, with only two of those games finishing within single digits. Since then, they have steadily improved, winning more games each season until finally reaching the finals this year, the team’s first state finals appearance since 1971. Their 26-5 record is even more impressive considering that three of those losses came against A-3A Private state finalist North Cobb Christian. Union County entered the playoffs as the sixth overall seed but immediately outplayed that ranking, defeating Pierce County 87-61. The second round followed a similar pattern, with the Panthers routing Westside-Macon, winning by 42 points. The quarterfinals provided their biggest challenge up to that point, as they faced severely underrated 19th seeded KIPP Atlanta Collegiate. However, the Panthers prevailed, winning 66-59. For the first time in the playoffs, Union County entered the semifinals as an underdog, facing No. 2 seed Tattnall County. The Warriors leaned on their elite defense having held 23 of their 29 opponents under 50 points this season. However, Union County became just the seventh team to surpass the 50-point mark, scoring 54 points while holding Tattnall to just 34 points, a total 16 points below their season average.
The fourth-seeded Butler Bulldogs (20-8) have turned a dominant end to their regular season and playoffs into the school’s first state finals appearance since the 2021-2022 season, giving them a chance at their second state championship and first since 1966. Entering the final week of the regular season, Butler was in a heated battle with Laney and Burke County for the top seed in the Region 4-2A tournament. Up to that point, Butler was 5-2 in region play but was 0-2 against the other top two teams in the region. However, they finished the regular season strong, defeating both top teams in their final three games and then beating Laney once again in the region title game. The Bulldogs began their playoff run with a dominant 29-point win over Miller Grove. The next two rounds, against 13 seed Columbia and 12 seed Franklin County, were not as dominant but still resulted in comfortable victories by 13 and 16 points, respectively. Their biggest test came against top-seeded Carver-Columbus. The Tigers had entered the semifinals after a dominant first three rounds of the playoffs, winning by a margin of 29.7 points per game, the highest in the 2A playoffs. Their offense didn’t disappoint, scoring 73 points in an overtime thriller. However, Butler used a massive 27-point second quarter and a 12-point overtime period to put up 78 points, defeating the heavily favored Tigers.
On the girls side, Hardaway (25-6) is back in the state title game for the second year in a row and is still looking for the first state championship in program history after a heartbreaking loss to Baldwin in last year’s finals. The Hawks have been dominant down the stretch, winning 15 straight games and 21 consecutive games against GHSA opponents dating back to their December 14 loss to Holy Innocents’. Hardaway has used its size to dominate all season, with its three leading scorers all being frontcourt players standing at 5-foot-10 or taller. Sophomore Rhianna Boynton is the team’s leading scorer. Standing at 6-foot-1, she is the team’s starting center and has averaged 17.4 points per game this season. Additionally, she has dominated the glass, averaging 11.9 rebounds per game, an astonishing 6.9 of which are offensive rebounds. Their other two top scorers are senior Mikayla Johnson, who is averaging 17.3 PPG, and senior Akilah Shelton, who is averaging 11.4 PPG. The playoffs have seen the Hawks hit their stride, beating their first three opponents by 49 or more points. In their semifinal battle with Josey, Hardaway may not have been as dominant as in the first three rounds, but they still controlled the game, defeating the Eagles 65-45 and earning another shot at the program’s first-ever state title.
Murray County (30-1) has been one of the most dominant teams in the state since the start of the season. The Indians have gone 30-1 this season, with their lone loss being a 50-48 upset to Sonoraville, a team Murray County defeated three other times this season, including a 57-41 quarterfinal victory. The team’s only close game in the playoffs was a 71-66 semifinal victory over Morgan County. Their playoff path has been one of the most interesting of any team this season, as they had to beat two region opponents, something that would have been impossible before the finals until this year’s reclassification. The reclassification introduced the new playoff ranking system for Class A-Division I, 2A, 3A and private schools within those classes. The Indians took advantage of these rankings, earning the top overall seed in Class 2A. In the playoffs, the Indians’ offense has come to life. While they averaged just 62.7 points per game during the regular season, they scored more than 70 points in three of their four playoff games, something they only accomplished four times in regulation during the regular season. Additionally, the 81 points they scored in their second-round matchup against Union County tied for the most points they have scored in any game this season. In the finals, the Indians will look to break a 60-year championship drought, and claim their first title since 1965.
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