Madison Academy defeats Ramsay 54-48; will play for another basketball title

Madison Academy overcame 18 turnovers by out-rebounding Ramsay 44-24 and the Mustangs squeaked out a 54-48 win over the Rams in the Class 5A Girls’ State Basketball semifinals Wednesday at the BJCC Legacy Arena.
    Destinee McGhee had 17 points and 16 rebounds, eight on the offensive boards, to pace Coach Alissa Flowers’ team.  She also had four blocked shots. The victory sends Madison Academy (28-7), the 2017 and 2018 state champions, into their first-ever Class 5A state championship game Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Legacy Arena.
     McGhee fouled out with 2:45 remaining, but clutch free-throw shooting by Jaden Langford and Nequioa Adams prevented a Ramsay comeback. Adams  finished 8-of-8 at the foul line and had 13 total points. Langford had eight points, all coming on an 8-of-11 free-throw shooting effort. Halia Morris had nine rebounds. The Mustangs finished 21-of-29 at the charity stripe.
    The Rams (27-8), coached by Ronnie Jackson, were led by Terri Crawford’s 12 points.  Keiara Griffin and Aniyah Smith added nine points each, Jaylyn Sherrod had eight. Smith also had seven rebounds.