The great Michael Jordan once said, "Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships."
Grace Christian has always been known to the people of Winston County as a school for its great academics and Christian values, not for its athletic programs.
̈A lot of people still think grace is inferior when it comes to sports,"says GCS Boys Coach Jason Morgan.
However, Grace Christian proved those people wrong Saturday, as both the Eagles and Lady Eagles won their first ICSA State Championship. Morgan said when he arrived at GCS three years ago, his first impression on the current seniors was that they go as hard as they possibly can.
Morgan's idea of success is when players give their best. Giving their best is what led these seniors to an incredible 40-2 season that was capped off with a championship.
"This is a big deal for our school," Morgan says.
More than just basketball, Morgan hopes to see the senior class as boys and girls succeed as whole, with help from basketball. Morgan saw a senior class that combined for less than 20 wins as Freshman overcome all odds and combine for almost 80 wins as seniors.
"It makes me excited, if they can have this much success on the basketball court… God has given you your gifts, figure out a way to use those gifts for his kingdom," Coach Talor Troyer also enjoyed watching her team grow into champions.
"I just keep in mind where we came from,"Troyer says, as the Lady Eagles had only won four games in her first season, opposed to only losing four this year.
Troyers says she challenged the Lady Eagles to become champions in her first season and that is exactly what they did.
"I cannot begin to tell you what a tough, strong group of women they are", Troyer says, " They worked so hard to get where they are".
Both teams went undefeated throughout the tournament. In the Championship game, the Lady Eagles crushed Amory 46-19. Carley Peterson led with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Aspen Harris led in assists. The Eagles faced the common foe Amory Christian twice in the tournament after defeating Cornerstone Christian 44-18. The Eagles won the first matchup against Amory 54-33, with help from Bonner Brownlee’s 29 points. The Eagles finally won the championship against Amory on Saturday night by a score of 45-30, with help from Jacob Phillips’s 18 points. Asher Hogue was a great addition to the Eagles in his return from injury as he scored double digits in all three games.
"GCS has done some things in basketball the past three years that we have never done before,” said Morgan, “Special things happen when you have kids who work hard and give their best every day”. "They have left this legacy of champions", Troyer says, " They deserve every bit of it".
