The Atlanta Journal-Constitution released its All State teams today naming senior Katie Frerking Class AA Player of the Year.  Frerking also was selected First Team All State while fellow senior Brittany Stevens was selected Second Team All State.  Coach Jan Azar was selected Class AA Coach of the Year, her tenth time receiving the Coach of the Year award for her team's classification.  This is Frerking's first selection to the First Team having been selected Second Team All State last season.  Stevens is making her first appearance on the AJC All State team.  Frerking becomes the fourth Wesleyan player to earn the classification state Player of the Year award.  This is the sixth time a Wesleyan player has been named classification nstate player of the year.  Nikki Luckhurst earned this honor in 2002 and 2004, Anne Marie Armstrong was selected in 2008 and 2009 and Holli Wilkins was selected in 2012.  Congratulations to both players and Coach Azar for this well deserved recognition.

Seniors Katie Frerking and Brittany Stevens were named to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's All Gwinnett County team as the AJC released its All County Teams of the Year on today.  Frerking earned First Team All Gwinnett honors while Stevens was named Honorable Mention.  This is Frerking's second AJC All Gwinnett mention as she was on the Second Team last season.  This is the first such honor for Stevens.  Congratulations to both players.

Seniors Katie Frerking and Brittany Stevens were both named to the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Metro Team of the Year and were honored an awards banquet last night in College Park.  Frerking earned First Team honors while Stevens was named Honorable Mention in this exclusive group of girls basketball players in the metro Atlanta area.  Congratulations to both players.

Wesleyan seniors Katie Frerking and Brittany Stevens were named All Gwinnett County by the Gwinnett Daily Post as the newspaper released its All County teams recently.  Frerking was selected First Team All County, while Stevens was selected to the Second Team.  It's the first such honor for Stevens while Frerking was named Second Team All County last season.

Seniors lead Lady Wolves to sixth straight state championship, ninth in ten years and tenth in 12 years

Wesleyan has done it again, winning another state championship defeating Laney 76-43 Friday afternoon in the championship game of the 2013 Class AA state tournament at the Macon Coliseum.  This one had all the makings on a heavy weight bout as No. 1 ranked Wesleyan was facing undefeated No. 2 ranked Laney for the title.  Laney had lost in the semifinal round of the state tournament four straight years before finally breaking through this season with a semifinal win over Kendrick last week.  Wesleyan won the opening tip and Brittany Stevens got the Lady Wolves started on the right foot connecting on an early three pointer.  The lead grew to 10-4 as Laney was having difficulty with Wesleyan's press.  Wesleyan also benifitted from four three pointers made in the first quarter by four different players.  In addition to Stevens' three, Landyn Duley, Paige Mosely and CaraMia Tsirigos all connected from behind the arc during the period.  The Lady Wolves ended the first quarter on a 9-6 run taking a 19-10 lead at the end of one.  The three point efficiency didn't continue in the second quarter and the Wesleyan press became discombobulated at times.  More than once a Wesleyan defender was beaten on a long pass down court.  The nine point lead Wesleyan held at the end of the first quarter totally evaporated as Laney's Wynetta Wright hit a jumper with :41 left in the second quarter knotting the score at 25-25.  The tie was short lived however as Cairo Booker made a nice drive to the bucket and scored despite a hard foul to put Wesleyan up 27-25.  Her free throw attempt failed but after a defensive stop, Wesleyan got the ball back.  With under five seconds left in the first half, the Lady Wolves ran a beautifully desinged play as Katie Frerking hit her sister Lauren with a pass around the perimeter.  Lauren launched a three that sailed through the net as the buzzer sounded giving Wesleyan a 30-25 lead going into halftime and most importantly, wrestling the momentum away from Laney.  As has been the case all season, adjustments were made at halftime and Laney paid the price.  Wesleyan scored four quick points to open the second half, both from turnovers, which prompted a Laney time out.  The second half wasn't even a minute old and Laney found themselves down nine at 34-25.  Wesleyan's defensive pressure in the third was more like it was in the first quarter when the early nine point lead was built.  Laney's guards had trouble handling the pressure and turned the ball over on a few occasions.  After overcoming a nine point lead in the first quarter and battling back to tie the game late in the second, the Lady Wildcats found themselves down by nine again.  The lead grew to 42-29 midway through the third quarter.  Wesleyan outscored Laney 23-10 in the period turning a five point lead at halftime into a 18-point lead at the end of the third as the Lady Wolves led 53-35 heading into the fourth.  The Lady Wolves forced nine turnovers in the third.  Wesleyan's full court pressure for three quarters had taken its toll as the Lady Wildcats tired.  The Lady Wolves outscored Laney 23-8 in the fourth and it was over.  Credit the Wesleyan coaches and players for executing an outstaning game plan.  Laney star, 6'4 Khadijiah Cave, a Baylor singee finished the game with 10 points, four of which were from free throws.  She was held below her 23 ppg average and well below the 31 points she put up in Laney's semifinal win over Kendrick.   The Wesleyan defense did an outstaning job limiting her touches as she was not a major factor in the game.   Katie Frerking exploded for 20 second half points after enduring a physical first half scoring eight.  She barely missed a triple double as she scored 28 points, had 11 steals and eight rebounds solidifying herself as one of the best players in Georgia.  Stevens had a double double of her own, her first of the season, as she scored 14 points and had 11 assists.  She also pulled down seven rebounds and had six steals saving her best for last as this was her finest game of the season.  A third senior, Mosely, was the third Wesleyan player to score in double figures as she had 11 points to go with four rebounds, three steals, and two assists.  She also had four monster blocked shots and wreaked havoc on the definsive end all game long.  Tsirigos finished the game with three points, five boards and took three huge charges.  She was outstaning defending the big Laney posts.  Sadly, Wesleyan's fifth healthy senior Kendra Talley, went down midway through the first quarter with a knee inury, the extent of which isn't yet known.  She did not return to the game but continued to cheer on her teammates from the sideline for the duration of the game displaying a positive and supportive attitude the entire time despite her extreme disappointment.  Wesleyan's sixth senior, Taylor Blackmon, can relate and she sat with and consoled Talley.  Blackmon suffered and ACL injury last summer and missed her entire senior season but was a tremendous asset to the team all season dispite her inability to be on the floor.  Wesleyan had plenty of non-senior contributions as Duley finished the game with five points, and three steals.  Nikki McDonald added five points, three steals and two rebounds for Wesleyan while Keevana Edwards scored four points and grabbed six rebounds.  Lauren Frerking chipped in three points while Cairo Booker also had three points for the Lady Wolves.  With the win, Wesleyan halted Laney's 30-game win streak and spoiled its quest for an undefeated season.  Laney ends its outstanding season with a record of 30-1.  As for Wesleyan, they finish with a record of 28-4.  The win gives Wesleyan its sixth straight state title which ties the state record held by Hart County which won six straight state titles from 1989-1994.  After winning the Class AA title in 2008 to start this run, Wesleyan was reclassified to Class A and wasn't able to technically defend that AA title.  This title can be considered a successful defense of that AA title with four Class A titles sandwiched in between.  The win also ties the state record for overall girls basketball state championships in Georgia which was held by Taylor County which won its 10 titles in 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1995 and 2003.  Wesleyan has won state championships in nine out of the last ten years and 10 of the last 12.  No other team has won that many titles in such a condensed amount of time.  Not to be forgotten are Wesleyan's two state runner up finishes.  Over the last 13 seasons, Wesleyan has played in the state championship game 12 times.  Since 2001, the only occasion Wesleyan failed to make it to the state championship game was in a loss in the quarterfinals in 2003.  The level of success accomplished by the Wesleyan girls program during this time is unprecedented in Georgia high school basketball and in team sports in Georgia.  Credit goes to Coach Azar and her incredibly dedicated coaching staff and to all of the hard working, and talented players who have gone through the Wesleyan program over this time period.  Year in and year out, these girls set aside personal goals and accolades for the purpose of Team.  Textbook team basketball was on display today and the result was historic.  We will greatly miss our six seniors, Brittany Stevens, Katie Frerking, Taylor Blackmon, Kendra Talley, CaraMia Tsirogos and Paige Mosely.  But all six will be playing a Division I sport on a full scholarship in college, five in basketball and one in softball.  Quite amazing.   Congratulations to the entire Wesleyan team and coaching staff for a fantastic season and for the historic accomplishments of today.  With their sixth straight championship, Wesleyan left no debate who's tops in the state.

Wesleyan Lady Wolves - 2013 AA State Champions

Photos by Jim Worthington, AJC

Wesleyan over the last 13 years

2001        31-2,  State Runner Up
2002        28-4,  State Champions
2003        26-4,  State Quarterfinalist
2004        28-5,  State Champions
2005        31-2,  State Champions
2006        30-3,  State Champions
2007        26-8,  State Runner Up
2008        30-3,  State Champions
2009        29-4,  State Champions
2010        28-4,  State Champions
2011        31-2,  State Champions
2012        29-4,  State Champions
2013        28-4,  State Champions

After a less than stellar effort in the first half, Wesleyan slammed the door in the second and completely overwhelmed No. 5 ranked Thomasville 83-34 in the semi-finals of the 2013 Class AA state tournament Friday night at the Centennial Center on the campus of Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville.  The Lady Wolves started off strong taking an early 9-1 lead.  Thomasville fought back though going on a 7-4 run to close the lead to 13-8.  Wesleyan countered with its own 12-4 run to close the first quarter taking a 25-12 lead into the second.  Despite outscoring Thomasville 15-10 in the second quarter to take a 40-22 lead into halftime, the Lady Wolves left far too many points sitting on the rim in the period.  There were simply too many missed opportunities for easy buckets evidenced by more than one missed layup and a slew of missed free throws.  Despite the 18-point halftime lead, the Wesleyan coaches were not pleased with the first half effort especially on the definsive end.  Although Thomasville experienced some difficulty with Wesleyan's full court pressure in the first half, it was nothing compared to the second.  Whatever was said in the locker room at halftime worked.  The Lady Wolves clamped down defensively in the third quarter.  There was hustle play after hustle play as the Lady Bulldogs had trouble getting the ball across half court.  When they did manage to do this, the defensive pressure didn't let up and a turnover was often waiting to happen.  Wesleyan outscored Thomasville 24-5 in the third quarter.  All five Thomasville points came from the free throw line.  The Lady Wolves' defense did not allow a single field goal in the period and Thomasville rarely got a second look at the basket.  Wesleyan led 64-27 at the end of three.  In what was a very physical game, the Lady Wolves did not deviate from what they do, apply pressure, force turnovers and capitalize offensively.  The fourth quarter was shortened to six minutes but Wesleyan still managed to score 19 points outscoring Thomasville 19-7 in the final period.  Wesleyan's depth was on display as 11 players scored in this one.  Only one Wesleyan player scored in double figures which is quite unusual when a team puts up 83 points.  That player was Katie Frerking who continued her special season toinight with a double double.  She scored 29 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to with six steals, three assists and two blocked shots.  She shot 90% from the free throw line going 10-for-11 from the stripe.  She shot 80% from the field on 8-for-10 shooting and was also 1-for-1 from the three point line.   Wesleyan is hardly a one-player act however.  Nikki McDonald scored eight points and had three steals and two rebounds while Landyn Duley also scored eight points and grabbed three boards.  Floor general Brittany Stevens had to sit most of the second quarter on the bench as she picked up her second foul late in the first quarter.  Still she finished with seven points and five assists.  Paige Mosley had a strong night despite also having to sit due to foul trouble.  She put up six points, four assists, three rebounds and three blocked shots.  Kendra Talley added six points, four steals, two rebounds and two assists.  CaraMia Tsirigos finished with four points, five boards and two assists while Keevana Edwards chipped in four points and three rebounds.  Lauren Frerking added four points, two rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot while Cairo Booker scored four points and had three rebounds and two assists.  Taylor Casey capped the evening with a deep three, Wesleyan's final points of the game.  Now back to the defense.  Wesleyan's defense was so stifling, they only allowed Thomasville eight made field goals for the entire game.  Thomasville scored 19 of its 34 points from the free throw line.  Most impressive, Thomasville's first field goal of the second half came with about three minutes left in the game.  They only had two second half field goals and were held to only 12 second half points.  Region 1-AA champion Thomasville ends its season with a 26-3 record. No. 1 ranked Wesleyan improves to 27-4 with the win and advances to the state championship game for the tenth straight year and for the 12th time over the past 13 seasons.  Waiting for Wesleyan will be No. 2 ranked Laney (30-0).  Laney won its semi-final game over No. 3 ranked and previously undefeated Kendrick, 67-44 earlier in the day.  This will be the second ever meeting between the two.  Wesleyan defeated Laney 62-46 in the quarterfinals of the 2006 AA state tournament.  The Lady Wolves will be going for a state record tying sixth straight state title and record tying tenth overall.  Tipoff is Friday, March 8 at 3:00 PM at the Macon Coliseum.

Photos by Jim Worthington, David Azar, Gwinnett Daily Post

Wesleyan wasted little time establishing itself and the tempo of the game as they ran over, around and past Armuchee posting an 85-29 win in the first round of the 2013 AA state tournament.  The Lady Wolves' full court pressure at times made it difficult for Armuchee to get the ball across half court. Wesleyan benefitted from numerous turnovers from their press and converted them to points on the offensive end.  The Lady Wolves led 25-9 at the end of the first quarter.  The second quarter nearly mirrored the first as Wesleyan outscored Armuchee 25-8 taking a 50-17 lead into halftime.  The full court press was removed in the second half but that didn't mean Wesleyan's defensive intensity waned.  The Lady Wolves pressure did not allow Armuchee to do what it does best, shoot from the outside.  The Lady Indians did not enjoy many open looks at the basket.  This was evident in Wesleyan outscoring Armuchee 24-6 in the third quarter taking a 74-23 lead at the end of the period.  The fourth quarter was shortened to six minutes per the 30-point lead rule.  Wesleyan was clicking on all cylanders and Armuchee simply had no answer.  The Lady Wolves really seem to be peaking at the right time.  Katie Frerking scored a career high 35 points in only three quarters of play as she sat out the entire fourth quarter.  She also had a team high seven rebounds along with five assists and five steals.  Kendra Talley scored nine points to go with her five steals, two assists and two rebounds.  Paige Mosley had eight points, four steals and two boards while Keevana Edwards scored eight points while pulling down six rebounds.  Brittany Stevens added six points, four assists and three steals while Nikki McDonald scored seven points and had two steals.  Landyn Duley chipped in four points, four rebounds and three assists.  Armuchee, the No. 4 seed out of Region 7-AA, ends its season with a 14-14 record.  The Lady Wolves improve to 24-4 and advance to the Sweet 16 round of the state tournament.  Wesleyan is now 13-0 all time in state tournament first round games.  They will next face Bremen (22-6), the No. 2 seed from Region 5-AA.  Bremen, ranked No. 10 in the most recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll, was a 69-42 winner over Union County in it's first round game.  This will be the third straight year Wesleyan and Bremen have met in the second round of the state tournament.  Wesleyan defeated Bremen 91-27 in the 2011 Class A tournament and 71-34 in the 2012 Class A tournament.  Both were reclassed to AA this year.  The game will be played at Wesleyan Friday night, game time TBA.

Wesleyan prides itself by playing tough schedules each season and playing good teams from various classifications.  The Lady Wolves have a 18-1 record against teams that qualified for the state tournament in their respective classifications.

Vs. Class AAAAAA (3-0)

Defeated Alcovy, Duluth, Brookwood

Vs. Class AAAAA (1-0)

Defeated Southwest Dekalb in preseason scrimmage 

Vs. Class AAA (3-0)

Defeated Buford twice, defeated Decatur 

Vs. Class AA (9-0)

Defeated Greater Atlanta Christian three times, Westminster three times, Lovett twice and Model 

Vs. Class A (2-1)

Defeated Holy Innocents, Darlington, lost to SW Atlanta Christian

No. 1 seed Wesleyan won the region 6-AA tournament championship Friday night with a resounding 67-48 drubbing of No. 2 seed Greater Atlanta Christian at Westminster's Turner Gymnasium.  The Lady Wovles got going early jumping out to a 10-4 lead and upped it to 20-10 by the end of the first quarter.  After cutting the Wesleyan lead to eight at 22-14 at the 6:29 mark of the second quarter, the Lady Wolves went on a 10-3 run to open a 32-17 lead with 3:22 left in the period.  Wesleyan, ranked No. 1 in AA, closed the second quarter on a 10-4 run capped off by a beautifully run play that used up the final seconds of the period ending with a Katie Frerking three pointer just before the buzzer.  Wesleyan led 43-21 at the half.  The Lady Wolves lost a little of their intensity in the second half after building the large first half lead.  Still they outscored GAC 14-13 in the third quarter and led 57-34 heading into the fourth.  The lead in the fourth quarter grew to as large at 25 before GAC, ranked No. 7 in AA, managed to close it to the final 67-48 margin.  The Lady Wolves played perhaps their best and most focused game of the year...especially the first half.  They had no trouble breaking the GAC press when it was attempted.  There was crisp ball movement, good decision making and most importantly, relentless clean defense throughout.  Katie Frerking lit up the stat sheet with 21 points, 12 rebounds, six steals, four assists and three blocked shots.  The Lady Spartans simply didn't have an answer for her or for the deeper Lady Wolves for that matter.  Kendra Talley added 10 points, two rebounds and two assists while floor general Brittany Stevens ran the offense superbly as she scored seven points to go with her game high seven assists, six steals and four rebounds.  Paige Mosley and CaraMia Tsirigos scored six and five points respectively.  Keevana Edwards added three points and six boards for Wesleyan while Nikki McDonald chipped in four points and four rebounds.  Wesleyan shot a solid 75% from the free throw line on 15-for-20 shooting.  Tonight's region tournament championship is Wesleyan's eighth.  Wesleyan won region tournament championships in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2011.  With the win, the Lady Wolves up their record to 23-4, 10-0 in region games while GAC falls to 20-7, 7-3.  The All Region Team was announced tonight with three Wesleyan players named.  Junior Keevana Edwards and senior Brittany Stevens were named to the All Region team while senior Katie Frerking was named Region Player of the Year.  Wesleyan will host its first round game of the state tournament and will face Armuchee (14-13), the No. 4 seed from region 7-AA.  Armuchee lost a tough battle with Dade County 48-46, in the consolation game of the Region 7-AA Tournament in Rome.  This will be the second ever meeting between Wesleyan and Armuchee.  The only previous meeting was also a first round state tournament matchup on February 23, 2007 at Armuchee.  Wesleyan won that one 63-43.  The game will be played Wednesday but tipoff time has not yet been determined.

Photos by Brian Morgan

Wesleyan and Buford met for the second time this season with Wesleyan again winning the battle of Lady Wolves, this time posting a 44-40 victory in a defensive oriented game Saturday night at Buford.  This was the only scheduled meeting between the Gwinnett County rivals but it turned out to be their second meeting of the season.  The two met last month in the fifth place game of Peachstate Battle of the Southeast tournament at Holy Innocents with Wesleyan winning 59-53.  Tonight Wesleyan had to travel to Buford to face the No. 1 ranked team in AAA that was out for revenge on its home floor.  Neither team scored for the first two minutes of the game before Buford broke the ice.  Wesleyan countered and the teams went back and forth.  Wesleyan led 12-8 at the end of the first quarter.   With Brittany Stevens and Katie Frerking with relegated to the bench with two fouls apiece and Buford enjoying an 8-2 advantage in fouls called against, Buford opened the second quarter on a 10-0 run to open an 18-12 lead with 4:57 to go in the second quarter.  Wesleyan countered that with it's own 9-1 run the rest of the second quarter and led 23-19 at halftime following a Lauren Frerking three pointer with :06 to go in the half.   Once Wesleyan regained the lead late in the second quarter, it was never relinquished.  Wesleyan led throughout the third quarter but never by more than five.  Buford cut the lead to one as Wesleyan led 27-26 with 4:05 to go in the third quarter of this low scoring defeinsive slugfest.  Wesleyan outscored Buford 6-3 the rest of the third quarter to take a 34-30 lead into the fourth quarter.  Buford cut the lead to two at the 6:50 mark of the fourth quarter.  Wesleyan then went on a 7-0 run opening up the biggest lead of the game for either team at 41-32 with 3:46 to play.  Buford was able to cut the lead to four late in the game but Wesleyan's earlier 7-0 run was the difference and put the game on ice.  This was a defensive battle throughout and should help each team in its quest for a state championship.  Wesleyan should be proud of its effort playing a tough and talented opponent on its home floor and coming away with its second win of the season over the No. 1 ranked team in AAA.  Most impressive was Wesleyan's effort on the boards.  Wesleyan outrebounded the much taller Buford squad 30-14.  That rebounding effort was a major key to Wesleyan's win as Buford was often limited to one shot on their offensive possessions.  Katie Frerking and Paige Mosley did an outstanding job guarding Georgia Tech signee Kaela Davis holding her to just nine points, well below her average.  Frerking finished the game with 15 points, six rebounds, five steals, and three assists.  Landyn Duley had her best outing of the season and is starting to come into her own after recovering from a foot injury incurred during softball season.  She scored eight points while connecting on two of three attempts from three point range.  Stevens put up seven points and three assists for Wesleyan while Keevana Edwards added six points and five boards.  Mosley finished with four rebounds for Wesleyan.  With the win Wesleyan improves to 18-4 on the season while Buford falls to 14-4.  Wesleyan has now won four straight over Buford and holds a 26-7 lead in the series with dates back to 1998.  Wesleyan will get back to region play this week as they'll face No. 4 Greater Atlanta Christian on Tuesday night at Wesleyan.  Tipoff is 6:00 PM.

Wesleyan travelled to Lovett for a region game Friday night and came away with a 51-31 win over the defending AA state champions.  After spotting the Lions a 3-0 lead, the Lady Wolves scored 18 of the next 23 points in the game and led 18-8 after one.   The lead increased to 29-14 by halftime as Lovett had trouble handling the Wesleyan press.  Wesleyan outscored Lovett 12-8 in the third quarter and 10-9 in the fourth.  The Lady Wolves led by 20+ for most of the second half and were never threatened after opening up the double digit lead in the first quarter.  Katie Frerking had 18 points, five rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot for the Lady Wolves and was the only Wesleyan player to score in double figures.  Keevana Edwards had a nice game posting nine points, a team high seven rebounds, and three steals.  Brittany Stevens scored seven points, grabbed six boards, led the team in assists with five and had four steals in a solid all around effort.  Nikki McDonald added six points and three rebounds for Wesleyan while Kendra Talley chipped in five points and two boards.  With the win, Wesleyan improves to 17-4, 5-0 in region play.  The AA No. 1 ranked Lady Wolves will next take on AAA No. 1 ranked Buford for the second time this season.  Wesleyan posted a 59-53 win over their fellow Lady Wolves on December 29 during the Peach State Battle of the Southeast at Holy Innocents.  Tipoff is 5:00PM tomorrow night at Buford.

Landyn Duley shoots over Lovett's Taylor Brown

Wesleyan took a brief break from region games as they took on Bradley Central from Cleveland, Tennessee Satruday night at the Girls Night Out event at Starr's Mill High School in Fayetteville.  The Girls Night Out event featured some of the best teams in Georgia and around the Southeast and proceeds went to the Kay Yow Foundation.  After trailing by double digits in the first half, Wesleyan roared back in the second half to post a 69-61 win over Bradley Central, ranked No. 4 in Class AAA which is Tennessee's largest classification.  The Lady Wolves opened an early 6-2 lead before Bradley Central began its first half three-pointer barrage closing the lead to 6-5.  The Lady Wolves went on a 10-3 run and built a 16-8 first quarter lead but Bradley Central's Whitney Donaldson hit a pair of wide open three pointers to keep it close.  Bradley Central ended the first quarter on its own 10-3 run as Wesleyan held on to a narrow 19-18 lead entering the second quarter.  The Lady Wolves' defense was porous in the second quarter to say the least and offensively, Wesleyan simply couldn't locate the basket.  Bradley Central hit another pair of threes by Kayla Withrow and Brooke Copeland during a 12-0 run to start the second quarter and Wesleyan found itself down 30-19 around the four minute mark of the period.  Wesleyan had been outscored 22-3 since holding that 16-8 lead in the first quarter.  Nikki McDonald answered a Bradley Central three pointer with a three pointer of her own cutting the lead to 30-22.  Bradley Central was sitting back in its 2-3 zone and something had to change for the Lady Wolves.  Enter freshman Taylor Casey.  Casey nailed a three pointer, got fouled behind the three point line on another three attempt, calmly sank all three free throws, and hit another three late in the second quarter to bring Wesleyan within two at 37-35 at halftime.  After being down 11, Wesleyan closed the first half on a 16-7 run and Casey played a big role in the comeback effort.  The third quarter was tight as the lead changed hands often with neither team holding a lead larger than two points.  Wesleyan made defensive adjustments at halftime which made a big difference.  Bradley Central held a 49-48 lead with around five seconds remaining in the quarter when Brittany Stevens raced upcourt and nailed a three pointer at the buzzer giving Wesleyan a 51-49 lead entering the fourth quarter.  The fourth quarter was all Wesleyan defense and Katie Frerking.  The Lady Wolves did a tremendous job on the defensive glass often limiting Bradley Central to one shot.  Frerking did the offensive damage in the period scoring 16 of her game high 32 points while going 6-for-6 from the free throw line which helped put the game away for Wesleyan.  This was an entertaining back and forth game as the Lady Wolves built an early lead, found themselves down double digits, then up double digits, and then finally put the game on ice with defense and free throws.  After allowing Bradley Central five three pointers in the first half, Wesleyan limited them to just one in the second.  In addition to Frerking's game high 32 points, she also had eight rebounds, four steals, three blocked shots and two assists.  Stevens scored 14 points for Wesleyan while dishing three assists and grabbing two rebounds and two steals.  Casey finished the game with nine points and two boards while McDonald had eight points, four rebounds and three steals.  Paige Mosley added three points and five rebounds while Keevana Edwards chipped in two points and four boards.  CaraMia Tsirigos added three points, three steals and two rebounds for the Lady Wolves who upped their record to 15-4 with the win.  Wesleyan handed Bradley Central only its second loss of the season as they fell to 18-2.  Wesleyan will go back to region play on Tuesday as they face Westminster for the first time this season.  Tipoff is 5:30 PM at Westminster.

Wesleyan and Lovett got together Tuesday night in a matchup between the reigning Class A and AA state champions.  Wesleyan, the reigning Class A champion since moved up to AA, had its way with reigning AA champion Lovett as they downed the Lions 64-30 in the region opener for both teams.  Lovett hung with the Lady Wolves during the first quarter.  After the teams tied five times in the period, Wesleyan scored the last four points opening a15-11 lead at the end of one.  A preview of what was to come in the third quarter was on display in the second quarter as Wesleyan began to clamp down defensively.  Wesleyan opened the quarter on a 9-2 run and held Lovett to only seven points while scoring 15 themselves.  The Lady Wolves took a 30-18 lead into the locker room at halftime.  Wesleyan played perhaps its best quarter of basketball in the third as they applied suffocating defense which generated its offense.  Numerous steals and numerous layups resulted in Wesleyan oustscoring Lovett 26-7 in the period opening a 56-25 lead heading into fourth quarter.  The fourth quarter was shortened to six minutes per the 30-point lead rule.  Katie Frerking put in another strong performance with 25 points, three assists and three rebounds.  Nikki McDonald had what might have been her best all around game of the season as she barely missed a double-double scoring 14 points while grabbing eight rebounds.  She also had two steals and two blocked shots.  Brittany Stevens scored seven points and had five assists and two steals for Wesleyan.  Paige Mosley had four points and three rebounds while Kendra Talley also scored four points to go with two boards.  Keevana Edwards added six rebounds, four points, four steals and two blocked shots in a strong all around effort.  Lauren Frerking and Cairo Booker rounded out Wesleyan's scoring with four and two points resepectively.  The Lady Wolves did a nice job defending Virginia signee Sydney Umeri who finished the game with eight points, half of which were scored in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach.  With the win, Wesleyan snaps its two game losing skid and improves its record to 12-3 overall, 1-0 in region play.  Lovett falls to 8-7, 0-1.  Up next Wesleyan will travel over to No. 2 ranked Greater Atlanta Christian in another region matchup.  This will be a renewal of what was once a very intense and heated rivalry.  Wesleyan and GAC have not met in nearly five years when Wesleyan was last in AA and the two teams were in the same region.  The two rivals are back in the same classification and region and it's again a battle of No. 1 and 2 ranked teams as it was numerous times in the 2000's.  Wesleyan leads the series with GAC 17-12.  Tipoff is 6:00 PM Friday at GAC.

Cairo Booker forces Lovett's Te'Erica Eason to change direction

The Lady Wolves took a trip west to Birmingham over the weekend and took on two of Alabama's highest ranked Class AAAAAA schools in Shades Valley and Hoover.  Although both games ended in losses for Wesleyan against the two Alabama powers, they could have just as easily ended in wins.  Wesleyan took on Shades Valley, the No. 2 ranked team in Class AAAAAA in Alabama on Friday night at Shades Valley in the first meeting between the schools.   Shades Valley is a very deep and talented team with tremendously quick guards.  Wesleyan found itself down 16-10 at the end of the first quarter and was in a 20-11 hole midway through the second.  The Lady Wolves ended the first half on a 10-0 run to take a 21-20 lead into halftime.  Wesleyan opened the third quarter promisingly enough scoring the first four points of the period taking a 25-20 lead, then Shades Valley started unloading threes.  The Mounties then outscored Wesleyan 17-8 for the remainder of the third quarter run taking a 37-33 lead into the fourth.  Shades Valley maintained a 5-7 point lead for most of the fourth quarter.  The lead was still seven with 1:39 to go in the game.  Wesleyan had to resort to fouling to send Shades Valley to the line but the home team knocked down its free throws which inflated the score.  Shades Valley won 54-42 in a game that was much closer than the final score indicated.  Katie Frerking led Wesleyan with 11 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.  Nikki McDonald added seven points while CaraMia Tsirigos scored six points had had a team high seven rebounds. 

On Saturday afternoon, the Lady Wolves faced Hoover, the No. 3 ranked team in Class AAAAAA in Alabama.  The game was held at Pete Hanna Center on the Samford University campus which is where Wesleyan senior Brittany Stevens will be playing for the next four years.  This was the second meeting between Wesleyan and Hoover.  The two faced each other in December 2010 when Wesleyan won a 47-46 thriller at St. Pius High School in Atlanta.  Like Shades Valley, defending Alabama Class AAAAAA champion Hoover, was a very deep and talented team.  Four Hoover seniors have signed Division I scholarships.  Two players have signed with Alabama while one is going to Vanderbilt and one to South Alabama.  Unlike Shades Valley with its quick, guard oriented team, Hoover was stacked with large post players.  The action in the first quarter was somewhat slow as the teams seemed to be sizing each other up.  Hoover led 8-5 after one.  Wesleyan kept it close in the second as the teams each scored 11 points in the period.  Hoover led 27-21 at halftime.  The Lady Wolves had trouble putting the ball in the hole in the third quarter as Hoover opened a 43-32 lead by outscoring Wesleyan 16-11 in the period.  Wesleyan upped the pressure to open the fourth quarter and had success with it as they went on a 6-0 run to close the Hoover lead to 43-38 with six minutes to play.  Still, after that run, Wesleyan struggled on the offensive end unable to convert scoring opportunities.  Hoover's larger posts often limited Wesleyan to one shot while grabbing the rebound off a Wesleyan miss.  Down the stretch, Wesleyan had to foul to stop the clock and Hoover did a nice job converting its free throws going 8-for-12 in the fourth pulling out a 52-46 win.  Wesleyan should be proud by the fact that it overcame a large third quarter deficit and gave itself an opportunity to win.  Hoover led 35-21 at one point during the third quarter and it appeared Wesleyan was on the verge of being run out of the arena.  Wesleyan outscored Hoover 25-17 from that point.  One particular bright spot in this game for Wesleyan was its free throw shooting.  The team shot 85% as a team on 17-for-20 shooting from the line.  Brittany Stevens led Wesleyan with 13 points while Katie Frerking scored eight and Kendra Talley put up seven.  Wesleyan falls to 11-3 on the year with the loss.  All three Wesleyan losses have been at the hands of teams from out of state.

Despite the dissapointing results from this weekend's trek to Birmingham, games like this are truly beneficial to the team as it prepares for region play and ultimately a state title defense in March.  The Lady Wolves will next take the court on Tuesday night against defending AA state champion Lovett.  Tipoff is 6:00 PM at Wesleyan.

This was no lazy, sleep late and watch cartoons Saturday morning.  Two of the top teams in the state regardless of classification battled it out...for fifth place recognition, in the Peachstate Battle of the Southeast at Holy Innocents. The Lady Wolves of Buford and Wesleyan squared off at 9:45 AM this morning with AA No. 1 ranked Wesleyan pulling out a 59-53 come from behind victory over their fellow Lady Wolves.  Unlike its two previous games of the tournament, Wesleyan came out ready to play.  After Buford, ranked No. 1 in AAA, scored the first two points of the game, Wesleyan scored the next nine opening a quick 9-2 lead mainly from turnovers off the press.  The lead grew to 10 at 19-9 with about two minutes left in the first quarter before Buford closed the period with an 8-2 run narrowing Wesleyan's lead to 21-17 at the end of the quarter.  Buford's Kaela Davis, a Georgia Tech signee, caught fire in the second quarter scoring 11 of Buford's 13 points in the period.  Buford briefly led by three at one point before Wesleyan tied it up at 30-30 heading into the break.  Buford outscored Wesleyan 13-9 in the second quarter.  Wesleyan's offense hit a wall in the third period and the defense suffered lapses as Buford's superior height advantage took a toll.  During four successive possessions, a Wesleyan miss on the offensive end resulted in a rebound from one large Buford post player, an outlet to a guard and a long pass downcourt to another large post.  Buford opened an 10-point lead as a result.  Buford won the third quarter outscoring Wesleyan 13-7 in the period.  Wesleyan however, cut the lead to 44-37 going into the fourth quarter.  At around the six minute mark of the fourth quarter, Buford enjoyed a 48-39 lead and things seemed bleak for Wesleyan.  Then things changed.  Wesleyan scored cutting the Buford lead to seven.  Wesleyan then got a defensive stop and Brittany Stevens drained a three pointer to cut the lead to four.  After another defensive stop, Katie Frerking nailed a three to cut the Buford lead to 48-47 with 4:41 to play and Wesleyan was back in it.  Just when things were looking up, Wesleyan's floor general Stevens, was whistled for her fifth foul.  Frerking took over point guard duties and Wesleyan continued its solid defense and forced another stop.  With less than two minutes remaining CaraMia Tsirigos hit the biggest shot of her career as she drained a three from the top of the arc to put Wesleyan ahead for good, 50-48.  The teams exchanged baskets keeping the lead at two.  After a Buford defensive stop, Davis was fouled and made one of two free throws to cut the lead to one.  Wesleyan did a nice job moving the ball around to eat some clock before Frerking was fouled.  She calmy sank both free throws to put Wesleyan ahead 54-51.  Buford got the ball back and Davis took control driving the lane but Wesleyan sophomore Nikki McDonald was there to draw the charge and Davis fouled out with 1:33 to play.  Wesleyan did a good job playing keep away before Frerking was again fouled.  She missed the first free throw but made the second giving Wesleyan a four point lead and most imprortantly, making it a two possession game with under a minute left.  Wesleyan was able to run out the clock finishing the game on a 20-5 run after Buford had built that 48-39 lead.  After being outscored by Buford in the second and third quarters, Wesleyan made the fourth quarter the difference outscoring Buford 22-9.  Frerking came up huge as she was 5-for-6 from the free throw line excorsizing the demons of the heartbreaking 61-60 first round overtime loss to Bolingbrook.  She put the team on her back as she scored 14 points in the fourth quarter slashing through the lane and finishing strong at the hoop.  She led all scorers pouring in 26 points.  She also had five steals, three rebounds and three assists proving why she's one of the best players in the state.  Stevens finished the game with nine points, three assists and three steals but perhaps her most important contribution was being the calming presence when her team was down nine in the fourth quarter, then hitting the huge three pointer that cut the Buford lead to four.  Tsirigos finished the game with nine points including two threes, and five boards.  Paige Mosley added six points and three rebounds while McDonald scored five points and had two rebounds.  Keevana Edwards did a great job as she battled the much larger Buford posts all game. She had five rebounds while chipping in three points.  She, along with Tsirigos and McDonald had the tough task of dealing Buford's three post players listed at 6'4, 6'4 and 6'5 respectively.  All three did a fine job defensively under the boards.  Worth noting, Buford's Davis had 15 points at halftime.  After defensive adjustments were made, Wesleyan held her to zero field goals in the second half and only four points, all from free throws.  She finished with 19 points.  Notre Dame signee Christina Nelson, finished with eight points.  Purdue signee Bree Harrocks was held to six points while Elon signee MacKenzie Darrah and Lipscomb singee Maya Dillard finished with five and two points resepectively.  Wesleyan has now won three straight over Buford and has won 25 of the last 27 meetings between the two schools after dropping the first five games in the series.  Wesleyan now holds a 25-7 edge in the series with their Lady Wolves counterparts.  Wesleyan improves to 11-1 on the season while Buford drops to 6-3.  The teams will meet again in their regularly scheduled game on January 26 at Buford.  It should be another enjoyable battle.  Wesleyan's next game will be in Birmingham as they will take on Shades Valley, the No. 1 ranked team in Class AAAAAA in Alabama.  Tipoff is 6:00 PM Friday night at Shades Valley.  Wesleyan will then face perinnial Alabama power Hoover on Saturday at 2:00 PM.  That game will be held at Samford University.

Wesleyan got back on the winning track Friday morning with a 52-43 triumph over Alcovy in an early 9:15 AM game in the Peachstate Holiday Classic at Holy Innocents. The early stages of this game mirrored yesterday's game with Bolingbrook (IL) as Wesleyan could simply not buy a bucket.  Katie Frerking was whistled for two quick fouls in the first quarter and had to sit most of the first half.  Alcovy led 14-6 at the end of the first quarter.  Alcovy maintained a lead of 4-8 points for most of the second quarter and held a 22-14 lead with about 1:30 to play in the period.  The Lady Wolves awoke from their collective fog and went on an 8-0 run to close out the first half.  The score was knotted at 22-22 when the teams hit the locker rooms.  Coach Azar threw on the press to start the third quarter and it paid immediate dividends.  The Lady Wolves seized the lead for the first time on a pair of Brittany Stevens free throws at the 6:17 mark of the third quarter.  That was the beginning of a 10-0 Wesleyan run.  Wesleyan took a 32-22 lead with 4:52 to play in the third.  Alcovy wouldn't go away quietly though as they mounted their own 12-6 run cutting the Wesleyan lead to 38-34 with 1:42 to play in the third.  Wesleyan held a 43-38 lead heading into the fourth.  Wesleyan was able to up the lead back to 10 during the fourth quarter and outscored Alcovy 9-5 as the Lady Tigers seemed to give out of gas.  Once Wesleyan took the lead at the beginning of the third quarter, they never relinquished it.  Katie Frerking scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Wesleyan while Stevens scored 14 points.  Kendra Talley chipped in eight points and three assists while Paige Mosley added seven points and six boards for the Lady Wolves.  Keevana Edwards kept the glass clean with five boards to go with her four points.  Nikki McDonald also had six rebounds for Wesleyan.  The Lady Wolves improve to 10-1 on the year and will next face the winner of old nemiseses Buford and St. Francis.  We get to sleep a 1/2 hour later tomorrow morning as that game will tipoff at 9:45 AM.

The Lady Wolves celebrated the end of exam week with a rout of Class AAAAAA Brookwood 64-24 Friday night at Wesleyan in the first meeting between the two Gwinnett County schools.  Wesleyan started off quickly gaining turnovers from its full court press which were often turned into points.  The Lady Wolves led 17-6 at the end of the first quarter. The game blew open with defense in the second quarter as Wesleyan outscored Brookwood 22-5 in the period.  Converting turnovers on the defensive end into points on the offensive end was key in building a 39-11 lead at halftime.  Wesleyan continued its dominance in the third quarter putting up 17 points to Brookwood's seven.  The lead grew to 56-28 heading into the shortened fourth quarter.  There were plenty of positives to come out of this game.  Wesleyan's shooting percentage improved over recent games as the team shot 46% from the field on 23-for-50 shooting.  Three-point shooting improved as well.  The team as a whole shot 44% from three point land on 4-for-9 shooting as three players connected from behind the arc. Freshman Taylor Casey was 2-for-2 while Brittany Stevens and Nikki McDonald each connected from long range once. Katie Frerking led all scorers putting up 20 points along with four rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.  McDonald had 12 points and four rebounds for Wesleyan while Stevens scored eight points.  Keevana Edwards and Paige Mosley each scored six points and grabbed three rebounds while Casey chipped in six points as well.  This was Wesleyan's most solid performance of the young season and is hopefully a sign that the team is starting to jell.  Perhaps the slew of former teammates and alumni in the stands provided inspiration.  In attendance tonight, home from college, were Anne Marie Armstrong ('09), Erin Hall, Logan Morris, Kennington Groff, Megan Poole and Grace Cowart ('10), Missy Byrd, Kaelyn Causwell and Holli Wilkins ('12) as well as 2012 team manager Kristen Davis.  The team improves to 9-0 on the year and will enjoy the next few days off to celebrate Christmas with their families.  Brookwood falls to 7-4.  Wesleyan will next face  Bolingbrook in the top division of the Peachstate Holiday Classic at Holy Innocents on Thursday.  This will be the second meeting between Bolingbrook, out of Chicago, and Wesleyan.  The two met last year at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix with Bolingbrook prevailing 58-43.  Tipoff is 1:45 PM.

Wesleyan stayed undefeated on the season with a 58-42 road win over Mill Creek, ranked No. 5 in Class AAAAAA.  Wesleyan jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the game's opening moments, then didn't score for close to four minutes as Mill Creek took a 5-4 lead.  Wesleyan then finished the quarter on a 6-0 run in the last minute of the period to lead 10-5 at the end of one.  The Lady Wolves broke the game open in the second quarter converting turnovers into points behind a flurry of defensive activty.  Wesleyan outscored the Lady Hawks 22-10 in the second quarter to lead 32-15 at the half.  In the third quarter the lead grew as large as 21 on a few occasions.  The scoring was even as Wesleyan led 45-28 heading into the fourth.  The fourth quarter was similar with the teams trading baskets in what was a physical game.  Wesleyan chose to pull the ball out and run some clock as the lead was safe.  Katie Frerking and Nikki McDonald led Wesleyan's scoring effort with 13 points apiece.  Frerking just missed a double-double as she also contributed nine rebounds along with five assists and three steals.  McDonald was 3-for-7 from behind the arc and also had a pair of assists to go with a pair of steals.  Brittany Stevens added 11 points, four steals and two assists for Wesleyan while Paige Mosely chipped in nine points and four rebounds.  Kendra Talley had six points, three rebounds and three steals while Keevana Edwards continued her hard play with seven boards and 11 deflections.  Wesleyan is now 6-0 on the season and won its third straight game over Mill Creek upping the series recoord with the Lady Hawks to 3-1.  Wesleyan has six days off until its next game with Class A - Private No. 6 ranked Holy Innocents.  Tipoff is 7:00 PM Friday at Wesleyan.

In a sloppy performance, Wesleyan squeaked by Duluth 45-42 in the championship game of the Roswell Infinity Classic at North Forsyth Wednesday night.  After a back and forth first quarter, Duluth took a12-10 at the end of the quarter.  Duluth led 21-18 with 3 minutes to play in the second quarter before Wesleyan went on an 8-0 run holding Duluth scoreless for the rest of the period.  Wesleyan led 26-21 at the half. Duluth closed the gap to at the begininng of the third quarter, tied it up at 33 and then took a 35-33 lead with a layup to close out the quarter.  The teams traded leads several times in the fourth quarter.  Wesleyan 39-38 with 3:58 to play.  After a Wesleyan foul, Duluth converted two free throws to regain the lead 40-39.  The Lady Wolves scored on the subsequent possession as did Duluth on its next possession.  A Katie Frerking drive to the basket put Wesleyan up 43-42.  After a Wesleyan defensive stop, Brittany Stevens was called for a offensive foul.  Another Wesleyan defensive stop and another offensive foul called on Wesleyan, this time on Katie Frerking.  On Duluth's next possession, Wesleyan committed a foul on a put back after a Duluth miss.  With 39 seconds remaining, the Duluth player missed the front end of a one and one.  Katie Frerking was fouled on a drive to the basket and calmly sank both free throws with 6.7 seconds remaining to give Wesleyan a 45-42 lead.  Duluth then called a time out.  Upon the Duluth inbound, Wesleyan applied too much on the ball defensive pressure for Duluth to even get a shot off and the clock ran out.  The Lady Wolves escaped with a 45-42 win to capture the tournament championship.  Wesleyan clearly hasn't jelled as a team yet but the season is young and games like this can only help them improve.  Katie Frerking was the leading scorer with 20 points.  She also had six steals and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.  Kendra Talley was the only other Wesleyan player to score in double figures and she put up 11 points while shooting 83% from the free throw line on 5-for-6 shooting.  She also contributed four rebounds.  Paige Mosley added six points and three rebounds while Stevens added four points, six steals, four boards and two of Wesleyan's three assists.  Wesleyan improves to 3-0 on the season while Duluth falls to 2-1.  The Lady Wolves now have a few days off to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday.  Then it's back to work next week to prepare for AA No. 8 ranked Model.  Wesleyan and Model will face each other Saturday December 1 at Model.  Tipoff is 4:00 PM.

The parents of all six Wesleyan senior girls basketball players no longer have to worry about paying for college courtesy of their daughter's athletic prowess.  All six seniors signed their respective letters of intent this past Thursday in a signing ceremony held at Yancey Gymnasium.  Five of the seniors will be playing basketball at the next level while one will play softball.  All six have received full athletic scholarships to NCAA Division I schools.  Congratulations to all six seniors on this incredible accomplishment.

• CaraMia Tsirigos - Indiana University, Softball 
• Kendra Talley - Presbyterian College, Basketball
• Brittany Stevens - Samford University, Basketball
• Taylor Blackmon - Kennesaw State University, Basketball
• Katie Frerking - Auburn University, Basketball
• Paige Mosley - Towson University, Basketball

From Gwinnett Daily Post (March 21, 2012)

The Gwinnett County Sports Hall of Fame's third class, headlined by two football stars, a Parkview trio and a successful basketball coach, was finalized this week by the Gwinnett County Public Schools Foundation.

This year's most recognizable inductees, who will be honored during the Gwinnett Braves home game on May 5, are two accomplished NFL football players, Brookwood grad Jason Elam and South Gwinnett product David Greene. They will be joined by three people with Parkview ties -- longtime Panther coach and athletic director Karl Bostick, wrestler Scott Hage and multi-sport standout Susan Brandau --as well as current Wesleyan girls basketball coach Jan Azar.

The Gwinnett County Public Schools Foundation is extremely excited about our third annual hall of fame celebration," said David Seago, who heads up the GCPS Foundation's Hall of Fame Selection Committee. "It will be a Saturday evening event this year (the first two were at Sunday G-Braves' games), which will give us the opportunity to make it a more festive environment and logistically easier for the honorees and fans.

We have a great class selected, which again represents some of the great talent we have had come through this county. The event not only gives us the opportunity to recognize those athletes, but also raise money to benefit the students of our great school system."

Elam had the longest NFL career of any Gwinnett product before retiring after the 2009 season. He kicked for 17 NFL seasons, the last two with the hometown Atlanta Falcons after 15 seasons with the Denver Broncos. He made 436 of 540 career field goals (80.7 percent) and tied an NFL record with a 63-yarder in 1998.

Greene spent four seasons in the NFL, but his greatest accomplishments came at the college level. The Georgia Bulldog great left college with the most career victories by any NCAA starting quarterback and threw for a SEC record 11,528 yards with 72 touchdown passes.

The Parkview inductees include Brandau, a multi-sport star in high school who played college basketball at Duke, and Hage, Georgia's first four-time state champion high school wrestler in the state's highest classification. Hage also was a three-time NCAA qualifier at West Virginia.

Bostick's success came as a coach and athletic director, overseeing the bulk of Parkview's Gwinnett-best 49 state championships. His own boys soccer and cross country teams won 11 of those titles.

Azar's championship run is still going at Wesleyan. Her girls basketball teams have won nine state championships in the past 11 seasons, including the last five in a row.

The Class of 2012 joins an already impressive hall of fame that began in 2010 with inaugural inductees Terry Harvey of Dacula, Matt Stinchcomb of Parkview, Cindy Brogdon of Greater Atlanta Christian, Ida Neal-Smith of Central Gwinnett and boxer Ezzard Charles, a Lawrenceville native.

The second class in 2011 featured current Greater Atlanta Christian basketball coach and Central grad Eddie Martin, Central's Ted Roof, Duluth's George Rogers, Norcross' Mary Ellen Blanchard Warta and Norcross' natives Ivey and Red Wingo, former major league baseball players.

Wesleyan rising senior Brittany Stevens has made a verbal committment to Samford University in Birmingham.  Stevens made the committment last week after considering offers from Wofford and Elon.  She has run the point for Wesleyan since her freshman year and is a member of Wesleyan's last three state championship teams.  Stevens averaged seven points and three assists last season as a junior.  With this committment, she becomes the second player from Wesleyan's class of 2013 to commit to a full basketball scholarship to an NCAA Division I school joining Kendra Talley who committed to Presbyterian College in April.  Samford competes in the Southern Conference which includes Appalachian State, Tennessee-Chattanooga, College of Charleston, Davidson, Elon, Furman, Georgia Southern, North Carolina-Greensboro, Western Carolina and Wofford.  Stevens will join several former Wesleyan teammates who are on scholarship at Southern Conference schools, Logan Morris and Jordan Frazier (Wofford), Holli Wilkins (Furman), as well as Wesleyan basketball alumni who played at SoCon schools and have since graduated, Carolyn Whitney and Elise Whitney (Georgia Southern) and Sarah Moye (College of Charleston).  Congratulations to Brittany on her college choice!

"Each of you must examine your own actions.  Then you can be proud of your own accomplishments without comparing yourself to others".

Galatians 6:4

"Be Your Own Best"