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Wilmington Christian Academy claims first girls basketball state title since 2000

March 1, 2025, 11:01 pm | by Tim Hower

It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but it certainly turned out to be the correct one. 

Wilmington Christian Academy didn’t field a varsity girls basketball team during the 2022-23 season. With a young roster, it was decided the group would instead play a JV schedule to build confidence. 

On Saturday night the payoff came as the Patriots claimed the NCCSA 2A state title with a 31-25 victory over Wilson Christian Academy. 

It was the first championship for the program since 2000 and the first 20-win season since 2010-11.

“We were definitely thinking for the future” said first-year coach and athletic director Chris Staton. “It was really the group of coaches we had at that time who could see that we had some talented girls in the lower grades.

“We wanted to teach them the game of basketball and have them play at their level against equal competition so they could gain confidence.” 

WCA (20-7) was led Saturday night by a pair of freshmen – Mallory Deutsch (nine points) and Ava Gray (seven points). 

One of the team’s strengths all season was their ability to have different players step up offensively on any given night. 

In Friday’s semifinal win, senior forward Kaylie Naki poured in 15 points. She suffered a knee injury just seconds into the championship game and was unable to return, but her teammates picked her up and allowed her to end her high school career with a memory of the lifetime.

“There were tons of tears of joy in the locker room after the game, but there were also tears because Kaylie didn’t get to experience it on the court with them, and they all have so much love for her.

“She’s been our glue all season. Her goal for this year was to be a team leader, and she did that by bringing the freshmen in and making them feel a part of the team early in the season.”

A mid-range jumper from senior Marcie Squires midway through the first quarter gave the Patriots a 4-3 lead, and they wouldn’t trail again. 

The advantage grew to 16-6 at halftime thanks to an outstanding defensive effort, but the Chargers rallied back and trailed 22-19 after three quarters.

After taking a hard fall in the third quarter and spending several minutes on the bench, Deutsch returned and buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key less than two minutes into the third quarter. 

Neither team scored for four minutes until Gray made a layup to increase the Wilmington Christian Academy lead to eight points. 

Wilson Christian Academy (24-4) made one final push and cut the deficit to 28-25 following a pair of free throws with 1:11 remaining, but Deutsch sealed the victory by making three of her four free throw attempts down the stretch.

Earlier in the day, the Wilmington Christian Academy JV team capped an unbeaten season with its second consecutive state title following a 30-22 win over Union Grove Christian.

Between the varsity and JV teams, the Patriots have two eighth graders, six freshmen and six sophomores.

Only four seniors will graduate – Naki, Squires, Katelyn McCurry and Lindsey Henderson – so there’s a good chance it won’t take another 25 years for a title to come back to Wilmington.