Wesleyan, Hebron Christian showcase national talent in MLK Day Classic
The 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. holiday was loaded with plenty of high school hoops action taking place around the Atlanta metro area, including the inaugural MLK Classic hosted by the Whitefield Academy Wolfpack. The two-day girls basketball event began on Saturday with a full slate of games, then continued on Monday another full day of action including a national showdown between the Wesleyan Wolves, ranked No. 3 in Georgia and No. 25 in the nation and the Monteverde Academy Eagles, ranked No. 3 in the nation and No. 2 in Florida.
The Eagles would open up the game outscoring Wesleyan 12-4 before the Wolves would close the gap with a short 4-0 run and trail 12-8 at the end of the opening quarter. In the second quarter, Wesleyan would be in control most of the period as they would eventually tie the game at 21-21 as 2024 McDonald's All-American nominee, Bryanna Preston would lead the charge for the Wolves, and while they outscored the Eagles 13-12 in the quarter, a late three-point basketball by Holland Harris would give the Montverede a 24-21 lead at the half.
As the third quarter got underway, the Wolves would find themselves trailing by as many as six points again as they were down 32-26, however another quick 4-2 run would see them get within one point as they would trail 34-33, but the Eagles would shut down the Wesleyan offense down the stretch of the quarter, outscoring them 12-2 to close out the period with a 46-35 lead, a lead that would prove to be difficult for the Wolves to overcome as they would fall to the Eagles 56-41 for just their second loss of the season.
Following the Wolves and Eagles matchup, two more of Georgia's top programs went head to head as No. 2 the Hebron Christian Lions took on the Stockbridge Tigers in a game that the the Lions controlled from the opening tip as they closed out the first quarter with a 26-7 lead. Hebron's dominance continued throughout the game as they would go on to pick up the 82-36 win, improving to 15-2 on the season.
