We Speak High School Basketball
Life After the GOAT: Marist Defends Its Title Without Kate Harpring
How do you follow the greatest scorer in Georgia history? Marist is about to find out — with a state title to defend while it learns.
Kate Harpring closed her career with 3,435 points, the most in GHSA history. Her final game was a masterpiece: 40 points and 16 rebounds in a 58-50 win over Kell in the Class 4A final, delivering Marist’s second straight state championship. She left as MaxPreps’ Georgia Girls Player of the Year, the Naismith Girls High School Player of the Year and a McDonald’s All-American, and she signed with North Carolina.
But the cupboard in Atlanta is not bare. Junior Emily Morrison scored 13 critical points in the title game, 11 of them after halftime. Senior Katie Elder is the War Eagles’ top returning scorer, junior Mary Julia Johnson is a third returning starter, junior Azalia Shell is expected to be among the top scorers, and 5-11 senior Keana Wilder anchors the frontcourt for head coach Kim Hixon.
Under Georgia’s new alignment, Marist opens at No. 6 in Class 5A. The post-Harpring era starts with a target, a trophy case that grew twice in two years — and a roster that watched greatness up close and took notes.
We Speak High School Basketball
Remember These Names: E’zariyah Clark and Amira White Headline Florida’s 2030 Class in Tampa
They haven’t played a minute of high school basketball yet. In Tampa, people are already learning their names.
E’zariyah Clark arrives at Tampa Bay Tech as a 5-11 forward and combo guard in the class of 2030, playing club ball for HER Elite. Prep Girls Hoops’ evaluation reads like a varsity scouting report: a midrange game, range out to the deep ball, and rim protection built on length and timing — a freshman who “should be a key contributor for TBT alongside a talented group of guards.”
Across town, Amira White gives Plant a 6-0 power forward from the same 2030 class, playing for MBJ Elite. Prep Girls Hoops calls her “a major addition for Plant as the program looks to reestablish itself among the top teams in Tampa and across the state,” pointing to a back-to-the-basket game with an outside shot to match.
Florida’s 2030 class, as Prep Girls Hoops frames it, is a group whose size and length make them names to watch from day one. Two of the biggest are starting their careers in Tampa gyms this winter. Remember where you heard them first.
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