[Stardust]

BOWLING GREEN — April Wilson scored 23 points, including four in the final minute, and DuPont Manual held off Marion County 58-54 Saturday night for its first girls state championship.

The Region 7 champion Lady Crimsons (37-2), who fell in overtime in last year’s title game, finished their season on a 22-game winning streak.

Makayla Epps scored 23 points to lead Region 5 champion Marion County (34-5), which erased an 11-point first-half deficit and led 47-46 on a Kyvin Goodwin-Rogers tip-in with 5:30 to play. However, a win in the Lady Knights’ first trip to the state championship game wasn’t to be.

Wilson, the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, hit a layup out of a timeout with 51 seconds left, pushing the Lady Crimson lead to three. She added a pair of free throws with 9 seconds to go to seal it.

In the semifinals, all five starters for Manual scored in double figures as the Lady Crimsons shot 57.6 percent to beat Paul Dunbar 84-59.

Dunbar hit 10 of its first 11 shots for a 21-11 bulge and led 25-24 after a first quarter played at a blistering pace.

Manual scored the first seven points of the second quarter for a 31-25 edge and led the rest of the way. Wilson and Kara Wright each scored 15 points, Lauren Bodine had 13 and Kayla Styles and LeAsia Wright chipped in 11 apiece for the Lady Crimsons. Styles added 14 rebounds and three blocks.

“We haven’t played a good up-and-down team like that,” Wilson said. “It was good to get up and down for once.”

Jordin Fender scored 14 points to lead Dunbar (30-7), which reached the semifinals after a surprising run through the 11th Region tournament.

Fender scored eight points during Dunbar’s 21-11 game-opening run, but Manual rallied by hitting seven of its first eight 3-point tries. Wilson and Bodine hit three apiece, with Bodine’s last one giving Manual a 27-25 lead to start the second quarter.

Dunbar pulled to 50-44 on Kierra Muhammad’s layup with 3:32 left in the third quarter, but Manual scored the next six points.
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