COLUMBIA — It’s lucky number seven for the North Augusta girls’ basketball team.

After a dominant season for the Jackets, they came through victorious in their toughest challenge yet against Westside to capture their seventh state title in the last ten years.

For head coach Al Young, this moment has been their ultimate goal all year long, with each game between just being a stepping stone on the way to Columbia for this veteran group. And despite it being one of the closest games North Augusta has played all season, it still never lost the lead on the way to a 63-50 victory.

The closest the Rams got was tying it at 24 all late in the second quarter, which the Jackets quickly responded with a field goal to go into halftime up 26-24. And they also didn’t waste any time setting that tone with a six-point scoring run to open things up at Colonial Life Arena.

The third quarter was electric for North Augusta as it finally found some footing on both sides of the court to fall back into its dominating routine. From there it was smooth sailing for the Jackets, who kept their foot on the gas until the final moments to beat Westside for a second-straight year in the Class AAAA Girls Basketball State Championship.

They finish with just one loss dating all the way back to November, another region championship and a new ring to add to the collection.