With the end of the 2023-24 high school basketball season, another great year has come to an end for two local high school basketball stars.
For the third year in a row, the Dalton Daily Citizen's All-Area High School Basketball Player of the Year award goes to Jax Abernathy of Christian Heritage School and Gracie Ridley of Dalton High School.
Abernathy won the award in his sophomore and junior seasons and was named Boys Basketball Player of the Year, while Ridley also won Girls Basketball Player of the Year for the second year in a row after winning the award in 2022 and 2023. . Too.
Abernathy ends his high school career with a stellar senior season
During his senior season, Abernathy once again led a strong Lions team with a multi-dimensional attack. Abernathy poured in 24.9 points per game and was efficient on 37 percent shooting from 3-point range, making a series of close-range finishes and mid-range jump shots at 56 percent. Abernathy also grabbed 5.4 rebounds per game and recorded 3.2 assists per game and was named Region 7-A DII Player of the Year.
After scoring 29 points per game as a junior, Abernathy said he entered his senior season hoping to develop other areas of his offensive game.
“I knew I could score the ball effectively, but heading into this year I wanted to focus on impacting the game in other ways, like passing and rebounding,” Abernathy said. “I get a lot of attention, but I was able to get some open shots on other guys. I think I did a better job of that this season.”
Christian Heritage finished the 2023-24 regular season with a 19-4 record, but the Lions faced the same issues as Green Forest Christian, a 2022-23 team that started 21-0. The Lions shared Region 7-A DII with one of the top teams in the state, but a loss to Green Forest in the regional title game meant the Lions would be the second seed in the state playoffs. Similar to 2023, Christian Heritage won the first round but was forced to travel to face a tough opponent in the second round. Macon County defeated the Lions in 2023, and Warren County eliminated Christian Heritage in the second round in 2024.
“The last few years I thought we could have made it further into the playoffs,” Abernathy said. “I didn’t quite get there, but it was fun playing in front of Coach (Tyler) Watkins and the guys I played with.”
During Abernathy's freshman season, the Lions advanced to the state semifinals.
“I'll always remember that year,” Abernathy said. “Coach Watkins was the one who instilled that confidence in me my freshman year.”
After four years at Christian Heritage, where the Lions won 86 of 106 games, Abernathy will attend Trevecca Nazarene University, an NCAA Division II program in Nashville, Tennessee.
“I think I can go there as a freshman and play a lot, either as a starter or off the bench,” Abernathy said.
In preparing to make the jump to the collegiate level, Abernathy said there are several elements he wants to work on.
“It's a more physical game in college. I want to get stronger,” Abernathy said. “I probably won't have the ball in my hands as much as I did in high school. I want to work on getting off screens and shooting.”
Ridley led Dalton to the playoffs in his senior season.
Ridley led a Dalton Lady Catamount team to its best postseason finish in more than a decade, reaching the Class 5A Final Four for the first time since finishing as state runner-up in 2011. Ridley averaged 16.5 points and 14 rebounds per game. He had 3.5 steals per game and 3.1 assists per game. The senior was named Region 7-5A Player of the Year.
After missing a few games early in the season, Ridley returned and led Dalton to the Region 7-5A championship. The Lady Cats made it to the playoffs, went on to win, and advanced to the Class 5A Final Four.
Dalton led early in the fourth quarter, but its best postseason performance since 2011 ended with a 73-63 loss to Midtown in the semifinals at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton.
“Obviously our expectations were high and we wanted to accomplish a lot,” Ridley said. “I am really proud of what we were able to accomplish at Dalton High School.”
One of those accomplishments was helping lead a similar effort for the volleyball team. Dalton also reached the state semifinals in volleyball during Ridley's senior season. In addition to his three awards in basketball, Ridley has won the Daily Citizen's All-Area Volleyball Player of the Year award, which he has won twice.
“This gives us a little bit of perspective on what's going to happen,” Ridley said of the volleyball team's rise and the impact on the basketball season. “The stakes were high and our coaches prepared us for everything we faced.”
Ridley plans to play basketball in college as well. She signed with the University of North Georgia before the season.
“A lot of my coaches also played in college, so they were a great resource to tell me, 'This works in high school, but we need to see if it works in college,'” Ridley said. said. .
Ridley praised both Dalton coach Hannah Harris and Brandon Clay, who coaches the travel team.
“You can see the speed of the game is different just from high school baseball to the road trips. The road coaches say it's even faster in college,” Ridley said.
Ridley said he used the weeks after basketball season to enjoy the remainder of his senior year at Dalton. She will head to North Georgia in July.
“It's probably my first vacation in 14 years, so I haven't done much so far,” Ridley joked. “We’re just making sure he’s ready for college baseball.”