St. Pius girls advance to Class AAAA championship game at Gwinnett Center

DULUTH - Freshman center Kelley Cain scored 21 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked 11 shots as St. Pius X beat Kendrick 63-39 in a Class AAAA girls semifinal Thursday.<br> <br> St. Pius X (28-3) will face Columbus, a 53-52 winner over Stone Mountain, for the state championship Friday.<br> <br> The 14-year-old Cain, who stands 6-foot-4, led an attack that took control by outscoring Kendrick 22-6 in the second quarter.<br> <br> St. Pius X, a DeKalb County school appearing in its first semifinal since 1958, also got 14 points from Katherine Williams and 13 from Joi Adams.<br> <br> Kendrick (24-7) was led by Kendra Smith&#39;s 13 points and Nikidia Turpin&#39;s 11.<br> <br> Columbus (25-6) led 31-15 at halftime, but Stone Mountain&#39;s Alexandria Ellison hit a pair of free throws with one minute remaining to give the Pirates a 50-49 advantage.<br> <br> Aisha Maddox answered with a short hook off the backboard that put Columbus up for good at 51-50. Two free throws by LaTasha Long gave the Blue Devils their final points.<br> <br> Stone Mountain (29-2) entered with 29 straight wins. Center Christon Ingram led her team with 29 points.<br> <br> (Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)