(CNN)We have a W-I-N-N-E-R! Zaila Avant-garde, a 14-year-old from New Orleans, Louisiana, won the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday, becoming the first African American contestant to win in 93 editions of the competition. The only Black winner before was Jody-Anne Maxwell, representing Jamaica in 1998. Avant-garde triumphed after correctly spelling murraya -- a type of tree -- to clinch the championship. To get there, the teen had to navigate her way through words like "querimonious," "solidungulate," and "Nepeta," a word the teen had to reset on, and let out a joyous jump after her correct spelling. Avant-garde will receive a $50,000 cash prize. Thursday night's win is just one in a long list of achievements for the champion. On Instagram, where she has gained a following of more than 14,000 people, she has shared her victorious journey toward the national spelling bee as well as videos of her playing basketball, impressing her followers with her hoop skills. In...