Girls State Playoffs
2nd Round Action
Class 5A
Southwest Bracket
South Gwinnett 71 vs. McEachern 64
South Gwinnett H.S. – Snellville, GA
Over the last few years all of the basketball talk in and around Gwinnett has been about the South Gwinnett boys team and rightfully so with the likes of Louis Williams (now a Philedephia 76er), Mike Mercier (at UGA), Avery Dukes (headed to Univ. of Alabama), Greg Lockett (now at Emory) and Delano Howard (committed to Georgia State for next season).
But this season with the boys team already eliminated from the state plays the focus has turned to the girls team and the likes Gia Lockett (Greg’s sister and a member of the 4SHOT Hoops All-Classification 4th team last season), Antionette Howard (Delano’s sister and a 4SHOT Hoops All-Classification HM team last season), transfer Alex Winchell (ranked among the top juniors in 4SHOT Hoops pre-season Rankings) and Emily Clarke (4SHOT Hoops All-Classification HM team last season) who by way of a hard fought win over McEachern tonight advance on to the Elite 8 on Saturday at Morehouse College and a game with Campbell High School (who beat Brookwood in another Sweet 16 match-up).
Senior Bekah Richards from South Gwinnett had a big 1st quarter knocking down several short jumpers from right outside the box to score 10 points. Teammate Mandi Dudish also came up big drilling a pair of three-pointers as the “Lady Comets” took advantage of a slow start by McEachern to build a 19-12 lead.
Winchell a transfer from Chattahoochee H.S. stepped up the pace of her game in the 2nd quarter drilling 2 more three-pointers for the “Lady Comets” and Howard came off of the bench and added some muscle inside. McEachern sophomore Ashley Mency is a nice looking young player and did a nice job of directing their attack as they continued to hang tough. However by the half South Gwinnett had seized control of the game and led 42-28.
Behind juniors Tierra Jones and Ashlee Jackson the “Lady Indians” clawed their way back into the game cutting to score to 53-45 with just over 2:00 minutes left in the half. But then Howard went to work scoring 7 straight points to push the lead back to double figures 57-45.
McEachern made another little mini run behind the play of Mency but on this night South Gwinnett had a little too much for them to deal with. Lockett and Clarke didn’t score a lot of points but they did a great job of finding open players and playing tough defense. Down the stretch the “Lady Comets” slowed the ball down and worked time off of the clock as they came away with a sweet 71-64 win.
Scoring Recap:
South Gwinnett
Antionette Howard came off of the bench to score a game high 20 points to lead South Gwinnett. Bekah Richards finished with 16 points, Alex Winchell added 11 points and Gia Locket chipped in with 9 points.
McEachern
Ashley Mency led McEachern with 17 points, Ashlee Jackson scored 13 points and Tierra Jones added 10 points.
Campbell 63 vs. Brookwood 53
Campbell H.S. - Smyrna, GA
The “Lady Spartans” from Campbell High School played like they thought the “Lady Broncos” from Brookwood were already saddled and broken in but Brookwood showed that they still had a lot of kick in their game. Ashley Green a 6-2 senior (ranked among the top 50 seniors by 4SHOT Hoops) had her way inside early as the “Lady Broncos” took a 24-21 halftime lead.
In the 2nd half the “Lady Spartans” started to get after it applying defensive pressure on Brookwood all over the court. Offensively Tori Collins and Rachelle Byrd started nailing shots that would not fall for them in the 1st half. In the 3rd quarter alone Campbell out scored Brookwood something like 28-10 as they surged into the lead.
Defense was the key for Campbell in the 2nd half, down the stretch in the 4th quarter they forced some timely Brookwood turnovers, it also helped when the “Lady Spartans” top player Brittany Hall it some big shots and made a couple of nice steals as Campbell held it down for the 67-53 win. Campbell now moves on the face the “Lady Comets” from South Gwinnett.
Brittany Hall lead Campbell with 16 points, Crystal Davis finished with 13 points while Rachelle Byrd and Tori Collins chipped in with 12 and 10 respectively.
Ashley Green scored a “Duce” with a game high 24 points and 15 rebounds to lead Brookwood.
Southeast Bracket
Collins Hill 81 vs. Marietta 34
Collins Hill H.S. – Suwanee, GA
Hats off to the “Lady Blue Devils” from Marietta High School for having a great season because everyone knew that their season would be over tonight after tangling with Maya Moore (4SHOT Hoop All-Classification “Player of the Year” last season) and the defending Class 5A Champions Collins Hill.
Moore scored a game high 32 points, 24 in the 1st half as the “Lady Eagles” raced out to a commanding 51-16 halftime lead.
The 2nd half was really just a tune-up for Collins Hill as they finished demolishing a decent Marietta team 81-34. Collins Hill now heads to the Elite 8 for the 5th straight year, where they will knock off a Mill Creek team that upended Pebblebrook…sorry Mill Creek.
Senior Kristen Murdock scored 10 points for Mariettia in her last varsity game for the "Lady Blue Devils".
