2006 Georgia State Championships
South Gwinnett vs. Campbell (Elite 8)
By Jabri "Klapp" Glapion
Feb 26, 2006, 03:43 EST

South Gwinnett moves on to Final Four

Lady Comets turn up the heat onLady Spartans

Morehouse College - Atlanta, GA

Where did it go George? Where did it go? / Over here Lenny!

Campbell Lady Spartans went head-to-head against the Lady Comets of South Gwinnett looking to take yet another step towards a state championship.  The Lady Comets have played spoiler throughout this state tournament and hoped that trend would continue at Morehouse College.  Now, the stakes are higher and its time to play ball.

Both teams opened the game with a lot of intensity.  Junior point guard, Alex Winchell, got things started for the Lady Comets with a deep three pointer, only to be answered by Campbell’s Raechelle Byrd.  That exchange certainly set the stage for some up tempo play, which definitely favored the Lady Comets early on, forcing Campbell’s Randy McClure to call a timeout with South Gwinnett out to a comfortable seven point lead after going on a 6-0 run. 

The Lady Comets came out of the timeout scoring ten straight points to extend their lead to 17 points.  The first period belonged to South Gwinnett with the score 24-7 heading into second period play.  The higher seeded Lady Spartans were on their heels and the Lady Comets would not let up.

The second period was more the same.  Campbell seemed flustered and frustrated mainly due to South Gwinnett’s pressure defense.  The Lady Comets put the heat on the Campbell guards and it paid off.  The Lady Comets, led by Winchell, fellow guard, Gia Lockette, and forwards Antoinette Howard and Emily Clarke, just appeared too strong for Campbell.

The Lady Spartans then used their speed on the defensive end to create transition baskets to prevent the South Gwinnett lead from growing.  Unfortunately, going into the half, it didn’t get any smaller, with the Lady Comets still sitting pretty with a 37-20 lead.

Campbell opened the second half showing slight signs of improvement.  The Lady Spartans cut the South Gwinnett lead to 13 after a three pointer by Byrd, which seemed to wake her teammates up a little bit.  With new signs of life and Brittany Hall finally tapping into the scoring book, the Lady Spartans picked up their defensive intensity causing four consecutive turnovers and cutting the Lady Comet lead to single digits. 

South Gwinnett would add to their lead but Campbell seemed to now have an answer.  The Lady Comets, led by New Orleans native, Tori Collins, put pressure on the ball for the length of the court, from the inbound pass to under the South Gwinnett basket.  But when the proverbial smoke cleared at the end of three, the Lady Comets held a nine point lead, 52-43.

The Lady Comets settled down and regrouped for fourth period action.  South Gwinnett was able to overcome the Lady Spartan third period spurt and sustain their lead throughout the fourth period.  A valiant, but faint effort by the Lady Spartans fell short as South Gwinnett proved to be the superior team in this matchup.  Solid play by Clarke and Lockett down the stretched helped secure a Final Four berth for the Lady Comets.  An underdog throughout the tournament, the Lady Comets may now have a slight advantage as the tournament heads to Gwinnett Arena.

Final Score:  South Gwinnett – 75  Campbell – 58

Scoring Recap

South Gwinnett:

Emily Clarke had a game high 17 points.  Alex Winchell followed up with 16 points, while Gia Lockett and Antoinette Howard each finished with 15.

Campbell:

Crystal Davis and Raechelle Byrd each had a team high 14 points.  Ebony Blanchard finished with 12 points and Tori Collins ended with 8.

© Copyright 2006 by 4SHOT Sports