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4SHOT Sports 2006 Georgia State Championships “Lady Comets” advance to Class 5A Championship The Gwinnett Arena – Duluth, GA The “Lady Comets” from South Gwinnett won the 1995 Class 4A State Championship and the 2006 teams wants to add another trophy to their showcase and now they have put themselves in position to do so advancing to the Class 5A Championship with an impressive win over a Stephenson team that appeared pose to return to their 3rd Championship game in 4 years. Stephenson is no stranger to the Final Four having been here each of the last four years and it showed early on as they jumped out to a 4-0 lead as Univ. of Louisville signee Jasmine Smith (a 4SHOT Hoops pre-season Elite 50 selection) hit a jumper and 6-2 Sr.-Assunta Fulgham (a 4SHOT Hoops pre-season Elite 50 selection) canned 2 free-throws. South Gwinnett finally got it going when their floor general 5-7 Jr.-Alex Winchell (a 4SHOT Hoops pre-season Elite 50 selection) drilled a three-pointer to cut the lead to 5-3. Stephenson’s 6-1 Sr.-Robin Murphy (a 4SHOT Hoops pre-season Elite 50 selection) and 5-6 Jr.-Eboni Ross (now beeping on the 4SHOT Hoops radar) came off the bench and provided a big spark for the “Lady Jaguars” as they took a 10-5 lead at the end of the 1sr quarter. Playing like the Stephenson of old Head Coach Dennis Watkins had his team pound the ball inside to Murphy and Fulgham and it work as South Gwinnett started picking up several fouls. However South Gwinnett countered that move on the other end of the counter with their rising 6-0 Jr.-Antionette Howard (ranked by 4SHOT Hoops as one of the top juniors in the state) who has been unstoppable in the state playoffs thus far.. and she delivered bigtime. A sweet assist from 5-10 Jr.- Emily Clarke (a 4SHOT Hoops pre-season Elite 50 selection) to 5-9 Sr.-Gia Lockett (a 4SHOT Hoops pre-season Elite 50 selection) cut Stephenson’s lead to 14-11 with 3:30 left in the half. The “Lady Comets” had a chance to cut the lead to 1 when Lockett stole the ball but missed the lay-up; to make matters worst she tuned around and picked up her 2nd foul and had to take a set on the bench. When you talk about pure point guards the names you usually hear about are names like Shantel Black (Collins Hill), Angelica Mealing (Avondale) and Ashley Houts (Dade County) well throw the name Alex Winchell into the mix because she is the straw that stirs the South Gwinnett drink; her three-pointer cut the lead to 15-14. Howard then went to work inside; her basket gave the “Lady Comets” their first lead of the game16-15. Jylisa Williams a 5-9 sophomore from Stephenson solidified her place as one of the top players in her class with her tough hard nose play; her lay-up off of a nice assist from 5-6 Sr.-Nafeesha Frost gave the “Lady Jaguars” a 21-18 halftime lead. The 3rd quarter didn’t start out so well for South Gwinnett as starters 6-0 Sr.-Bekah Richards and Lockett both picked up their 3rd fouls of the game. Meanwhile Stephenson continued to play like the Stephenson teams of the past, moving the ball around, playing solid pressure defense and flowing as one unit. Baskets by Williams and Ross gave the “Lady Jaguars” their largest lead of the game 29-21 with 3:49 left in the quarter. Just when it looked like Stephenson was going to pull away South Gwinnett stormed back; Howard completed a three-point play and Lockett stuck a jumper to give the “Lady Comets” their first lead of the game 32-31 with 1:12 on the clock. With time running down in the quarter Frost drilled a three-pointer to pull Stephenson even at 34-34. Midway through the 4th quarter Stephenson took a 40-38 lead but Winchell came right back and made a sweet move to the hole to score tying the game at 40-40. A few seconds later she drilled her 3rd three-pointer of the game to put South Gwinnett up 43-40. With time starting to become a factor Stephenson all of a sudden started getting away from the team play that was so successful for them early on; their shot selections and lack of any consistent outside shooting really started to do them in. Downi the stretch Stephenson was forced to start fouling, Howard and Winchell each hit a pair of free-throws to give the “Lady Comets” a 48-40. South Gwinnett’s Emily Clarke could very well be the “Lady Comets” best all around player; her assist to Lockett made the score 50-42. Stephenson’s Ashley Billingslea wasn’t much of a factor because of early foul trouble that kept her on the bench much of the game; her 2 free-throws with 1:14 to play pulled the “Lady Jaguars” to within 6 at 50-44. She would foul out a few seconds later. A steal by Clarke and free-throws by Howard and 5-8 Sr.-Sarah Mudd finished off Stephenson as the “Lady Comets” from South Gwinnett High School go on to a 62-47 win advancing them into Friday’s Class 5A Championship game against the defending Class 5A state champs from Collins Hill. South Gwinnett will be looking for their 2nd State Title, their 1995 team won the Class 4A Championship. Scoring Recap South Gwinnett: Antionette Howard scored a game high 20 points to lead the “Lady Comets”. Alex Winchell finished with 19 points (3 three-pointers), Gia Lockett added 13 points and Emily Clarke chipped in with 5 points and 7 rebounds. Stephenson: Jylisa Williams scored 14 points and grabbed a game high 10 rebounds to pace Stephenson. Robyn Murphy added 7 points. Nafeesha Frost and Assunta Fulgham each scored 6 points. © Copyright 2006 by 4SHOT Sports |