South Gwinnett vs. Collins Hill (5-A Finals)

4SHOT Sports

2006 Georgia State Championships
South Gwinnett vs. Collins Hill (5-A Finals)
By Jabari "Klapp" Glapion
Mar 4, 2006, 05:05 EST

Super Junior leads Collins Hill to a repeat title

Lady Eagles simply too much for South Gwinnett.

Gwinnett Arena – Duluth, GA

Moore leads the Lady Eagles to their second title in a row.

Collins Hill Lady Eagles came into the Class 5-A championship game with their sights set on a repeat. The Lady Comets of South Gwinnett, who have been underdogs throughout tournament, had championship intentions of their own. The crowd is ready. The lineups have been announced. The ball is up….LET’S GO!

With the help of junior Maya Moore (4SHOT Hoops 2005 “Player of the Year”), the Lady Eagles started off quickly running off eight straight points before the Lady Comets even cracked the scoreboard. Shantell Black also sparked the Lady Eagle run by coming up with two early steals leading to easy fastbreak buckets.

South Gwinnett had an answer. The Lady Comets went on a run of their own, sparked by junior Emily Clarke, to pull within one early. Junior Alex Winchell helped to keep the Lady Comets right on Collins Hill’s heels, but the Lady Eagles managed to stave off the South Gwinnett attack to end the 1^st period up by three, 14-11.

Unfortunately for the Lady Comets, that’s as close as they would get. The Lady Eagles opened up the 2^nd period with another run. This time it was a 9-2 run, as Collins Hill went on to outscore South Gwinnett 17-7, to go into the half with a comfortable ten point lead.

Moore continued to showcase her skills by displaying all facets of her game by finishing first half action with 16 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, as well as a block and an assist to match. It certainly became apparent that the Lady Eagles were just simply too much inside for South Gwinnett. Senior Brittany Cade owned the paint on both sides of the floor, while Black controlled the perimeter and kept the pace of the game to a quickened pace that overwhelmingly favored the Lady Eagles.

In second half action, the Lady Comets came out on a mission. In a game of runs, the Lady Comets had yet another one to start the third. South Gwinnett would cut the Lady Comets lead to eight at 35-27. Winchell helped to spark the South Gwinnett run with her energy on the defensive end.

But again, the defending champs would respond. It was the usual suspects that extended the Lady Eagle lead back to double digits heading into the 4^th period. The lead would get as close as eight, but eight is not enough.

Black ended her senior season with a bang.

The better team was certainly Collins Hill on this day. The Lady Eagles displayed poise on both ends of the court. Moore is the star, but she doesn’t work alone. Black, Ferdinand, and Cade were also key co-conspirators in this repeat performance.

South Gwinnett just couldn’t finish the deal. The Lady Comets could’ve certainly been drained from playing the underdog role throughout the postseason or just simply outplayed.

Whatever the case may be, the Class 5-A champs have defended their throne. As time winded down, the Collins Hill faithful pulled out their keys to let South Gwinnett further know, this one was officially over.

Final Score: Collins Hill 65 – South Gwinnett 55

Scoring Recap

Collins Hill:

Maya Moore had a game high of 32 points and 16 rebounds with 3 steals and 3 blocks. Chauntel Ferdinand would follow with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Brittany Cade would finish with 11 points and 6 rebounds. Shantell Black had an all-around solid game with 6 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals.

South Gwinnett:

Alex Winchell the Lady Comets with 17 points. Gia Lockett and Emily Clarke finished with 12 points a piece, while Clarke pulled down 6 boards. Antoinette Howard came off the bench to finish with 9 points and 2 rebounds.