2007-08 GHSA State Championships
4A SemiFinals - SW DeKalb vs Westlake (Girls)
By Larry "L.A" Williams
Mar 5, 2008, 05:01 EST

GHSA Girls Class 4A Semi-Finals

Southwest DeKalb vs. Westlake

The Arena - Gwinnett Center – Duluth, GA

No.1 ranked SWD advances to Class 4A Finals

Eboni Mitchell explodes for 32

Eboni Mitchell did a great job of leading her team to the Class 4A Championship Game.

Duluth, GA - It’s been a long up and down season for Southwest DeKalb senior point guard and 4SHOT Hoops All-Star Eboni Mitchell and because of it a lot of the so called recruiting experts around the state have ignored the skills she possesses and have either left her off of their top 15 or out of their state rankings all together.

Well, everybody that left her off of their state rankings take notes …Stat line from the State Class 4A Semfinals… Eboni Mitchell 32 points, 7 assists, 3 steals and her floor leadership “PRICELESS”. At the end of the day that adds up to a trip to the Class 4A State Championship game on Friday…Holla! 

Mitchell and fellow senior teammate and another 4SHOT Hoops All-Star Charenee Stephens got off early and often as the Lady Panthers jumped out to a 12-6 lead.

Westlake has a 4SHOT Hoops All-Star of their own in 6-2 junior Tamika Willis who helped the Lady Lions stay close with her rebounding and inside play.

With Mitchell running the point and Stephens and underrated 6-0 power forward Simone Rutledge pounding the glass Southwest DeKalb took a 18-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Southwest DeKalb Head Kathy Richey-Walton gave Mitchell a rest at the start of the second quarter and that’s when Westlake made their move cutting the lead to 23-20 with 5:28 left in the half.

Westlake's Tamika Willis(l) and Southwest DeKalb's Charenee Stephens (r) had a nice battle going on all night.

Mitchell was then reinserted into the line-up and immediately re-entered “The Matrix” scoring on a sweet drive to the basket. By the time the horn sounded to end the half Mitchell had scored 18 points and her Lady Panthers held a 39-28 lead.

Southwest DeKalb turned up their defensive pressure in the third quarter and it really started causing Westlake problems as they started turning the ball over. Mitchell and Stephens continued to pace the Lady Panthers but they also got a big boost from Kayla Lewis, Kajuanna and Alondra Rivers and Kymberli Ford as their lead increased.

Westlake’s sophomore point guard Sharnea Boykin did a nice job in the face of all the pressure the Lady Panthers were throwing at her, she also did a nice job of taking the ball to the basket.

Defense was the name of the game in the third quarter for the Lady Panthers as they held Westlake to just 11 points and opened up a commanding 59-39 lead.

Despite the score, the forth quarter was full of action. Boykin was lights-out for Westlake drilling a pair of three-pointers while going 4 for 4 from the line. But it was all just a formality for Southwest DeKalb who canned 17-20 free-throws in the quarter as they went on to a convincing win. The victory puts the No.1 ranked Lady Panthers in the Class 4A Championship Game against the Fayette County/Madison County winner

The Final Score: Southwest DeKalb 90 – Westlake 63

Scoring Recap:

Southwest DeKalb: Eboni Mitchell led all scorers with a game high 32 points, Charenee Stephens finished with 20 points and 18 rebounds. Simone Rutledge added 9 while teammates Alondra Rivers and Kayla Lewis each chipped in with 8.
 

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