2007-08 GHSA State Championships
4A Finals - Fayette Co. vs. SW DeKalb (Girls)
By Larry "L.A." Williams
Mar 7, 2008, 06:58 EST

GHSA Girls Class 4A Championship Game

Fayette County vs. Southwest DeKalb

The Arena Gwinnett Center – Duluth, GA

Southwest DeKalb rolls to Class 4A State Championship

Stephens dominates with 21 points and 19 rebounds

SWD seniors Charenee Stephens, Eboni Mitchell and Simone Rutledge

Duluth, GA - For most of the year the Lady Panthers from Southwest DeKalb have held the top spot in the Class 4A rankings and on Friday night in the Arena Gwinnett Center they cemented that ranking with a convincing trashing of a good Fayette County team to win their 1st State Basketball Championship.

Southwest DeKalb hit the floor ready for business and led by their three seniors, Charenee Stephens, Eboni Mitchell and Simone Rutledge. The trio combined for 17 first quarter points to give the Lady Panthers a 19-17 lead.

With the Southwest DeKalb defense concentrated on cutting off Tessah Holt the Lady tigers turned to Amma Onyeuku who picked up the scoring slack. Her 7 second quarter points helped the Lady Tigers stay close. 

Fayette County's Tessah Holt take the ball strong to the basket.

The problem for Fayette County however was Stephens who just flat out was not going to let the Lady Panthers fall. She dominated the paint on both ends of the court, grabbing rebounds, blocking shots and she sold popcorn at half time after scoring 11 point to put Southwest DeKalb up 35-23 at the half.

SWD came out in the third quarter with the pedal to the metal, Alonda Rivers scored, Mitchell drilled a three and Stephens finished things off with a put-back as the Lady Panthers pushed their lead up to 42-25 forcing Fayette County to call a time out.

The Lady Tigers didn’t score their first points in the third quarter until the 3:54 mark. Fayette County got a little spark after Holt knocked down a pair of three-pointers, one at the buzzer as the Lady Tigers cut the lead to 45-38.

The crowd was stoked as the forth quarter got underway, Onyeuku scored for Fayette County but the Lady Panthers charged right back getting two big baskets from Stephens to stem the tide.

Southwest DeKalb continued to extend their defensive pressure and it really start to frustrated Fayette County to no end. Stephens a Univ. of South Carolina signee continued dominating the glass grabbing every rebound she could get her hands on. Fellow seniors Mitchell and Rutledge continue to provide a settling influence as the Lady Panthers started to smell a state championship.

SWD Head Coach Kathy Ritchey-Walton and her assistant coach celebrate.

Head Coach Kathy Ritchey-Walton watched as her other young Panther-Cubs like Kajuanna Rivers, Alonda Rivers, Kayla Lewis, Kadeja Moton, Jamesha Blake, Laquisha Lewis and Chancie Dunn blossom right in front of her eyes.

When Kajuanna Rivers knocked down a three-pointer to push the Southwest DeKalb lead up to 12 you could see the energy just start to drain out of the Fayette County players.

Stephens and Mitchell then finished off their outstanding careers when Stephens threw a full-length court pass to Mitchell who scored, after that the party was on as the Southwest DeKalb Lady Panthers knocked off the Lady Tigers from Fayette County to capture their first girls state basketball championship.

The Final Score: Southwest DeKalb 62 – Fayette County 46

Scoring Recap:

Southwest DeKalb: Charenee Stephens led all scores with a game high 21 points. Eboni Mitchell added 12 and Alonda Rivers chipped in with 10.

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