Girls Class 4A state tournament: Northwest eases into second round

Published 11:33 pm Saturday, February 27, 2010

CHAMBLEE — Northwest Whitfield’s girls basketball team was playing 80 miles from Tunnel Hill on Saturday, but with a fan gathering that exceeded the host’s, the Lady Bruins felt right at home.

Behind efficient free-throw shooting and timely 3-pointers, the No. 3-seeded Lady Bruins successfully fended off several Lady Bulldogs’ runs and walked away with a 60-48 victory at Chamblee High in the first round of the Class 4A state tournament.

Northwest (26-3), ranked No. 4 in the latest GaSports.com coaches poll, advances to play top-ranked Mays (22-4) in Atlanta on Wednesday. Mays defeated Salem 61-46 on Friday. A time has not been determined for the Northwest-Mays game. The same two teams met in the second round of last year’s tournament, with the Lady Bruins winning 56-51.

The Lady Bruins took advantage of 22 fouls by second-seeded Chamblee (Northwest committed just 11) by converting 18 of 24 free throws. Baleigh Coley and Jordi Cook combined for five 3-pointers and each one altered the game significantly — most notably Coley’s first-half buzzer-beating shot from the half-court line just beside the scorer’s table to give the Lady Bruins a 27-23 lead.

“Me making that really got everyone pumped up,” said Coley, who finished with 13 points and a team-high five assists. “It let us know we were still in it even though it was only a four-point game.”

Chamblee (19-5) never led in the game.

“I’m extremely proud of the girls,” Lady Bruins coach Margaret Stockburger said. “I felt like they followed the game plan we had drawn up for them, on the offensive and defensive ends, and I’m just excited we were able to do what we need to do to survive and advance on to the next game.”

Chamblee opened with a man-to-man defense, but Cook started the scoring with a 3-pointer 20 seconds into the game. The Lady Bulldogs quickly started double-teaming her on the outside. That created inside baskets for 6-foot-5-inch Quaneisha McCurty and 6-3 Christy Robinson, who combined for nine points to give the Lady Bruins a 17-8 lead after one quarter.

The Lady Bulldogs closed the gap with a 15-10 run in the second