Elite 8 bound: Dalton defeats Creekside, is headed for Elite 8 for first time since 2011

Published 9:30 pm Friday, February 23, 2024

For the first time since 2011, the Dalton High School girls basketball team is headed for the Elite 8.

Dalton (20-9) built a second half lead and protected it in the fourth quarter at the free throw line to hold off Creekside (20-9) 70-60 Friday night at home in the Class 5A Sweet 16.

Dalton advances to the Class 5A quarterfinals for the first time since 2011, when the Lady Catamounts made a run all the way to the state championship game. Dalton will travel to Arabia Mountain, the Region 4-5A champion, in the state’s Elite 8. Dalton is a region champion and No. 1 seed like Arabia, but the GHSA universal coin toss ruled that teams on the bottom half of the bracket would get to host any quarterfinal game in which two equal seeds meet. Arabia Mountain got the right side of that draw.

Dalton overcame a tough Creekside team that finished third in Region 5-5A, but that region included two of the top teams in the state in Midtown and Maynard Jackson. Creekside was ranked sixth in the final Class 5A rankings after the regular season, with Dalton fifth.

Dalton trailed 15-11 after a quarter and fell behind in the second, but an 11-2 run to close the second quarter gave Dalton a 26-25 lead at halftime.

Dalton led 48-40 after three quarters. Dalton gave up 20 in the final frame as Creekside began burying shots, but Dalton made some of their own and held strong at the free throw line as Creekside began intentionally fouling later in the game.

A back-to-back barrage of 3-pointers from Cadence Blackwell off the bench early in the fourth helped Dalton stay in control, and Kemara Washington hit several late free throws to help keep them there, despite playing the fourth with four fouls.

Gracie Ridley led Dalton with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Washington scored 14, and Jolie Wingfield finished with 10 points and seven boards. BB Bates scored eight.

Creekside freshman phenom C’India Dennis poured in half of the Lady Seminole points with 30.

Dalton advances to the Elite 8 after adding an additional round each season for the last three. A first-round exit in 2022 was the first Dalton playoff appearance in three years. Dalton reached the Sweet 16 last season, and now reaches the state quarterfinals.