Lady Bruins aim for state title

DALTON — The overflowing mix of joy and excitement that Northwest Whitfield’s girls basketball team created with its state semifinal win on Wednesday in Duluth hitched a ride back to Tunnel Hill.

It filtered into the hallways and classrooms of the high school on Thursday as students and teachers alike enjoyed the emotional lift provided by the Lady Bruins and it’s headed back to the Arena at Gwinnett Center today for the Class 4A state championship game.

Northwest earned its first appearance in a title game since 1990 with a 75-56 win against Dutchtown and the Lady Bruins (29-3) will take on two-time defending champion Southwest DeKalb (26-4) at 3 p.m. today. Admission is $10.

Northwest principal Carolyn Towns said the Lady Bruins can expect another healthy swell of fan support when they take the court.

“This is just such a wonderful thing for us. It’s just been so much fun,” Towns said. “Everything’s upbeat, everything’s positive. When you’ve got a winning team, everything’s good. Discipline’s better. It’s amazing.”

As it has for the past two state tournament games — the Lady Bruins beat Madison County 61-42 last Friday in the quarterfinals — Northwest is offering students the opportunity to pay $5 to ride a “spirit bus” to the game, Towns said. At 11:30 a.m. today, students who had a permission slip signed by parents will be allowed to dismiss early, either to ride one of the buses or find their own way to Duluth.

Several of Northwest’s student-athletes are among those who plan to make the trip, and junior football players Garrett Smith and Zach Sloan said they have a little extra motivation to root for the Lady Bruins against Southwest DeKalb, the same school that put the Bruins out of the first round of this year’s state football playoffs.

“We know all about Southwest DeKalb,” Smith said.

Sloan said his experience on Friday nights has taught him that having a supportive crowd in the stands makes a difference.

“It helps a lot,” he said. “In football we always carried a big crowd, too. It gives you that extra motivation.”

And Northwest isn’t waiting for tipoff to show a little love for the Lady Bruins. A pep rally is set to start his morning’s school day at 8:20 a.m. and send off the team

The players’ success in securing a spot in the title game was already the hot topic on Thursday at school, students said, and not surprisingly, congratulations were also in order for the Lady Bruins throughout the day.

Senior Christy Robinson said as she walked into one class, the teacher called out her name and her classmates applauded. While working in the school’s front office, she received pats on the back from parents who stopped by.

The upbeat mood has been good for everyone, with most teachers recognizing that a little extra chatter and excitement is to be expected in the midst of a state title run, said Lance Andrews, a senior member of both the football and boys basketball teams.

“The teachers have been kind of laidback,” he said.

Northwest has already enjoyed a notable year in Georgia High School Association athletics, with its fastpitch softball team finishing third in the Class 4A state tournament in October and its wrestling team claiming second at the Class 4A state traditional tournament in February. But the rarity of trips to the final game in basketball — 1990’s 59-49 loss to Hart County marked the only other appearance — has elevated the outlook around campus even more and made heading to Duluth a priority.

“Every class I’ve been in, when they’ve asked who’s going to the game, every single student has raised their hand,” sophomore Amber Jackson said.

Even those who aren’t able to make the journey are doing their part to support the team.

Merrily Suits, a senior, said she’ll definitely be listening on the radio — WYYU 104.5 will begin its broadcast at 2:45 p.m. with Stephen Gregg handling the play-by-play and Perry Kiser providing color — and possibly watching GPTV’s broadcast of the game. The game will be also be available online at ghsa.tv, but Northwest freshman Ellison Beard said he’s been using facebook.com to keep updated.

“Everybody will be posting scores and stuff like that,” Beard said. “I get on there every little while during a game and see how’s it going.”

Northwest’s support isn’t limited to its campus, either. Fans from other local schools and fellow Region 7-4A programs had posted messages of good luck at the Georgia Varsity Sports Vent, a popular online forum for high school athletics, and the Lady Bruins had a special visitor to their final practice of the season on Thursday afternoon.

Ron Wheeler, who coached the Lady Bruins from 1984-1995, stopped by to offer his best wishes to Northwest coach Margaret Stockburger, who was an assistant on Wheeler’s staff. He won’t be able to make today’s game because the Valley Point Middle boys basketball team he coaches is having its banquet this evening, but he took a few minutes to talk shop with his former assistant and congratulate her for what she’s accomplished with this year’s team.

Wheeler said after the loss in 1990’s Class 3A final to Hart County — that was the second championship in a run of six for the Lady Bulldogs — he figured the Lady Bruins would be back sooner rather than later. It took much longer than expected, but he’s glad to see Northwest with a shot at the big prize once more.

“They don’t come along very often,” Wheeler said. “Hopefully it won’t be another 20 years and hopefully they’ll take advantage of the opportunity they have. I’m confident that they will.”

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