Adam Krohn
adamkrohn@daltoncitizen.com
— When a game isn’t beginning the way Northwest Whitfield’s girls basketball team originally intended, Kayla Piorkowski considers it her personal obligation to come off the bench and change the situation.
“If we’re not off to a good start, someone has to do something,” said Piorkowski, who along with fellow reserve Tori Clemmons completes the seven-player rotation Lady Bruins coach Margaret Stockburger has gone with since the Class 4A state tournament began last week. “It’s hard for us to start it up sometimes, so I go in there and try to get us going.”
In the quarterfinals last Friday at the University of West Georgia against Madison County, Piorkowski followed through in her role.
The Lady Red Raiders had used ball control and an early rebounding edge to claim an 8-1 first quarter lead. Piorkowski, a 5-foot-8-inch senior guard, played her signature pressure defense — she’s the Lady Bruins’ leaders in steals with an average of two per game — which helped to prevent Madison County from scoring the rest of the quarter. Piorkowski also reached two-thirds of her six-point season scoring average with a layup and a short-range jumper to cut the lead to 8-5 going into the second quarter.
Her play in the first half helped keep Northwest’s deficit reasonable before the Lady Bruins exploded with a 21-6 third quarter run that essentially put the game away.
In Northwest’s second-round matchup against top-ranked Mays in Atlanta last week, 6-foot-3-inch post Christy Robinson found herself with three fouls early in the second half. Clemmons, a 5-8 junior, played big minutes in Robinson’s absence and helped limit the scoring opportunities for Lady Raiders post Larrisa Carter, a 6-foot senior.
Clemmons — who also hit a key layup with 2:53 left in the game to put the Lady Bruins up 53-44 and cut into a scoring run by the determined Lady Raiders — was a big reason the Lady Bruins escaped with a 56-51 victory.
She was thrust into her role early in the season when reserve post Kelsey Kirk suffered to a season-ending injury while the Lady Bruins were playing in Parkview High’s Thanksgiving tournament. But Clemmons has made the adjustment to playing significant minutes for the first time in her high school career.
Though her season averages aren’t overwhelming (4.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 0.8 steals), her value comes from her willingness to do the dirty work against the other team’s best posts.
“It’s very exciting to be playing,” Clemmons said. “It makes me feel grateful to know all the hard work I’ve put in this season has really paid off.
“Now that we’re in the final four, it’s just amazing.”
Though Piorkowski and Clemmons come off the bench, Stockburger believes both are much more valuable than the average role player.
“Both of them could start for a lot of high school teams ... ,” Stockburger said. “But they’ve accepted their roles and are a big part of the team and why we are as successful as we are.”
The Lady Bruins (28-3), a No. 3 seed from Region 7-4A, are gearing up for Wednesday’s 4 p.m. semifinal against Dutchtown (27-2), the No. 1 seed from Region 4, at the Arena at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth.
With a win, Northwest will advance to a state championship game for the first time since 1990.
But for the Lady Bruins to win, Piorkowski realizes she and the rest of her teammates will have to do their part.
“We’re so ready for this,” said Piorkowski, who was also a member of this season’s Lady Bruins softball team that reached the state semifinals. “We’ve made it this far, so why not finish it out?
“We’re not stopping here.”
