The missing banner

Twenty years between state championship game appearances is long enough.

On March 8, 1990, Northwest Whitfield’s girls basketball team defeated Washington County, 64-61, at Georgia Tech’s Alexander Memorial Coliseum in Atlanta in the Class 3A state tournament and advanced to the title game. The Lady Bruins lost two days later to Hart County, 59-49, at the same venue.

With a win today in the Class 4A state semifinals against 10th-ranked Dutchtown (27-2) at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, fourth-ranked Northwest (28-3) can return to the championship game and play for the one banner missing for girls basketball in the school’s gymnasium — a state title. Today’s tipoff is set for 4 p.m.

But before the Lady Bruins, a No. 3 seed from Region 7, can think about a championship berth, they’ll have to deal with the Lady Bulldogs, a No. 1 seed from Region 4.

“I think everybody’s got to stay focused,” said Lady Bruins coach Margaret Stockburger, who was an assistant on Ron Wheeler’s coaching staff for Northwest’s title-game run in 1990. “We’ve got to try to take it one game at a time and stay with what we’ve been doing.”

They’ve got tradition on their side today. The Lady Bruins are in their sixth consecutive state tournament and last season won the Region 7-4A title and advanced to the state quarterfinals, where they lost to eventual champion Southwest DeKalb, which plays Forest Park at 7 p.m. today in the other Class 4A semifinal.

Dutchtown, located in Hampton, just south of Atlanta is a 6-year-old school. Last season under first-year coach Angela Williams, the Lady Bulldogs reached the state tournament for the first time and advanced to the second round.

Though Northwest has a clear edge in experience, Williams is hoping that won’t be a factor today.

“It is a little bit of a concern, but I have a lot of seniors who played together last year and saw the school’s first state playoff appearance,” she said. “They’re hungry this year and I’m hoping that trumps their playoff experience.”

The Lady Bulldogs’ offense goes through senior twins Brittney and Alyssa Strickland. Brittney, a 5-foot-5-inch point guard, is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 26 points a game.

Alyssa, a 5-5 shooting guard, suffered a partially torn ACL during a tournament this past Christmas and missed the rest of the regular season. She returned just in time for the state tourney — showing no ill effects from the injury — and scored a team-high 19 points in a win over Glenn Hills in the quarterfinals.

Both sisters have signed with Alabama A&M in Normal, Ala.

Dutchtown’s tallest player is 6-2 senior Abria Trice, who normally plays guard. Trice has signed with Prairie View A&M University (Texas) and is the Lady Bulldogs’ second-leading scorer with a 12.7-point average.

Lady Bulldogs 5-10 senior post Courtney Durham leads the team with seven rebounds per game and will have to battle Northwest’s posts — 6-5 Quaneisha McCurty and 6-3 Christy Robinson.

“(Northwest’s) height is probably the most challenging part,” Williams said. “We’ve got to keep them off the boards, and (Durham) uses her body really well. So, if we can box out we shouldn’t have any problems.”

Williams said junior guard Aisha Atwater is having a breakout season after being thrust into the starting lineup in Alyssa Strickland’s absence.

Dutchtown’s only losses this season were to Class 5A Luella, 63-50, on Dec. 5 and Region 4-4A rival Forest Park, 74-55, on Jan. 12.

To reach the Class 4A semifinals, the Lady Bulldogs defeated Harda-way, 58-49, Butler — despite trailing by 14 at halftime — 55-46 and Glen Hills, 60-44.

Their round-by-round scores are eerily similar to those of the Lady Bruins, who beat Chamblee, 60-48, Mays, 57-53, and Madison County, 61-42.

Northwest and Dutch-town prefer a fast-paced game, but Williams said the Lady Bulldogs have the ability to make adjustments as the game evolves.

“If it’s better for us to slow it down, we might,” she said.

“One of the good things is neither team has seen the other, so we’ll both be feeling each other out.”

Lady Bruins sharpshooter Jordi Cook, who is 67-for-145 (46.2 percent) from the 3-point line this season, is hoping for an up-tempo game after Madison County held the ball for minutes at a time in the quarterfinals.

“We like to run the ball,” said Cook, a senior guard. “That’s how we like to play so if that’s how they like to play then it should be a good, fast-paced game. I’m excited.”

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