Middle Georgia Technical College’s women’s basketball team
had a battle in the GCAA Division III tournament semifinals. Georgia
Northwestern Tech, on the same day, coasted to victory.
The Lady Titans of head coach Lawanda Brown, contrary to
what those above statements might suggest, looked like the fresher bunch the
following day when the conference championship was on the line in the brand-new
Middle Georgia Tech gym.
Three of the Lady Titans had double-doubles as the hosts –
the No. 3 seed with a 7-19 regular season record – claimed the championship for
2012-13 in a 64-58 final Sunday. It was Middle Georgia Tech’s first win in
three tries against Georgia Northwestern Tech, who took both regular-season
match-ups each by a mere two points.
“We played a very tough schedule,” said Brown. “The majority
of our opponents were D-1 schools; only six games were within our own
conference. If you work hard, it will pay off in the long run. (Sunday), it
actually did.”
“We did a fantastic job as a team,” said Perry High’s Ashley
West, the GCAA D-III Player of the Year. “We did what we were supposed to do.
We worked hard and deserved it. We wanted it and fought for it.”
To get to Sunday’s finals, the Lady Titans first had to find
a way to beat West Georgia Technical College in Saturday’s semifinals. That was
another team Brown’s club carried an 0-2 record against from the regular
campaign.
Middle Georgia Tech shot 50 percent from the field in the
first half and 47 percent for the whole game, which ended with a 62-59 score in
the hosts’ favor. They held the Lady Golden Knights to 27 percent shooting
(5-for-16 in 3-pointers), but the game was still close due to the Lady Titans’
36 turnovers.
West was 7-for-10 from the floor and the foul line. She had
21 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. Forward Kameelah Wynn had 13 points,
eight blocks and the team’s only made 3-pointer (five were attempted).
“That was the first battle,” said Brown. “We want to win the
war, which is nationals. Not saying it can’t be done, but it’s going to be a
hard road.”
“We knew it would come down to us and (GNW),” said forward
Tynisha Walton.
Georgia Northwestern Tech demolished Southern Crescent
Saturday by 50.
Nothing about Saturday seemed to matter, however, as the
Lady Titans were sharp in their offense and aggressive on the boards. Brown
also credited how her players finally got the message about playing defense.
“It took me the whole year to drill that before they finally
realized it’s defense that wins games,” she said. “Offense brings crowds. (This
weekend) our defense was where it needs to be.”
In the first four minutes of action, Middle Georgia Tech had
14 points on the board, nine from 3-pointers. Two were off Wynn’s hands. Two
more minutes elapsed and the Lady Titans were still in control at 18-12. It’s
an advantage they never let slip away.
Walton, out of her team’s 65 total rebounds, was credited
with 23. That went with her 13 points. Her tenacity never faded either,
starting with a put-back of her own miss for 22-15 Lady Titans.
“She’s a small person (5-9), but has a big heart,” said
Brown about Walton. “She has a lot of drive and motivation. Her strongest asset
is rebounding.”
“I read somewhere if you shoot 100 shots and no one’s rebounding,
it’s just …” said Walton. “I knew
I had to get the rebounds. Their player (Odessa Person) is actually the No. 1
rebounder in our conference and I’m No. 5. I knew from the beginning of the
game I had to prove myself.”
Person had 13 rebounds.
Georgia Northwestern Tech was 2-for-16 in 3-point shooting
for the first half, and some of those early misses were two to three steps away
from the line. At 7:30 before halftime, the Lady Bobcats found the net to cut
the margin to three, 26-23.
Wynn blocked seven more shots in the finals to go with a
team-best 19 points and 12 rebounds. She denied two tries in one GNW possession,
which set up a 3-point make by Ashleigh Burnett (31-23).
Point guard Maya Gadson, from Ft. Valley, had seven steals
Sunday, two coming late in the first half. With her teammates finding her open
under the goal, Wynn capped off the solid first half at 35-30. She had 14 in
the half and would foul out at 6:30 of the second half.
But while Wynn was still eligible, she sank a trey and
blocked a shot in Middle Georgia Tech’s string of nine straight to open the
second 20-minute block. West scored four points, two coming from Burnett’s
steal and Gadsen’s assist.
For West, she did the double-double thing with 13 points and
10 boards. In addition to her seven steals, Gadsen dished out seven assists.
Four minutes into the half, Georgia Northwestern Tech made
its first basket, a 3 (44-33). It was the first of two in a row. The Lady
Bobcats wound up taking 24 3’s in the second half.
Walton countered with five straight and gave the Lady Titans
their largest lead, 13, 49-36 with 12 minutes of basketball left. Georgia
Northwestern Tech, over the next 10 minutes, outscored the hosts 21-10.
It started with a four-point possession that narrowed the
gap to six, 49-43. Gadsen made a key steal leading to points for West, but the
Lady Bobcats poured in the next four in a row.
To go ahead 56-47, West found room through tight press
coverage near midcourt. Open was Wynn one more time. Gadsen, inbounding under
her goal, hit Burnett open for a three-point play.
Brown had to go the rest of the way without Wynn. She got
the teamwork she needed on West’s steal and Gadsen’s penetration assist to
Walton (59-48).
The Lady Bobcats were not done, scoring seven in a row. At
3:29, instead of throwing up a 3, point guard Kiarra Parks penetrated for a
three-point play (59-55).
Middle Georgia Tech only made three out of 11 foul shots
down the stretch and lost the basketball after Burnett’s key steal. With 2:06
to play, the lead was down to two. Coming up with two free throws and a
baseline jumper for her only field goal was Gadsen.
“They actually played as a team,” said Brown. “All five, at
any given time, talked to each other, motivated each other, had each other’s
back.”
“We started out pretty rocky (this season),” said West. “But
we’re finishing strong. It’s not about how you start; it’s how you finish.”
“I didn’t expect this,” said Walton. “Didn’t expect to feel
like this. It’s pretty surreal.”
“We were saying, ‘we want a ring,’” said West. “We want two
rings. We had to get the first ring first. We did it. Now we’re on to the
second one.”
In order to reach the NJCAA D-III nationals, the Lady Titans
must win a game (opponent still to be determined as of Sunday) at Rockville
Community College in Maryland on March 2.
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