Northview Girls Capture Region Tournament Title

By Mike Blum

The Northview Lady Titans claimed the first region basketball title in school history in unique fashion, defeating Alpharetta 58-38 in the 7-AAAAAA finals on Saturday, Feb. 11 at Johns Creek.

The Lady Titans went 16-0 in the region during the regular season and easily won their first two games in the tournament, but few teams have gotten off to as dominant start in a game, particularly one to determine a championship.

Northview led 14-1 after one period and held Alpharetta without a field goal for almost 13 ½ minutes, leading 23-1 before the Lady Raiders began a surprisingly effective comeback considering their dismal offensive performance for most of the first half.

Alpharetta outscored Northview 27-14 over a stretch that covered the latter stages of the second period and almost all the third, closing within 37-28.

But the Lady Titans scored the last four points of the third quarter and the first eight of the final period, pushing their lead back to 21 and putting the game out of reach.

“We played fantastic defense in the first half,” Northview coach Chris Yarbrough said. “Our zone has given people problems, but they hurt us up the gut the last time we played them.”

Alpharetta got off to a similarly slow start in that game, trailing 11-0 before surging back to take a 20-17 lead in the second quarter. Although they trailed the remainder of the game, the Lady Raiders twice got within a point in the fourth quarter before losing 66-58.

The Lady Raiders also played Northview tough in the first meeting between the two teams, losing 42-41, but were never in the region title game despite their comeback that reduced a 22-point deficit to single digits.

Northview’s height along the front line neutralized Alpharetta’s inside game, with 5-11 senior Shannon Titus moving from her usual defensive spot on the perimeter to join 6-2 Ashlee Austin and 6-1 Maya Richards.

Titus swatted away several shots and came up with steals, while Richards’ physical presence kept Alpharetta point guard Croix Bethune from getting to the basket or finding the six-foot Maduka sisters inside. Gogo and Juju Maduka combined for 25 points in the most recent game against Northview, but managed just six in the region finals, as Titus, Richards and Austin kept them off the offensive boards.

The Alpharetta comeback was keyed by Jalyn Tillerson, who hit three 3-pointers in the third quarter and finished with 17 points. But no other Alpharetta player scored more than seven points, while Northview sported a balanced attack.

Austin led the Lady Titans (25-3) with 18 points, including an early 3 that helped propel her team to a quick 8-0 lead. Titus and Richards added 12 each, with Makayla Davis starting and ending the early 23-1 run with 3-pointers. She finished with eight points, getting the start for injured Megan Cistulli, whose absence from the lineup played a part in Yarbrough’s defensive switch.

Alpharetta (18-10) gave Northview some problems with a press in the third period, but the Lady Titans broke it a number of times for layups to regain control. The Lady Titans had no problems in the semifinals, outscoring against fifth-seeded Pope 32-12 in the second and third periods in a 56-35 victory. All five starters scored between nine and 14 points, led by freshman Asjah Innis with 14. Austin added 12 points, and Titus, Davis and Richards scored nine apiece.

Alpharetta won the other semifinal 57-46 over Chattahoochee, using strong showings in the second (15-8) and fourth (20-12) quarters. Bethune and Gogo Maduka scored 11 each to pace a balanced offense, while Siena Gore scored 28 for the Lady Cougars, hitting 12 of 16 free throws.

Chattahoochee (20-6) won the third place game 48-38 over Pope, taking the fourth quarter 16-9 to pull away. Gore scored 14 points and Alayna Ford added 13.

Pope prevented a North Fulton sweep of the region’s four spots in the state tournament, edging Johns Creek 55-54 in the quarterfinals on a 3-pointer in the closing seconds. Johns Creek tied Alpharetta and

Chattahoochee for second place in the region, but wound up as the 4 seed to draw Pope in the quarterfinals. In the first round of the state tournament Friday, Northview will host South Paulding and Alpharetta is home against Mays. Chattahoochee plays at New Manchester.

The region tournament did not go as well for the local boys teams, as top-seeded Alpharetta was upset in the semifinals and settled for third place, defeating Cambridge 69-52 in the consolation game. Fifth seeded-Dunwoody, which eliminated No. 4 Chattahoochee in the quarterfinals, defeated the Raiders 70-59 in the semifinals, while No. 2 Pope defeated third-seeded Cambridge 57-51.

Pope captured the region title with a 61-58 victory over Dunwoody. The Raiders (24-3) trailed 25-12 after one quarter against Dunwoody and never recovered. Brandon Barron led the Raiders with 19 points.

Alpharetta avoided a similar slow start in the consolation game, and enjoyed a double-figure lead throughout the second half. Ryan Jenei hit three 3-pointers and scored 20 points for the Raiders, with Barron scoring nine of his 17 in the second quarter when Alpharetta began to pull away.

Jamar Robertson scored 14 points for Cambridge (19-8) and David Banks added 12. The Bears led Pope 29-27 at halftime in the semifinals, but managed just eight points in the third quarter to trail 43-37 going to the final period. Jackson Boyea scored 17 points and Kyler Ingram 16 for the Cambridge.

Alpharetta and Cambridge play in the first round of the state tournament Saturday, with the Raiders at Tri-Cities and the Bears at South Paulding.

Image via Patch