Northview Lady Titans Advance to State Semifinals

By Mike Blum

Three games into the girls Class AAAAAA basketball playoffs, the Northview High School Lady Titans are yet to be tested.

Northview scored its third straight home court victory in the state tournament quarterfinals Tuesday night, defeating frequent title contender Stephenson 65 to 46 to advance to Saturday’s semifinals, where the Lady Titans will face state-ranked Harrison.

Saturday’s game, which is scheduled for 2 p.m., will be played at Fort Valley State University, with four teams from metro Atlanta driving down I-75 to central Georgia for the semifinals. Mays will play either Chattahoochee or Lovejoy in the 6 p.m. semifinal.

The Lady Titans have won their three state playoff games by 18, 20 and 19 points, respectively, although the first two margins were somewhat deceptive. Northview won its tournament opener 54-35 over South Paulding, leading by only eight points with three minutes to play before closing with an 11-0 run.

The Lady Titans’ second round victory was considerably easier, as they led Valdosta by 39 points early in the fourth quarter before playing reserves the rest of the way, winning 74-54. Tuesday’s final margin was more reflective of how the game went, with Northview building a 19-point halftime lead and maintaining that advantage for most of the second half. Stephenson got within 13 with three minutes left, but that was as close as the Lady Jaguars got.

Stephenson has qualified for state every year since 2001, winning state titles in 2004, 2008 and 2015. This year’s team finished 20-11, tying for second in 4-AAAAAA during the regular season before placing fourth in the region tournament. Stephenson defeated higher-seeded teams in the first two rounds, but was never in the game against Northview.

The Lady Cougars gave Northview some problems with an aggressive defense that included a full court press, but an abysmal shooting performance cost Stephenson any chance for a victory. The Lady Cougars managed just two field goals the entire first half, staying within 35-16 at the break thanks to a 12-for- 16 performance at the free throw line.

Stephenson was particularly inaccurate from outside, launching a succession of failed 3-pointers before finally making one with less than six minutes to play and Northview ahead by 23. The Lady Cougars made less than 10 percent of their 3-point attempts on the night, finishing with two long-range baskets.

Northview managed just one 3-point field goal, with Shannon Titus banking one in early in the game. The Lady Titans did not need to hit from outside, using their height advantage to score inside against the smaller Lady Cougars and getting a number of layups off fast breaks or breaking Stephenson’s press.

Titus, the team’s lone senior starter, led Northview with 21 points, hitting six straight free throws in the final period to finish 10 of 14 at the foul line. Sophomores Ashlee Austin and Maya Richards did most of their damage inside, adding 19 and 14 points respectively. Four of Richards’ seven field goals came on offensive rebounds, as she fought foul trouble for much of the game before picking up her fifth with just over two minutes to play.

Freshman Asjah Innis contributed 10 points, making six of nine free throws.

The Lady Titans struggled at times with Stephenson’s defensive pressure, and Northview coach Chris Yarbrough admitted "our composure got away from us at times."

"But we made some good adjustments and dealt with the pressure," Yarbrough added.

While Northview had some problems with errant passes that never reached their intended targets, when the Lady Titans avoided turnovers they were successful offensively. Northview scored 53 points in the first three quarters before backing the ball out with a 25-point lead early in the final period.

“For the first three quarters, I thought we played really well offensively,” the coach said, with his team managing just one field goal in the fourth quarter, going 10 for 12 at the foul line.

Northview brings a 28-3 record into Saturday’s semifinals against Harrison, which is 26-5. Northview was ranked first in one state-wide poll in AAAAAA and Harrison fourth at the end of the regular season, with the Lady Hoyas defeating No. 2 Douglas County 73-63 in its quarterfinal game.

Harrison also won against a state-ranked opponent in the second round, getting past Tucker 43-35 after entering the state tournament as the No. 2 seed from its region. Like Northview, Harrison went undefeated in its region during the regular season, but lost 54-38 to Creekview in the tournament finals.

This is Harrison’s third straight appearance at state, with the Lady Hoyas reaching the quarterfinals in 2015 and second round last year.

Like Harrison, Northview is in the semifinals for the first time ever, having made state just three times previously, with the program’s lone victory coming in 2011.

The Lady Titans have lost just once this season against a Georgia opponent, losing at North Forsyth in November. North Forsyth reached the second round of the AAAAAAA playoffs before losing to undefeated McEachern. The night after losing to North Forsyth, Northview defeated Creekview, which won the 6-AAAAAA tournament title over Harrison after losing twice to the Lady Hoyas during the regular season.

The only other losses for Harrison to Georgia opponents came against Norcross and Buford, which are both in the state semifinals in other classifications.

Image via Patch