Senior Trio Revives Chattahoochee Girls Basketball Team

By Mike Blum

JOHNS CREEK, GA -- Haaris Quraishy has been coaching the Chattahoochee High School girls basketball team for the past five seasons.

In the last four, his starting lineup has included Alayna Ford and sisters Siena and Marissa Gore. All three have been four-year starters and the trio is going out on a high note, leading the Cougars to their best season since Chattahoochee reached the state semifinals in 2011.

The Cougars did not qualify for the state tournament during Quraishy’s first three seasons as head coach, but made it surprise fashion last year, upsetting the top-ranked team in their region tournament after being seeded eighth in the 9-team region.

Chattahoochee knocked off another higher-seeded team in the tournament in the consolation finals before losing in the first round of the state tournament. Along with most of the other North Fulton public high schools, Chattahoochee has dropped down from the state’s highest classification to the second highest, and North Fulton girls teams hold down the top four spots in the rankings of the 9-team Region 7-AAAAAA.

After scoring a 53-46 victory Tuesday at Alpharetta, the Cougars are in fourth place in the region at 10-4, just behind Alpharetta (11-3) and Johns Creek (10-3), both of whom still have a game left against first place Northview, which is unbeaten in region play.

If the Cougars can win out, they could wind up in a tie for second place, but they still have two games left against Pope (7-6), the fifth team in the region standings. If Chattahoochee and Pope finish fourth and fifth in the final standings, the two teams would meet for the third time in less than two weeks in the quarterfinals of the region tournament with a berth at state on the line.

The first of those games is Thursday, Jan. at Chattahoochee, a makeup of a game postponed earlier in January due to inclement weather. The teams meet again in the regular season finale Feb. 3 at Pope. With four games left in the regular season, Chattahoochee was 15-5 overall, largely thanks to play of the team’s trio of four-year starters.

Quraishy says the contributions of his three veterans have been “invaluable."

"It says something about their character that they’ve put up with me for four years," the coach said.

The three scored 47 of the team’s 53 points – including all 19 in the fourth quarter -- in the win over Alpharetta, avenging an earlier 16-point loss to the Raiders.

The Gore sisters, both guards, will play lacrosse in college at Kennesaw State, and give the Cougars a dependable back court, with Siena the team’s primary offensive weapon.

“Siena is our best player and I think she’s one of the best guards in the state. But because she doesn’t play AAU, she doesn’t get the recognition,” Quraishy said. “She never gets tired and she plays with grit and toughness."

Siena scores most of her points on relentless drives to the basket, challenging opponents’ interior defense to stop her. Some of her shots get blocked by taller players, but her efforts are often rewarded by trips to the foul line, and she made eight of nine, all in the second half, in the win over Alpharetta.

She finished with 20 points, right at her season average of 21. Marissa shares ball handling duties with her sister and is “our best shooter,” Quraishy says. Marissa averages eight points a game and scored 12 in the victory against Alpharetta, including a pair of 3-pointers.

“We have two real good ones at ball handling and late in games we’re strong with the ball,” Quraishy noted.

The two combined to hit seven of nine free throws in the closing minutes to preserve Chattahoochee’s lead, with Marissa including a 3 to help break the game open midway through the final period. Ford, who scored 15 in the win, also had a key 3 in the fourth quarter, and makes thing difficult for opposing centers who have to cover her with a surprising outside shooting touch. Ford has the size and strength to be effective inside, but has improved her outside shot to provide a second accurate 3-point shooter along with Marissa.

On the season, Ford averages 12 points and 11 rebounds, and scored 15 against Alpharetta.

“She’s in the gym all the time shooting, and I think she’s one of the better shooters in our region,” Quraishy says of Ford, who is drawing interest from colleges at the Division II level. Sarah Kate Dhom is also a four-year varsity member, moving into the starting lineup and providing some height up front along with Ford

“Sarah Kate is the consummate role player,” Quraishy points out. “She’s always in the right place and helps Alayna on the glass.”

The team’s only non-senior starter is junior guard Delaney Burke, who Quraishy says complements the Gore sisters.

“Delaney can make the open shot and can guard,” her coach noted.

The Cougars do not have much depth beyond their starters, which Quraishy says is a fact of life for most of the North Fulton schools, as other girls sports have resulted in a drop in participation for basketball in the area.

Other than St. Francis, a private school, North Fulton girls teams have not done much in the state playoffs in recent years. Chattahoochee’s 2011 team that included Erika Ford, now an assistant coach with the Cougars, was a rare local team to enjoy success at state, with the Cougars making four straight playoff appearances with Ford and some other talented players on the squad.

Image via Patch