20-Point Loss Hits Lady Broncos

Trailing by 20 points, the Lady Broncos' season ended Friday with a shocking loss to the Northview Lady Titans. Ranked No. 1 earlier in the season, Brookwood High girls capped the season at 25-3.

Northview's Sydney Wallace, a Georgia Tech signee, poured in 40 points to help lead the Lady Titans to the 84-64 win over the Lady Broncos in the first round of the Class AAAAA Girls State Tournament. Brookwood, the Region 8-AAAAA champs, hosted the game.

Brookwood got off to a good start and led 18-14 at the end of the first quarter. Lady Broncos' senior guard Katie Mallow and senior center Autumn Adams did much of the scoring. But Northview's Wallace and Meredith Tarver began to heat up in the second quarter, keeping the Lady Titans right with the Lady Broncos. At the half, Brookwood led 40-37.

The third quarter was a see-saw battle as both teams matched each other. Northview grabbed the lead late in the quarter when Wallace hit two three-pointers to give the Lady Titans a 61-55 lead. In the fourth quarter, Wallace and her teammates took over as Northview went on a 23-9 run to end the game and Brookwood's season. It was the Lady Broncos' third loss of the season.

Mallow led the Lady Broncos with 18 points and Adams scored 15. In addition to Wallace's double-digits, Tarver was also a lead Northview scorer with 17 points.

"It was a team affair," said Northview Head Coach Russell Harrell. "We had five girls in double figures."

He added, "I'm really proud of them."

Northview, the No. 4 seed in Region 6-AAAAA, improved their record to 18-10. The teams meets Mill Creek on March 1.

(Info on team records, rankings and tournament schedule was obtained by the writer from gasports.com.)