Central girls top Southwind in Region 8-AAA semfinals

from CommercialAppeal.com

Reigning state AAA champion Central's girls put one contender in its place Monday night, and now must prep for Wednesday's showdown with Overton, a rival that put the Warriors in their place last time out.

The Warriors (23-6), behind Nina Davis' 24 points and 14 rebounds, scored a 69-46 victory over Southwind (27-8) in the Region 8-AAA semifinals Monday night at White Station.

Earlier, it took a half before Cornelia Fondren and the Wolverines (26-2) took control of a 53-41 decision over Germantown (21-10). Fondren scored 16 of her game-high 20 points in the final two quarters to snap a 20-all halftime tie.

Two weeks ago, the Wolverines took a 67-62 overtime win over Central for the city championship.

"I can't lie; that gave us a lot of confidence," Overton coach Lynn Smith said.

This time, Central will be back with its "Big Three" on all cylinders. Danielle Ballard, dropped from the team in December and reinstated before districts, came off the bench to score 15 of her 19 points in the middle two quarters, when Central stretched a 19-15 lead to 52-39.

"We were all patient tonight, and it felt more comfortable," said Ballard. "This time of year you're just working to play one more game."

Davis said that when Ballard returned to practice, "it was like she was never away."

Central coach Niki Bray added, "Danielle's back because of the things she did in the classroom and away from the court."

Senior Jalen O'Bannon added 13 points and 11 rebounds; Georgia Tech-bound Aaliyah Whiteside added 10 points. Southwind senior Bianca Cage had 17 points in her final game, and sophomore Amber Holmes added 16, but the Jaguars had no answer inside.

"Davis is so long and athletic, and Ballard is one of those players that the game slows down for her," Southwind coach Stan Gatlin said. "We took a step forward this year, but tonight we stood around way too much."

Overton's Smith said his team "came out flat" in the first half, but added "we spread the floor, and started attacking more. And Cornelia provided the spark as always."

Syracuse-bound Fondren said "Germantown played more together than we did. We had to step it up."

Junior Brianna Mitchell scored 19 points and kept it close for Germantown, which split with Overton in the regular season. But she took a hard fall on a drive to the basket early in the fourth quarter with her team down, 40-34. She scored just two points after that, and Devils coach Kristin Reich said, "we just weren't the same. After her we get to freshmen and sophomores trying to run the offense, and that's tough to do against a team like that."

In other games

Region 7-AAA

Bartlett held off a furious Munford rally Monday night in the Region 7-AAA semifinals and pulled out a 61-54 win in overtime. Munford (19-10) erased a 20-point third-quarter deficit, but Rachel Hughes' 15 points helped Bartlett (20-11) move on to the region title game Wednesday at Arlington. The Lady Panthers will take on Arlington (26-3), a 56-39 winner over Hardin County in the second semifinal. Ariel Hearn, a University of Memphis signee, led all scorers with 26 points.

Region 8-AA

Manassas junior forward Tiffany Jones led four starters with 21 points and the Lady Tigers (29-3) ended Fairley's season with a commanding 83-59 victory in the semifinals of the Region 8-AA tournament Monday at Mitchell. Fairley's Arkela Ware-Jones' 25 points led the Lady Bulldogs, who finish 14-15.

"I don't think it was easy," Manassas coach Tommy Warren said. "But we pride ourselves on defense."

The Lady Tigers advanced to Wednesday's region championship, where they will face Oakhaven, a 62-52 winner over Douglass. Sophomore Derica Wiggins scored 21 of her game-high 30 points in the second half to lead the Lady Hawks (18-11), who avenged a regular season loss to the Lady Red Devils (17-9).