Huge second half carries Overton girls to region title

article and image from Commercial Appeal

Central’s Darriel Johnson looks for help against Overton’s Philecia Atkins, who had 16 points to help the Wolverines win the Region 8-AAA girls championship game at Houston High on Wednesday night.

For the fifth consecutive year, Central and Overton tipped off to decide the Region 8-AAA girls champion at Houston on Wednesday night. Central dominated the first half, but the Wolverines clawed their way back to claim their second straight region title, 54-51, behind region tournament MVP Philecia Atkins and her 3-point shooting.

“They made some good adjustments by going to the box-and-one on Philecia,” said Overton coach Lynn Smith. “We tried to make adjustments at half and get other people involved.”

Central controlled play early on, jumping out to a seven-point lead at the end of the first quarter. Baylor signee Nina Davis scored 17 of her game-high 24 points in the first half. The Warriors exploited Overton on the glass, getting most of their points on second-chance looks. Central went into half with a 32-21 lead.

“They were just outworking us,” Smith said.

Overton came out of half firing on all cylinders. Overton’s Kelsey Briggs and Rodrea Echols connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to begin the second half, which the Warriors dominated. Briggs led the Wolverines with 18 points, Atkins added 16 and Amber Homes scored eight. All three were named to the All-Region Tournament team, along with Tia Wooten, who scored 10 for the Warriors, and Davis.

“Tia and Nina beat us up down low in the first half,” said Atkins. “But we came out in the second half and wanted it more.”

The Wolverines took their first lead of the game with 5:39 left in the fourth quarter on a Briggs 3-pointer, but Central came right back to tie the score on a Davis layup. Overton took the lead for good with four minutes remaining and sealed the game from the free-throw line.

Despite stellar second half-shooting by the Wolverines, their defense decided the game, as they held Davis to just seven second-half points.

“We picked the defensive tempo out of half,” Smith said. “We tried to clog up the middle and not let them get anything inside.”

Both teams advance to state sectionals on Saturday. Overton (30-6) will host Jackson North Side, while Central (24-5) will travel to Munford.