Norcross girls roll back to to the Elite Eight

NORCROSS, GEORGIA – Taking charge early and outscoring the Lambert Longhorns in each quarter, the defending state champion Norcross High School girls basketball team made it look easy on its way back to the Elite Eight for the second straight year with a dominant 59-34 win.

For head coach Ashley Clanton, who led Norcross to a state championship last year, the results have been the same this year, but the process has looked quite different.

“I think that we have a little bit more of a calmness than we had a year ago,” Clanton said. “Last year we went through the first two rounds and they were tight games and we were just trying to hang on at the end. Now, we enter the game and there’s a different feel about it. Instead of the nervousness that we had a year ago, it’s kind of like we’re here to do a job and we’re ready to take care of business. From a coaching standpoint, that’s a nicer feel for me.”

The Blue Devils were not simply “hanging on” at the end of Saturday’s second round state playoff game, as Norcross ended the game on a 12-0 run and did not allow a single point in the last five minutes of the contest.

Clanton said it’s always important to finish strong against a team like the Longhorns.

“I was trying to make sure the kids understood that Lambert, they shoot the three ball so they’re never out of a game,” she said. “You have to play the game all the way through to the finish because if you start just letting them throw things up from the outside, you could be in a little bit of trouble. They did a nice job of understanding that and making sure that there was no let up on the defensive end and that we really finished through.”

Norcross got out to its early lead in the first half due in large part to the play of Jania Akins, who started off the game hot with two threes in the first quarter followed by an eight-point second quarter. Akins finished the game with a game-high 19 points. 

In the second half, Veronaye Charlton picked up where Akins left off, scoring 10 of her 18 points to finish the game out. Mariyah Valrie scored 10 points, imposing her will in the paint.

However it was what her team did on the defensive end that really impressed Clanton.

“We were pretty attentive to detail for the most part,” she said. “Lambert is tough in that they’re always moving. They play hard and are moving the entire time and our kids did a nice job of sticking on the defensive end and making sure that the shots they got were tough shots and that they had to work for them.”

Lambert came into the game averaging 59 points in their last five games, yet the Norcross defense held the Longhorns to just 34 points. Now Norcross finds itself in a similar position, just one of eight teams left competing for a state title. Perhaps what makes the Blue Devils most dangerous is the fact that they’re still developing. 

“We have kids that have made big strides in the last few weeks,” Clanton said. “Like Mariyah, our big kid inside, she can go sit in there, make a post move and score and she couldn’t do that at the beginning of the year. She’s grown tremendously and with her growth, we’ve gotten that much better because it gives us a nice strong kid inside that can score the ball for us.”

Fully knowing the gauntlet before them, Clanton hopes her team can take the momentum from Lambert forcing them to finish into the next game as the opponents only get stronger from here.

“You like playing teams like this that challenge you through the whole four quarters. We talk all the time that we have to keep getting better because if we win this game, the next game is just going to be that much tougher, so let’s get good at finishing strong.”

Clanton believes her team has the makeup to once again win it all.

“You can kind of tell when you have a group that’s locked in at the end or a group that’s losing interest and these guys are locked in. Practice has been fun because they’re so productive, everyone’s there and attentive. You can give them whatever game plan and they’re buying in and sticking the details. It’s a fun time of year and I think they’re enjoying themselves and they’re playing some really good basketball.”

Norcross will host Archer on Wednesday for a ticket to the Final Four.